10 best route runners in NFL

[Hawkeye0202]

 

[Aven8]

Aikman says Cooper is the best route runner that he has seen.

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!

 

[beware_d-ware]

I'd agree with this. DK Metcalf is projected to go top 10 in some circles, and he is nowhere near the finished product Coop is.

 

[BotchedLobotomy]

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.

 

[AsthmaField]

If this is the case how do you rate dak?

His routes aren’t very good. He rounds them off.

 

[chagus]

If this is the case how do you rate dak?

WR OP

Asks about Dak.

Dude.

 

[Proof]

WR OP

Asks about Dak.

Dude.

For real. Not to mention dak had provably the best stretch of his career once coop arrived

 

[HungryLion]

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.

I hear you on that. There really isn’t an excuse for a receiver to be a poor route runner, after they’ve been in the pros for several years.

That being said, a guy like Dez is a different type of athlete than Cooper. Cooper’s lateral agility and quickness is special. It’s why he was a top 5 pick. Not many games have agility and quickness on his level, physically.

Dez was a different type of player. Explosive, powerful, physical. He didn’t have the same type or build and quickness as Cooper. Their strengths are different.

 

[CowboyRoy]

That route there was sweet by Amari...

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

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.

 

[CowboyRoy]

I hear you on that. There really isn’t an excuse for a receiver to be a poor route runner, after they’ve been in the pros for several years.

That being said, a guy like Dez is a different type of athlete than Cooper. Cooper’s lateral agility and quickness is special. It’s why he was a top 5 pick. Not many games have agility and quickness on his level, physically.

Dez was a different type of player. Explosive, powerful, physical. He didn’t have the same type or build and quickness as Cooper. Their strengths are different.

Dez wasnt explosive he was just big and strong.

 

[Setackin]

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.

 

[AsthmaField]

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.

Like Cooper said, route running is, in large part, making the defender think you’re going where you’re not. A head bob. Leaning left and then cutting right. Drifting inside away from the sideline and then cutting hard outside. It is about fooling the DB. The major advantage the WR has is knowing where he’s going when the guy covering him doesn’t.

It’s not just out jumping or out running the defender. Jerry Rice was probably the lesser athlete in a large percentage of his matchups.

Another big part of the route running equation is being where the QB expects you to be. If the play calls for the WR to go 12 yards and cut out to the sideline... then he doesn’t need to do it at 11 or 13 yards. Not being precise there can make a QB’s throw look off. It’s why you’re not supposed to round off your routes. Go 12 and make a hard, sharp cut, staying at that depth. Repeat it over and over in practice at 12 and do it precisely at 12 in the game.

There is a lot that goes into it. Coming back to the QB on a button hook. If the WR turns and stops his feet without drifting back towards the ball, it creates an opportunity for the defender to jump in front of him and make a play on the ball. A small thing that can make the difference between a first down or an interception.

There really isn’t a good reason for a WR not to do the little things, so like you, I don’t understand why they all don’t do them. Dez was certainly capable of making sharp cuts but he would routinely round off his routes. I think he had issues of being at the correct depth and wouldn’t always come back for the ball (although at times he would do a really good job on that). He was strong on things like jump balls, fades and back shoulder throws.

IMO, a really strong position coach who demands sharp routes can make a big difference to a guy who tends to get lazy on his routes. Having a group of smart guys at the position helps as well.

I really like the group of guys Dallas has at the position now. They all pretty much run really good routes and they all seem to have good football IQ. Cooper, Gallup and Cobb are particularly good and they now have a good position coach. It should be fun watching them this year. I can’t wait.

 

[HungryLion]

Dez wasnt explosive he was just big and strong.

Dez was really explosive early in his career.

He was never quite the same after that foot injury.

 

[AsthmaField]

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.

Yeah, Gallup was one of the better route runners in his draft. So was Wilson for that matter.

 

[beware_d-ware]

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.

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.

 

[ItzKelz]

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.

Being a freakish athlete doesnt mean that you are quick. You are either quick or you are not and you need quickness to be a good route runner. No matter how hard Dez worked at his craft he was never going to be as quick in and out of routes as Amari. Its what separates the greats from the really goods of route running.

 

[Super_Kazuya]

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.

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.

 

[MWH1967]

Cooper, Gallop and Cobb with a full offseason are going to tear it up

Its been a while but, the smile is back.

 

[Seven]

Pretty good list although I’d put Coop first.

His route running is absolutely elite. Among the best I’ve ever witnessed.

Diggs is good too though, not throwing shade his way... it’s just that Amari’s routes are rare.

The Bease could've blown half those dudes away.

Coop is crisp and very fluid. Best I've seen as well.

 

[glimmerman]

Yeah, Gallup was one of the better route runners in his draft. So was Wilson for that matter.

Cedrick Wilson.