Bills think big on WRs
It’s a good time to be a big wide receiver.
Randy Moss, Terrell Owens, Braylon Edwards, Plaxico Burress and Roy Williams are among the ever growing list of tall targets who are terrorizing NFL defenses. They have become perennial All-Pros and set the standard for those who follow.
Their impact on the game is not lost on Texas wideout Limas Sweed.
“Seeing those guys have success makes me excited because some of those guys I’ve looked up to growing up and now it’s my time,” he said Friday.
“It’s my time to show the NFL and the world what I can do.”
Sweed is part of a bumper crop of big receivers attending the NFL Scouting Combine. The position is deep enough that some talent will be found beyond the first round.
That’s good news for the Buffalo Bills, who desire a wide receiver with size this offseason. While their preference is to grab a receiver in free agency, they won’t pass on an opportunity to draft a quality pass catcher if he fits what they are looking for.
“It’s a good group,” Tom Modrak, Bills’ vice president of college scouting, said Friday at the Indianapolis Convention Center. “The part of our job is to make sure we get the right value on guys at the right time. They always look better if you get them at the right price. If you over-price them, they never quite live up to that. If you take them at the right price, then they fit in better.”
The Bills want a guy to complement top receiver Lee Evans, who faces many double teams because there is no one on the opposite side that strikes fear in defenses. Their four best receivers are under 6-foot, so a big guy can create matchup problems and be a force in the red zone.
Sweed, Oklahoma’s Malcolm Kelly, Michigan State’s Josh Thomas and Indiana’s James Hardy lead the pack of receivers that stands between 6-2 and 6-4 and weighs over 200 pounds. They also have the skill to go with that size.
At least two Web sites have the Bills taking Kelly with the 11th overall pick, which intrigues him.
“That would be a real good thing,” said Kelly, a junior who averaged 16.8 yards on a team-high 49 catches. “Especially [playing with Evans] would be a nice 1-2 punch. The funny thing is I don’t have an interview with the Buffalo Bills. But I was talking to Jay Cutler, he’s down [in Atlanta] training where I am. The Denver Broncos didn’t interview him the year he got drafted, so you never know.”
You also never know what a receiver will do in his first year in the NFL. Evans had a slow start as a rookie before coming on late in the season.
There are exceptions. Moss (1998), New Orleans’ Marques Colston (2006) and Detroit’s Calvin Johnson (last season) excelled right away as rookies. But for the most part receivers tend to struggle early because they have to navigate a steep learning curve.
“I think part of it is they have so much to do by way of new systems, the new terminology, the new way of running routes, the coverages that they’re going to be exposed to that sometimes, and we kid about it early on particular, the last thing they’re thinking about is catching the ball — which is the most important thing — because they’ve got so much on their plate,” Modrak said. “Some guys adapt quicker, but it’s not just ‘Hey go down 15 [yards] and turn around and catch it.’ There’s a whole lot of stuff, plus the guys on the other side are a lot better than they are used to be day in and day out.”
With many big receivers, how they run corresponds to how high they get drafted. Modrak said teams can’t fall into the trap of putting too much stock on 40-yard dash times, but having speed doesn’t hurt. A receiver’s ability to beat press coverage and separate from defenders is also key to early success. Sweed believes he can do it all.
“My greatest strength is I can go get the ball,” he said. “Whether it’s the deep ball or it’s across the middle I can go get it. I’m not afraid to take a hit.”
Kelly added that when guarded by smaller cornerbacks, any good receiver with his height and weight has to take advantage of his physical assets to win those matchups.
“You got to use technique, but when you’re big and physical you just kind of plow them out of the way like you see Plaxico Burress doing all the time,” he said. “You use that to the best of your ability when it comes down to going against those smaller corners. You let them come in and think they are going to jam you, and you just move them out of the way.”
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