With the arrow pointing up on the former second-round pick, it's not an inconceivable notion that Pettis winds up among the NFL's best receivers overall after 2019, and not just out of the. Landry was near the top of ever category for slot receivers in 2016, and is clearly the cream of the crop when it comes to the position in today's NFL. Julian Edelman, New England Patriots. Here's the name many fans associate with slot receivers in the NFL. Cooper Kupp was NFL's most productive slot WR in 2019. Share this article 638 shares share tweet text. Pushing himself into the conversation as one of the best receivers in the league.
In 2019, 56.9% of receiver targets went to players lined up in the slot, up from 51.8% in 2016. It's fairly universal, too, rather than one or two outlier teams pumping up the numbers. Eighteen teams saw more than 55% of their wideout targets go to players in the slot, and only three (Tampa Bay, Dallas, and Carolina) ended with more passes out. 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.
Cooper Kupp has far outperformed his draft slot after being a third-round pick in 2017. In three seasons, he's already caught 196 passes for 2,596 yards and 21 touchdowns. He's one of 11 players in the NFL with at least 190 catches, 2,500 yards and 20 touchdowns in that span, and that's with missing nine games.
Kupp stayed healthy for all 16 games this season, putting together the best year of his young career thus far. He caught 94 of the 134 passes thrown his way, gaining 1,161 yards receiving with 10 touchdown catches.
He primarily lines up in the slot, but not all of his production came from that position. With the way the Rams offense moves its receivers around, he lined up all over the formation. That being said, most of yards came inside.
There wasn't a single receiver in the NFL with more yards from the slot this season, making Kupp the most productive in football
The peak of Kupp's season came in Week 8 when he torched the Bengals for 220 yards on seven catches. He beat man and zone coverage in that game, pushing himself into the conversation as one of the best receivers in the league.
Since then, Kupp never reached 100 yards again and only caught 36 passes for 369 yards in his final eight games. Had he posted a similar second half as his first eight games (58 catches, 792 yards), he would've had a good chance to make the Pro Bowl.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19785169/1192993283.jpg.jpg "2019")
Unfortunately, he cooled off and faded down the stretch as the Rams limited his playing time and went with more heavy packages on offense. That's not to take away from the season he had, but it could've been even more special for the third-year receiver.
Best Nfl Slot Receivers 2019
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.
'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
Best Slot Receivers Nfl 2019 Predictions
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.
There wasn't a single receiver in the NFL with more yards from the slot this season, making Kupp the most productive in football
The peak of Kupp's season came in Week 8 when he torched the Bengals for 220 yards on seven catches. He beat man and zone coverage in that game, pushing himself into the conversation as one of the best receivers in the league.
Since then, Kupp never reached 100 yards again and only caught 36 passes for 369 yards in his final eight games. Had he posted a similar second half as his first eight games (58 catches, 792 yards), he would've had a good chance to make the Pro Bowl.
Unfortunately, he cooled off and faded down the stretch as the Rams limited his playing time and went with more heavy packages on offense. That's not to take away from the season he had, but it could've been even more special for the third-year receiver.
Best Nfl Slot Receivers 2019
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.
'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
Best Slot Receivers Nfl 2019 Predictions
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.
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.
