Top Slot Receivers Nfl 2018
Even in his early 30s, Jackson has remained one of the fastest receivers in the NFL as evidenced by his league-best 18.9 yards per reception average in 2018. He's led the league in that category. Visit ESPN to view 2020 NFL player stats.
If there was a bright spot on the Jacksonville Jaguars’ offense last year it was second year receiver Dede Westbrook. While his 717 yards didn’t quite hit the 1,000-yard mark, he led the team in receiving and hauled in the most receiving touchdowns of the Jags’ group with five.
Throughout the 2018 season he also flashed his versatility to play from various receiver positions and proved to be a solid threat from the slot due to his run after the catch ability. His efforts certainly didn’t go unnoticed by some analysts in the nation like our comrade Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire, who listed Westbrook as the NFL’s 11th best slot receiver in his recent rankings.
When watching Jacksonville’s 2018 passing offense, two things are abundantly clear — Jaguars receivers had one heck of a time with consistent production with Blake Bortles and Cody Kessler throwing the ball all over the place, and the acquisition of Nick Foles was a necessity to give those receivers any chance of improvement. Among those receivers, Westbrook may have the most potential, as he brought in 59 slot receptions on 83 targets for 646 yards and five touchdowns. Not bad for a second-year receiver who’s never had a lot of help from his quarterbacks at the NFL level.
Westbrook uses nimble feet and an impressive catch radius to make contested catches, and he has a good knack for getting open in zones. His drop rate was a problem at times, but with a credible quarterback at the helm, Westbrook could be a rising star in a big hurry.
Farrar basically echoed what we’ve been saying all year, and that’s the fact that upgrading the quarterback position could help Westbrook. Nick Foles, who isn’t necessarily elite, certainly should be just that, and it’s showing in the early stages of the summer as he and the receivers had a strong showing in minicamp and offseason training activities. Now, all that is left is to have the same success when the pads go on.
With Chris Conley having the abilities to play at the X-receiver spot and DJ Chark having the ability to play the Y-receiver spot like Westbrook, it’s possible offensive coordinator John DeFilippo will utilize Westbrook in the slot often this season, but ultimately time will tell. Regardless as to where he plays though, it wouldn’t be shocking if he got closer to the 1,000-yard mark — or possibly eclipse it this season.
Nfl Top Slot Receivers 2018
Los Angeles Rams receiver Cooper Kupp didn’t take long to establish himself in the league. Despite being a third-round pick out of Eastern Washington, Kupp immediately made a name for himself.
Top Slot Receivers Nfl 2019
The buzz started building during his first offseason, and he delivered right away. As a rookie he racked up an impressive 869 yards and five touchdowns. Unfortunately, injuries limited Kupp to only eight games last year. Despite the limited sample size and the fact that he’s coming off a torn ACL, he’s shown enough to prove he belongs among the league’s best. Accordingly, Doug Farrar of the Touchdown Wire recently ranked Kupp as the seventh-best slot receiver in the NFL.
Jared Goff had a noticeable decline for a few games after the Rams’ bye week, which coincided closely with Kupp’s ACL tear. Farrar thinks that the two events were linked, writing that “losing Kupp forced Goff to go through his progressions without an easy first-read target in ways he wasn’t quite ready for.”
As Farrar notes Kupp did most of his damage out of the slot last season, with 417 of his 566 yards and five of his six touchdowns coming out of the slot. “He’s one of the most route-correct receivers in the game, and he perfectly fits McVay’s paradigm of running tight formations and spreading the field post-snap with his ability to get open on quick outs and boundary stuff,” Farrar writes.
Amidst the hectic nature of the Rams’ Super Bowl run, Kupp got lost a bit. Many people forgot the Rams were missing one of their best weapons, and Kupp’s return should be huge for Goff and the whole offense in 2019. Since entering the league, Kupp has averaged over 14 yards per catch and also caught over 68 percent of his targets, translating to extremely impressive efficiency.
He seems to be progressing well in his recovery, as he participated in 11-on-11 drills at OTAs recently. The goal has always been to be ready by the start of the regular season, and everything seems to be on track for that.
Robert Woods and Brandin Cooks rightfully got a ton of attention for their contributions last year, but Kupp will have an opportunity for just as big of a role next year. As Farrar finishes by saying, “if Kupp is ready to go Week 1 of the 2019 season, McVay’s offense should pick up where it left off.”