Flanker ~ Kenny Bell ~ Nebraska CornHuskers 6012/198
Split Ends are usually the bigger, taller WideOuts who line up in the X Position, on the Line of Scrimmage.
SlotBacks are usually the quicker, smaller WideOuts who line up at the Y Position, off the Line.
FlankerBacks are usually the faster WideOuts who line up at the Z Position, off the Line.
The Split End prototype would be about 6030/225 or so.
The Flanker prototype would be about 6000/200 or so.
The SlotBack prototype would be about 5010/195 or so.
However a given Coach chooses to deploy the Soldiers at his disposal is of course entirely up to him, and most WideOuts will see Snaps at multiple Positions and in multiple Alignments, but I believe that it is valuable to categorize WideOuts in terms of classic Skill Sets, to better define the differences in the kind of Impact they might wield at the next level.
This is how I break things down when I'm evaluating Split Ends, Flankers, and SlotBacks:
Separation: Getting Open. This encompasses Combat Skills & Fluidity to beat Press, Acceleration out'f the Blocks, Fluidity and Ricochet in navigating Traffic, Route Running Precision, the capacity to deceive Defenders, and Field Vision for Timing Seems and Open Zones. All other Aspects of a WideOut's Job Description are dwarfed by this one.
Catch Point Capacity: In Transit or Contested: Hands, WingSpan, Vertical Agility, Combat Skills, and Timing.
Navigation: How well he Navigates the Field after the Catch: Power, Agility, Acceleration, Long Speed, and Field Vision.
Broken down into SubCategories, it'd go something like this:
Separation
* Combat Skills
* Fluidity
* Acceleration
* Ricochet
* Routing
* Deception
* Field Vision
Catch Point Capacity
* Timing
* Combat Skills
* Vertical Agility
* Hands
* WingSpan
Navigation
* Power
* Fluidity
* Ricochet
* Acceleration
* Long Speed
* Field Vision
Catch Point Capacity: Impressive and trending towards Exceptional and potentially Excellent. Bell's Combat Skills surely need Work, as noted, and his Hands can be occasionally FootBall-Retardant, but his Vertical Agility is extraordinary, and his Tracking & Timing are phenomenal. I strongly suspect that all he needs is an equally savvy QuarterBack.
Navigation: Phenomenal. Exceptional Ricochet in Transition. Tremendous Fluidity. Extraordinary Acceleration. Shocking Core Power. Above all: sensational Field Vision and a relentless Motor. An enormous Threat every time.
Blocking: Bonus Round!! Wow!! Despite his raw Combat Skills, Bell is simply a phenomenal Blocker, consistently exhibiting extraordinary Core Power and a deliciously savage Appetite for Carnage!!
This is a guy flying miles Below The Radar because of unremarkable Statistics at Nebraska. It's truly astonishing that that can continue to happen, Year after Year, but I'm not complaining: It provides scintillating Drama, as I and those who discovered Bell well before I did wonder if the League is going to wake up before the Bell rings next Thursday!!
It happens every Year, it seems, and I love it.
I believe that Kenny Bell is an Intelligent, Dedicated, and Driven Savage who is Talented, who is Brilliant, and who is going to eclipse, by a Light Year or two, not only the Statistical Impact of many Prospects drafted long before'm in the upcoming 2015 Draft, but who is also going to render an Impact, through his savagely inspiring, Raise The Roof Blocking, by his fanatical Attention to Detail, and by his natural Leadership, far above and beyond that which most dare expect.
I believe that he is about as Plug & Play as they come, I believe that he'll be starting by the end of September if his Coaches are smart, and I believe that he'll make an major Impact in his Team's Locker Room before September even arrives.
Kenny Bell's potential Impact is seismic.
And he is dramatically underrated.
Grateful Thanks, as always, for the crucial Work done by the folks at Draft BreakDown!!
5th/6th Round Market Value | Yankee Grade 1st/2nd Round |
This is not is even remotely a Complaint, mind you, but rather a Warning: Caveat Emptor!!