SlotBack ~ Jamison Crowder ~ Duke Blue Devils 5082/185
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
Catch Point Capacity
* Timing
* Combat Skills
* Vertical Agility
* Hands
* WingSpan
Navigation
* Power
* Fluidity
* Ricochet
* Acceleration
* Long Speed
* Field Vision
Catch Point Capacity: Excellent, amazingly!! Of course Catch Point skills are about both Jump Balls on the one hand and Tracking and Timing in Transition on the other. What I find remarkable is that Crowder is competitive on Jump Balls, despite his diminutive size, because his Vertical Agility is terrific, his Hands are awesome, and his Tracking & Timing are simply phenomenal. As for Tracking & Timing in Transition ~ catching it In Stride ~ he is simply incredible.
Navigation: Exceptional. Crowder's only got mediocre Long Speed, mind you, and he's not exactly going be dragging three or four Defenders DownField with'm, but his combination of Field Vision, Fluidity, and Ricochet is amazing.
His Role at the next level will be limited to the Slot for the most part, of course, but in the 21st Century that is of course a full time Role...And I believe that the Chances are very high that Jamison Crowder will prove to be exceptional at it.
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!!