• Top Slot Receivers Nfl
• Top Slot Receivers In Nfl

If there was a bright spot on the Jacksonville Jaguars’ offense last year it was second year receiver Dede Westbrook. While his 717 yards didn’t quite hit the 1,000-yard mark, he led the team in receiving and hauled in the most receiving touchdowns of the Jags’ group with five.

Throughout the 2018 season he also flashed his versatility to play from various receiver positions and proved to be a solid threat from the slot due to his run after the catch ability. His efforts certainly didn’t go unnoticed by some analysts in the nation like our comrade Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire, who listed Westbrook as the NFL’s 11th best slot receiver in his recent rankings.

When watching Jacksonville’s 2018 passing offense, two things are abundantly clear — Jaguars receivers had one heck of a time with consistent production with Blake Bortles and Cody Kessler throwing the ball all over the place, and the acquisition of Nick Foles was a necessity to give those receivers any chance of improvement. Among those receivers, Westbrook may have the most potential, as he brought in 59 slot receptions on 83 targets for 646 yards and five touchdowns. Not bad for a second-year receiver who’s never had a lot of help from his quarterbacks at the NFL level.

Westbrook uses nimble feet and an impressive catch radius to make contested catches, and he has a good knack for getting open in zones. His drop rate was a problem at times, but with a credible quarterback at the helm, Westbrook could be a rising star in a big hurry.

In fact, entering his 17th NFL season, he is still one of the league’s very best in the slot. Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar ranked the top 11 slot receivers in the NFL and he still comes in. Ranking top 10 WRs for 2020 NFL season: Michael Thomas tops list, Odell Beckham Jr. Set for bounce-back year. As Brady has shown a propensity to favor slot receivers and shorter, quicker routes.

Farrar basically echoed what we’ve been saying all year, and that’s the fact that upgrading the quarterback position could help Westbrook. Nick Foles, who isn’t necessarily elite, certainly should be just that, and it’s showing in the early stages of the summer as he and the receivers had a strong showing in minicamp and offseason training activities. Now, all that is left is to have the same success when the pads go on.

With Chris Conley having the abilities to play at the X-receiver spot and DJ Chark having the ability to play the Y-receiver spot like Westbrook, it’s possible offensive coordinator John DeFilippo will utilize Westbrook in the slot often this season, but ultimately time will tell. Regardless as to where he plays though, it wouldn’t be shocking if he got closer to the 1,000-yard mark — or possibly eclipse it this season.

A few years back, when I asked Doug Baldwin — one of the pre-eminent slot receivers of the last decade — about the importance of the position, he summed it up pretty well.

Top Slot Receivers Nfl

“The slot receiver’s kind of the quarterback of the receivers,” he said in 2015. “More so because the slot receiver has more responsibilities in terms of reading coverages and different adjustments based on what coverages you’re seeing. It’s a lot more complicated. … You have to know a lot more. You have to stay within the confines and the framework of the offense — you have a lot of freedom because you have a little bit more space, but at the same time, your job is usually to get someone else open, or to get open on a crucial down where it’s one-on-one. You have to be versatile, and you have to understand how your route goes into the concept, based on the different coverages you can see.”

10. Adam Humphries 9. Golden Tate 8. Dante Pettis 7. Cooper Kupp 6. Jarvis Landry 5. Julian Edelman 4. Adam Thielen 3. JuJu Smith-Schuster 2. Antonio Brown 1. Tyreek Hill

It was an apt description in 2015, and though Baldwin has retired, the role of the slot receiver is quite similar to what it was then — and in 2019, one could argue that it’s even more important now. Three- and four-receiver sets are now the norm in the NFL, which means that teams will have double slot packages in which big and small receivers work together. And there’s no shame to the position — it’s not just for the Wes Welkers of the world anymore. Guys who can win outside just fine find themselves in the slot quite frequently, and you’ll find a few names that will rank highly on our upcoming list of outside receivers on this list as well.

Other Top 11 lists: Tight ends Centers Guards Offensive tackles Edge defenders Interior defensive linemen Linebackers Safeties Outside cornerbacks Slot defenders

So, here are the 11 best slot receivers in the NFL as we head into the 2019 season.

When watching Jacksonville’s 2018 passing offense, two things are abundantly clear — Jaguars receivers had one heck of a time with consistent production with Blake Bortles and Cody Kessler throwing the ball all over the place, and the acquisition of Nick Foles was a necessity to give those receivers any chance of improvement. Among those receivers, Westbrook may have the most potential, as he brought in 59 slot receptions on 83 targets for 646 yards and five touchdowns. Not bad for a second-year receiver who’s never had a lot of help from his quarterbacks at the NFL level.

Top Slot Receivers In Nfl

Westbrook uses nimble feet and an impressive catch radius to make contested catches, and he has a good knack for getting open in zones. His drop rate was a problem at times, but with a credible quarterback at the helm, Westbrook could be a rising star in a big hurry.