Okay, so I’ve been wanting to do this for a while now, and I finally got around to it. I’m a huge NFL fan, and one of the things I love to do is rank players. It’s just something I enjoy, and it’s always fun to debate with others about who’s better than who.
So, I decided to rank the wide receivers in the NFL. Now, this is just my opinion, and I’m sure many of you will disagree with me, but that’s part of the fun, right? I spent a lot of time watching film, looking at stats, and just thinking about what makes a great wide receiver. It wasn’t easy, let me tell you. There are so many talented guys out there.
First, I made a big list of all the receivers I thought were worth considering. I probably had like 50 names on there to start. Then, I started watching games. Lots and lots of games. I wanted to see these guys in action, not just look at their numbers on a website. I paid attention to how they ran routes, how they caught the ball, what they did after the catch, all that stuff.
After watching a bunch of games, I started narrowing down my list. Some guys just didn’t make the cut. Maybe they weren’t consistent enough, or maybe they didn’t have that “it” factor I was looking for. It was tough, but I got it down to about 25 receivers.
Then came the really hard part: actually ranking them. I created several categories like Hands, Route Running, Speed, After the Catch, and Blocking. I rated each receiver in each category on a scale of 1 to 10. I spent hours tweaking the rankings, moving guys up and down. One day I’d think a guy was top 5, the next day I’d have him at 15. It was driving me crazy!
- Hands: How good is he catching the football? Does he drop passes often or does he has reliable hands?
- Route Running: Does he run good routes, and how is he coming out of breaks? Does his route running get him open?
- Speed: How fast is the receiver, and can he beat defenders with his speed?
- After the Catch: What is the receiver doing after the ball is in his hands? Is he making people miss, or going down at first contact?
- Blocking: This one might be overlooked but can be a huge part of the game. How is the receiver at blocking for his teammates?
Finally, I came up with a top 10 that I felt pretty good about. I won’t spoil it here, but let’s just say there were a few surprises, even for me. I shared my list with a few buddies, and we had some heated debates, which was exactly what I was hoping for. It got me thinking that it would be cool to share my rankings with more people and see what they think.
I learned a lot through this whole process. It’s not just about who’s the fastest or who has the best hands. It’s about the whole package. And it really made me appreciate how much talent there is in the NFL. These guys are incredible athletes. It’s just an awesome experience as a fan to appreciate and analyze all of these players.
Reflecting
I have been doing this for years, but this is the first time I actually tried to document the process. It is definitely a lot harder to do, but makes it more fun for me as I get to share my passion with others. I enjoy doing this, and hope to do it for other positions soon!