Best College Slot Receivers 2020

Slot
  1. Hunter Renfrow has graded out as one of the best slot receivers in the league and he makes them a much better and consistent offense. If rookie receivers Henry Ruggs III and Bryan Edwards can continue to improve with Nelson Agholor rotating in to spell them, this package should only see more snaps as the season goes along.
  2. Top 10 slot receivers in the class of 2021. The best Y-tight end prospects going into the 2020 football season. Discuss some of the differences we should expect to see in college.

Best Slot Receivers

The 2020 college football season is fast approaching and players will be allowed back on campus for summer workouts starting June 8. That said, let’s take a look at the Georgia wide receivers, perhaps the most exciting position to watch for the Bulldogs in 2020.

Best College Slot Receivers 2020 Draft

Best College Slot Receivers 2020

In the 2019 NFL season, per Sports Info Solutions, there were 19,933 total quarterback dropbacks. Against those dropbacks, NFL defenses put four defensive backs on the field just 18% of the time (3,579 snaps), while nickel defense (with five defensive backs) ruled the league by far with 59% of all snaps (11,780). And if you want to know how much the NFL isn’t a base defense league anymore, consider this: Defenses lined up in dime coverage (six defensive backs on the field) on 20.9% of total dropbacks (4,091), which means that teams played more dime defense than base defense. The Seahawks were the only team to play base defense more than 50% of the time (67%), and the Cardinals finished second at 37%.

All this is to say that unless you’re the Seahawks, you’d better have some top-level slot defenders if you want to put a credible pass defense out there in a league where offenses are implementing more kinds of receiver sets and route combinations than ever before.

And it’s not as if the skill sets required to be a slot defender are the same as those for an outside cornerback. You might be up against a 6-foot-5, 250-pound tight end on first down who can body you right out of the paint, and on the next play, you may have to deal with a small, speedy option-route receiver whose job is to juke you right out of your shoes. And as Richard Sherman once told me in his Seattle days, the thing about playing outside cornerback is that the boundary is your friend. That’s not the case when you’re in the slot, where you’re defending in space pretty much all the time.

So, which slot defenders were the most effective and valuable to their teams in 2019, and thus should be set up to do the same in 2020? With help from Pro Football Focus’ metrics, and a whole lot of tape study, here’s one list. To avoid small sample-size results, each of these defenders played at least 50% of their snaps in the slot.

Mike Hilton Chris Harris Jr. Jourdan Lewis Tramon Williams Mackensie Alexander Nickell Robey-Coleman Marlon Humphrey D.J. Hayden Brian Poole K’Waun Williams Tyrann Mathieu

The 2020 college football season is fast approaching and players will be allowed back on campus for summer workouts starting June 8.

Slot

That said, let’s take a look at the Georgia wide receivers, perhaps the most exciting position to watch for the Bulldogs in 2020.

This is not a depth chart projection, but a look at who we project to see the most snaps.

Draft

Best College Slot Receivers 2020 2021

Pickens (6-3, 190), from Hoover, Alabama, is one of the best returning receiver in college football and will be heavily relied upon by new Wake Forest transfer QB Jamie Newman and for good reason. As a freshman in 2019, Pickens caught 49 passes for 727 yards and 8 touchdowns, which earned him Coaches’ Freshman All-SEC Team honors.

Robertson, (6-0, 190) from Savannah, Georgia, is a transfer from the University of California in 2018 and hasn’t been able to find much a rhythm as a Bulldog. However, we know he has talent and even received Freshman All-American honors in his time with Cal, so look for his speed on the inside to be a huge factor for the Bulldogs in 2020.

Slot Receivers In The Nfl

Assuming Blaylock (6-1, 195) returns from an ACL tear in 2019, he will be competing for the starting slot-receiver position with Robertson. Before his injury, Blaylock, from Marietta, Georgia, was having a solid freshman season, catching 18 passes for 310 yards and 5 touchdowns in 12 games. Most notably, Blaylock averaged over 17 yards per reception and contributed to special teams as punt/kick returner.

Best College Slot Receivers 2020 2021

Best

Landers (6-5, 200), from St. Petersburg, Florida, should see time on the outside opposite George Pickens. Especially in goal line situations where his length creates match-up problems with virtually anyone who covers him. That being said, Landers will have to show route-running and catching improvement if he wants to contribute. His three catches versus Baylor in the Sugar Bowl shows he is headed in the right direction.

Best College Slot Receivers 2020 Stats

Jackson (6-0, 200,) from Fort Valley, Georgia, started the Bulldogs’ first game at Vanderbilt last season and caught two passes for 31 yards until exiting early with a hand injury that derailed the rest of his 2019 season. Georgia coaches were confident enough to tab Jackson as a starter early on, so, assuming his hand injury is no longer a factor, he should be competing for the slot position with Robertson and Blaylock this summer.

NEXT: Who else could we expect to catch some passes this year?

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