10 best route runners in NFL

beware_d-ware said:

Part of it's technique, part of it's athletic ability. You need to have flexibility especially in your hips and ankles to cut hard and really break well, and that can't be taught.

These spider charts sum up the differences athletically pretty well. Cooper is fast and has great agility scores for his size (it's harder for tall players to cut as quickly as shorter ones). Dez was pretty stiff, but was huge and had unreal lower-body explosion that gave him his hops and some absolutely sick plant-and-go ability when he wanted to turn upfield for YAC.

https://www.mockdraftable.com/player/amari-cooper
https://www.mockdraftable.com/player/dez-bryant

The technique can be taught, but aside from differences in work ethic, it takes years to drill it down into muscle memory where you can do it without conscious effort. When you are gassed in the 4th, running a hurry-up two minute drill, and you see the QB throw the ball your way, you're not going to be thinking about your footwork drills.

Dez came out of a college Air Raid and had never really mastered the fundamentals by the time he left school. Coop went to Saban's NFL factory where they annually kick out players at all positions with military-grade technique (seriously - read the scouting reports this year. Jonah WIlliams? Great technique. Big Q? Great technique. Irv Smith? Great technique.), and he was no exception. So Coop came out with at least a 3 year head start on Dez technically.

It also comes down to a guy's mentality. Dez was always immature, but he was a freaking dawg when it came time to go up for a jump ball or bull a DB over for a first down. Coop doesn't have that same kind of fight in him, but I'll bet you $100 that he takes a lot better to coaching too.

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This kinda begs the question ........Dez vs Michael Irvin. Similar physicality and built but miles apart in results.

Pantone282C said:

I will continue to affirm that we already have our first round pick in Coop.

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Kellen Moore is my x-factor and will hopefully have a bunch of new wrinkles in the playbook that will accentuate Coop, Gallup, Cobb, and our TE’s (Zeke honorable mention).

Super_Kazuya said:

There is no “science” behind route running. It’s a buzz word that nobody said around here until the Cowboys hired Sanjay Lal and tried to scapegoat Dez for their inability to get production out of him with their dink and dunk offense. Then suddenly receivers were partitioned into neat little groups: “route runners”, “back shoulder fade catchers”, etc. When Dez was at his best, he was a great “route runner”. It’s impossible to be a great receiver and not be. It’s what they do.

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Fans have been talking about Dez not being a good route runner since he was a rookie. Even Romo had issues with Dez and his route running until he figured to just high point everything to Dez even when he is covered.

ItzKelz said:

Fans have been talking about Dez not being a good route runner since he was a rookie. Even Romo had issues with Dez and his route running until he figured to just high point everything to Dez even when he is covered.

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No they haven’t. It’s a buzzword, nothing more.

I’m guessing 70% of the fans on here have never even heard of Diggs, lol.

Fletch said:

Kellen Moore is my x-factor and will hopefully have a bunch of new wrinkles in the playbook that will accentuate Coop, Gallup, Cobb, and our TE’s (Zeke honorable mention).

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Yes, we don't need a new playbook, just some alterations.

Cebrin said:

Coop is a steal. What he did coming to a new team in such a short time is very understated. The Raiders are dumb with that move to me. We would not have made the playoffs without him.

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Not sure what they didn't like exactly, but he's ours now!
Could have been part of Gruden's clean sweep of the roster.

Aven8 said:

I believe him. I said it all season once we acquired him. Never saw him play that much since college but the kid is special. We got a steal!

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I saw him play every game and he was special just like Julio. Both played with their lights a little under the basket with the best D in college ball and run games to lead the teams. And the plus with Cooper is he can block because he was taught to and expected to at Bama.

The one thing I want to see with him is how does he perform under the pressure of being the Man? He had Crabtree in OAK for balance and when he arrived last season, they really weren't expecting a lot from him as WR's moving during the season do not do well with their new teams.

I didn't get the concern over this trade at all. If they'd not made it, they would be using that pick on a WR anyway and while there are several good ones in this draft, we know what Cooper is capable of doing. This really was another stroke of luck because they could have Watkins. I'd rather have one of the Ole Miss WR's or the kid from OU than Watkins.

When you consider this team could have either Lynch or Cook throwing to Watkins, luck is a very understated thing.

The biggest plus for me was I liked Cooper as more than just a player. No diva in him, just like Julio, but plenty of confidence.

CouchCoach said:

I saw him play every game and he was special just like Julio. Both played with their lights a little under the basket with the best D in college ball and run games to lead the teams. And the plus with Cooper is he can block because he was taught to and expected to at Bama.

The one thing I want to see with him is how does he perform under the pressure of being the Man? He had Crabtree in OAK for balance and when he arrived last season, they really weren't expecting a lot from him as WR's moving during the season do not do well with their new teams.

I didn't get the concern over this trade at all. If they'd not made it, they would be using that pick on a WR anyway and while there are several good ones in this draft, we know what Cooper is capable of doing. This really was another stroke of luck because they could have Watkins. I'd rather have one of the Ole Miss WR's or the kid from OU than Watkins.

When you consider this team could have either Lynch or Cook throwing to Watkins, luck is a very understated thing.

The biggest plus for me was I liked Cooper as more than just a player. No diva in him, just like Julio, but plenty of confidence.

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He's the real deal.

Pantone282C said:

He's the real deal.

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He is and he ended up in a good place and became an overnight sensation with the fans and is something we're not used to....quiet. When they're negotiating his new contract, I pity the reporter that tries to get anything remotely inflammatory from him. Cooper could have played back when they were just football players.

CouchCoach said:

He is and he ended up in a good place and became an overnight sensation with the fans and is something we're not used to....quiet. When they're negotiating his new contract, I pity the reporter that tries to get anything remotely inflammatory from him. Cooper could have played back when they were just football players.

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Puts on his uniform and game face and not necessarily in that order. On the field for one reason only - to win! Talk about focus!

Super_Kazuya said:

No they haven’t. It’s a buzzword, nothing more.

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Every single year going into the season we wondered if he was going to get better with his route running so we could use him all of the field so it was not so easy to double him. He never did get better so not surprising when he fell off. Love Dez like a step-cousin but it is what it is and fans saw it coming.

BotchedLobotomy said:

I’ve never understood the science of route running. It seems to be a technique that is 100% teachable. Why are some WRs so much better than others? Is it lack of effort? Why was Dez considered average at best at route running despite being a freakish athlete.

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Lazy.

DakPresgoat said:

Dez was really explosive early in his career.

He was never quite the same after that foot injury.

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Cooper is explosive. Dez is slow in comparison.

CowboyRoy said:

I swear that is the same song being played over and over again all day long. Every song on the radio sounds just like that. Music today is reaching new lows. Every decade the music gets worse and worse.

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Manufactured stars... about all it is now. Just sounds like someone rolled out of bed, and is too lazy to speak... but somehow gets it out. Just sounds so lazy, lol.

BotchedLobotomy said:

I’ve never understood the science of route running. It seems to be a technique that is 100% teachable. Why are some WRs so much better than others? Is it lack of effort? Why was Dez considered average at best at route running despite being a freakish athlete.

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It is teachable but they don't all have the same balance, frame, fluidness, flexibility and ability to turn their hips while maintaining speed, a problem some DBs have as well.

I saw a special feature Antonio Brown did as he was emerging as the premier WR, after spending time as the PR, just like Steve Smith, and it took him several years to really master the routes and using his head and shoulders to set up a DB one on one. It was really about the science of route running. His goal was to come out of the cut faster than when he went in and that takes a lot of practice and skill. Some just seem to have it naturally and others can never improve on it.

Irvin was a good route runner until they started calling the push offs on him. He was a big strong WR like Dez and they do not have that fluidness and flexibility receivers with slighter builds like Drew Pearson and Jerry Rice have.

zerofill said:

That route there was sweet by Amari...

Now the music in the video... not so much lol.

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Lol was number 2 on itunes the day it came out and was top 10 on the billboards chart. Meek Milly & Drake =

CowboyRoy said:

I swear that is the same song being played over and over again all day long. Every song on the radio sounds just like that. Music today is reaching new lows. Every decade the music gets worse and worse.

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It's the age gap. Your parents prolly said the same thing about your music

Setackin said:

Was Michael Gallup considered a good route runner coming out of college? That may be a reason why Dak and he have so many miss fires while Cooper and Dak seem like they’ve been together for a while.

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Gallup was considered a top 3 WR coming out of his draft and was seen as a good route runner, with nuance..whose good coming off the line. He has potential to be a lower tier number 1 honestly. Think like a Baldwin

BotchedLobotomy said:

I’ve never understood the science of route running. It seems to be a technique that is 100% teachable. Why are some WRs so much better than others? Is it lack of effort? Why was Dez considered average at best at route running despite being a freakish athlete.

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Body type is a big part of it. That is a list of some of the more slender star WRs. Most people on that list are 6’1 and under, many sub-6’0. Keenan Allen and Adam Thielen are 6’2. You’re not going to read too many articles about Diggs or Cooper trucking a linebacker like you would for Evans or Owens.

If you go back and look at route-related combine drills like 3 cone and 20 yard shuttles, bigger guys have below average times. Calvin Johnson, Julio Jones, DK Metcalf, Andre Johnson, Anquan Boldin (6’1 but 220), Dez Bryant.

Additionally, obnoxiously fast players also don’t have reputations for precise route running partly because they don’t need to for separation, and partly because they’re not asked to. How many times is Tyreek Hill asked to cut across the shallow middle and put a double move on a safety to get a 4 yard first down? I don’t think Desean Jackson has been asked to run a sticks route in his life.

Now, there are star players who aren’t 6’4, are not 225 lbs, and can’t run even 4.50 40’s... but are alltime producers simply because they’re route gods. But they’re not on this list because beating a guy 25 yards downfield is flashier than stuttering someone at the line of scrimmage. But you’re not convincing anyone that these guys routinely beat their man on pure route technique more often than Julian Edelman.

Antonio Brown, Julian Edelman, then everyone else.

Brown runs a 4.6 and is always open. Jerry rice stuff