NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Everyone covets a blazer.
But can a smooth route runner who finds other ways to separate find a path to big receiving success in the NFL?
It’s certainly been an effective path for a player like DeAndre Hopkins, whose deliberate route-running, elite ball-tracking, tight window capabilities and sideline control have him ranked 18th all-time in receiving yardage. He’s hardly the only big-time success at the position without elite speed.
The eight other receivers chosen in the top 10 of the last five NFL drafts all appear to have the edge over Carnell Tate when we look at the traditional measurement: 40-yard dash time. Rome Odunze (4.45) and Garrett Wilson (4.38) are the only two of the group who ran at the combine.
Many top receivers test faster.
Increasingly, I’ve come to see it as a less important ingredient.
Defensive backs fear speed used well. At the combine two top cornerback prospects from the University of Tennessee said route savvy actually concerns them more than pace.
Colton Hood went in the early second round to the Giants, while Jermod McCoy dropped to the first pick of the fourth round because of knee concerns.
“I’m never really concerned with speed, I’m fast myself,” Hood said. “I’m never really concerned at all. I watch guys in depth. But definitely, a great route runner is better than somebody who’s just fast.”
“I’d say a guy with great route running,” McCoy said. “I feel like as far as speed, at the line of scrimmage, with press, you can kind of shut that down by being aggressive.”
The Titans view Tate as having enough speed. They see him as playing faster than his 40 and saw GPS numbers that reflected better pace.
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They expect his route precision, body control, and ability to go get the ball to differentiate him from others in their receiving pool and across the league.
“I was able to flip DBs’ hips all throughout the season and run past them,” Tate said. “My route-running ability and my contested catch. They translated it at every level -- being able to move DBs off their spot and going up and make a play over the top of them.”
An ideal wide receiving corps has a mix of everything.
“To say which is harder to find, I don’t know,” said Chargers GM Joe Horitz. “Guys that can separate are tough to find, like truly separate. But to find the guys who can catch the 50/50 ball or 80/20 ball, they’re hard to find, too.”
In Tate, the Titans hope they’ve found a Hopkins-type. He won’t be as physical and he’ll separate earlier with route craft, playing fast enough for speed to matter less.
