Draft Profiles: More Day 2 Wide Receivers
Taking a look at a few more WR prospects that could be on the board for the Commanders on day 2 of the draft.
Earlier this week I looked at a few bigger body wide receivers that the Commanders could look to target on the second day of the draft. Today, I thought I’d look at some more receivers, but this time with smaller frames. Now remember that frame includes weight, not just height, so some of these receivers might be shorter, some might be taller, but they all measured in at the combine at under 190 pounds. That typically profiles to more of a slot receiver type but Z receivers can play at that size too and the three guys on this list all have the flexibility to play both slot and Z.
Ladd McConkey, Georgia. 6’0”, 186 pounds.
McConkey has been one of the most discussed and championed receivers of this profile in this draft cycle. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone really dislike him or be overly critical of him. Just about every analyst agrees that he’s a really good football player and I’m not going to stray far from that path. The thing that stands out most with McConkey is the details in his route running.
Forget about the ball on this play because it’s thrown elsewhere, but focus on McConkey’s route. He’s isolated to the left of the formation but stacks tight to the line, giving him lots of space to work with outside. He’s tasked with running a basic crossing route where he gets to about 12 yards and breaks off over the middle of the field. But he doesn’t just run in straight lines. Off the snap, he widens his path outside towards the hashmarks, getting himself into the seams where he can then threaten the corner with both out-breaking and in-breaking routes. Once he gets to the seam, he adjusts his path more vertically and eats up the cushion, closing the distance between himself and the corner.
You can see how the corner feels threatened to the outside and begins to open his hips to the sideline in order to run with any out-breaking route. McConkey plays into this by selling a jab step outside, faking a break to the sideline before then sinking his hips and sharply cutting inside. This route creates multiple yards of separation from the cornerback in coverage and leaves McConkey wide open over the middle of the field, but the quarterback was working elsewhere.
This was a consistent theme throughout all the games I watched. McConkey does a great job with his routes, adjusting his angles to get into the seams and threatening defenders on both the inside and outside. Defenders were frequently getting turned around as a result.
This time against Alabama, we see McConkey start much further outside at the top of the numbers. Despite the change in alignment, the approach is very similar. At the snap, he releases inside and works to get himself in the seam in order to threaten the defense with the potential to break both inside and out. Alabama sinks back into a Cover-2 variation and the underneath defenders let McConkey by, knowing they have the safety over the top. The safety, however, falls victim to the same thing we just saw a corner fall victim to. McConkey sells a more emphatic move to the outside, with a couple of steps towards the sideline to fake a corner route. This gets the safety to begin to break outside, at which point McConkey can sharply cut across his face and into the middle of the field.
Unfortunately for McConkey, just as he breaks open, the quarterback is flushed out of the pocket. McConkey does a great job recognizing the quarterback’s issue and adjusting off-script to try and give him an option. The quarterback attempts a throw but it lacks velocity. McConkey tries his best to get back and dives to try and make the catch, but just barely couldn’t complete the catch.
His route running is fantastic but another part of what makes McConkey such a good player is his ability to cut so sharply. He’s able to sink his hips and stop almost on a dime before changing direction and then accelerating away again. This makes him tough to cover, but also tough to tackle in the open field.
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