Split End ~ Mitchell Mathews ~ Brigham Young
Cougars ~ 6054/222
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.
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.
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
Catch Point Capacity: Phenomenal. I am of course obliged to squint and thus to Make Allowances for The Competition, but Mathews is a freaking Vacuum. His WingSpan, Tracking & Timing, and Hands are incredible.
He's got Hall of Fame Height, Hall of Fame WingSpan, remarkable Speed, and stunning Fluidity and Ricochet for a Player of his Height. And even allowing for The Competition, he exhibits exceptional Field Vision and Routing.
At the CatchPoint, he sucks...which is to say that he sucks everything into his hands pretty much like a Black Hole.
He's 25, because he burned 2 Years as a Missionary ~ Silly Christians ~ and for that I must dock'm a Round.
But all things considered, his Potential dramatically outweighs his Cost,
Grateful Thanks, as always, for the crucial Work done by the folks at Draft BreakDown!!
Market Value UFA!! | Yankee Grade 2nd/3rd Round |
None of this is even remotely a Complaint, mind you, but rather a Warning!! Caveat Emptor!!