(03-04-2022, 08:59 AM)Bullseye Wrote:

(03-04-2022, 01:20 AM)TheO-LineMatters Wrote: Agreed. It may not be meaningless, but people need to distinguish between a speed receiver and a receiver who gets separation via great route running. One is not superior to the other. Cooper Kupp and Tyreek Hill are two completely different types of players. Both are great NFL players. One consistently moves the chains by getting 10-20 yard catches on the regular and the other is a big play guy who can break an 80 yard touchdown. We need either, preferably one of each. I don't care which order we get them in. I said it before and I'll say it again, I would draft 3 WR's from this class. I take a WR at #33, I take another with one of our 3rd round picks and I take another with one of our 7th rounders. I'm taking a great route runner, a speed WR and another that I have a good feeling about in the final round. They don't all have to be speed guys.

It's not just that.

A fast 40 yard dash does not even mean you can get open or catch when you do get open.

One of the guys who held the record for the fastest 40 yard time was John Ross, who was drafted 9th overall by the Bengals not too long ago, after he ran a 4.22 40.

But he was widely considered a bust with Cincy, and is now with the Giants, making little impact with them.

Why?

Because pure speed is only part of the whole equation.

If you don't have the upper body strength and short space quickness to avoid or escape the jam at the LOS, you quickly can become a non factor on plays where QBs typically have 2.5-3 seconds to get rid of the ball.

One of the things that made Jimmy Smith so great is he had the ability to make every route look the same.  Often a DB didn't know what kind of route he was running, and an in route looked no different than a go route at the point.  That ability causes the split second of hesitation needed to create separation either deep or underneath.   If you don't have the body control or change of direction ability, you can't create that hesitation required to create the separation, making it harder for you to make the play as the receiver/easier for the DB to make the play.

This dynamic doesn''t just apply to receivers.

The term "workout warrior," exists for a reason.  Teams that place too much emphasis on combine results at the expense of the film pay the price.  (see Mike Mamula.)

Now there are receivers that have the complete package-the blazing 40 time, the size, physicality, route running, etc. (or at least enough of the complete package to be good player).  Guys like Moss, Megatron, Joey Galloway, James Lofton are some that leap to mind.  If you can find guys with the whole package great.  

But the moral of the story is not to overemphasize these combine results.  They give you a piece of the puzzle, but not the entire picture.