SlotBack ~ Trey Quinn ~ Southern Methodist Mustangs ~ 5112/204
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. Big. Chain Movers and Red Zone Targets.
The Flanker prototype would be about 6000/200 or so. Fast. Big Play Threats.
The SlotBack prototype would be about 5010/195 or so.Quick. Chain Movers.
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 all WideOuts:
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.
Yards After Catch are well and fine, but it seems to me that 90% of the Value of a Flex End and any WideOut is getting open and catching the Ball. Anyone who's read my Work extensively knows that I consider Blocking to be the Heart & Soul of FootBall, but that is a philosophical position, and I recognize that with most Philosophies, where it comes to Wide Receivers and Flex Ends...it's just Gravy. And so is Yards After Catch: Moving The Chains is What Wins.
Chunk Yardage: An highly overrated Aspect of the Game, I believe, so much so that in fact I didn't even include it in 2016. It is not a negligible Aspect of the Game, so I'm bringing it back, but getting open, catching the Ball, and Moving the Chains are far more crucial to a Team's Success, I believe, than making Splash Plays and getting on ESPN HighLights Reels. Power, Fluidity, Ricochet, Speed, Combat Skills, and Processing Speed/Field Vision all play into Chunk Yardage.
Blocking: It was a Mistake to leave this Aspect ~ my very favorite Aspect of FootBall ~ out'f 2016's Flex End Reports, and I'm very happy to correct that Mistake, evermore. Blocking of course comes down to Power, Agility, Frame, Combat Skills, Processing Speed, and Motor, and further breaks down into In Line Blocking and Open Field Blocking.
Broken down into SubCategories, it'd go something like this:
Separation
* Combat Skills
* Fluidity
* Acceleration
* Ricochet
* Routing
* Deception
* Field Vision
Catch Point Capacity
Catch Point Capacity
* Timing
* Combat Skills
* Vertical Agility
* Hands
* WingSpan
Chunk Yardage
* Power
* Fluidity
* Ricochet
* Speed
* Combat Skills
* Field Vision
Blocking
* Power
* Agility
* Frame
* Combat Skills
* Processing Speed
* Motor
Separation: 75. Quinn's Acceleration, Speed, Ricochet, and Fluidity are uniformly mediocre, but his Combat Skills against Press Coverage are excellent, and his Route Running Repertoire and his mastery of Route Running nuances are sensational. He's the kind of Player who barely gets open yet consistently gets open.
Catch Point Capacity: 90. Marginal WingSpan, but phenomenal Tracking & Timing, excellent Combat Skills, and enormous, awesome Hands. Quinn is incredibly consistent and reliable, and always has been.
Chunk Yardage: 60. Not Athletic, but Strong and with excellent Field Vision.
Blocking: 50. Marginal WingSpan, but impressive Power and excellent Combat Skills.
The funny thing is that he appears now as he appeared in 2014, which is to say a very mediocre Athlete.
Huge Fan of the guy, of course. Trey Quinn is my kind of Prospect: Extremely short on Talent yet extremely long on Intelligence and Drive. The sort of guy who consistently beats guys far more talented.
Ceiling? UFA, baby!! No Speed, no Fluidity, no Height, and no WingSpan!! Get ready to start flippin' burgers, kid!!
Floor? Warrior!! 2nd/3rd Round. No talent?? No problem!! I could swing and miss by a mile on this one, but Quinn simply gets open, consistently and reliably, because he's clearly invested thousands of hours in Time & Training in order to master the thousand nuances of Route Running ~ and because his Instincts are consequently awesome ~ and, ostensibly limited by short Height and shorter WingSpan, nevertheless comes down with the Ball with incredible consistency and reliability at the Catch Point, thanks to awesome Combat Skills, Tracking & Timing, and Hands.
Trey Quinn, it seems to me, is a very strong bet, despite being above that whole "having talent" thing, to consistently get open, consistently catch the Ball, consistently rack up good Yardage, and consistently Move The Chains.
Risk/Reward Ratio? Phenomenal. Intelligence and Drive, baby.
"Mister Irrelevant", my ass.
Pay the man.
Thank you so very much, Draft BreakDown, without whom my Work would be virtually impossible.
Market Value #256 | Yankee Grade 2nd/3rd Round |
Please also note, Fellow FootBall Fiends: These CyberScouting Reports are not intended as predictions of success or failure, but as assessments ~ ludicrously amateurish assessments ~ of potential success. FootBall is a rough and often unfair business, and many a worthy Prospect has fallen far short of his potential, sometimes not because of his own failings, but because of those of coaching, scheme, timing...or because huge investments were made on other Prospects.
In other words: If any of my Super Dooper Deeper Sleepers ever fail to fulfill their vast potential, I’m confident that it goes without saying that it wasn’t their fault…or mine!!...Yes, I think that I'm being funny.
In other words: Caveat Emptor, Fellow FootBall Fiends!!
Enter at your own risk!!