Wide receiver is the least valuable position to NFL teams in terms of draft capital. Plain and simple. With the abundance of talented receivers coming into the league ever year, the ease with which they can be found, and the relative lack of impact they have on offenses with a good quarterback, only the best of receivers should be taken with a top pick. And by the best receivers I’m talking about truly elite receiving threats, not just No. 1 targets. Even Laquon Treadwell, as talented and well-rounded of a prospect as he is, isn’t worth a Top 10 pick. That is why I question when Tyler Boyd is placed in the first round conversation.
Boyd isn’t a bad player by any means. I’m actually quite a big fan. However, his value is being overstated. Here are 5 plays to show you why.
(Not) Creating Separation
Tyler Boyd’s route running is the most interesting thing about him because it is both good and bad at the same time. His nuance as a route runner is outstanding. His feet, hips, and head work in unison as well as just about any receiver I’ve seen this class. As you can see from the play above, that gives him the ability to shake corners rather easily. That is, as long as they don’t have any sort of recovery speed. Boyd was able to beat Desmond King, who is only an average athlete, here because King bit exceptionally hard on double move. What you see after Boyd makes his second break here, though, is what constantly limits him as a route runner. His ability to plant his foot and explode out of a break in the route is painfully bad. So bad that it takes one of the most technically proficient route runners in the class and makes him a below average route runner. Even more so in the NFL than in college, Boyd is going to be forced to consistently win at the catch point because he can’t be counted on to break free as a route runner.
Boxing Out
Tyler Boyd boxes out corners from making a play on the ball the same way the NBA big men box out to pull down a rebound. It’s pretty fun to watch on a consistent basis. It seems as though Boyd’s struggles as a route runner have forced him to develop the understanding of how to position himself to go along with his natural body control. This play not be the best example, but I chose it because it shows the technique that Boyd uses. It’s very similar to how a linebacker works his shoulder across a block to keep one arm free. Off the snap Boyd first works towards the inside of the field, which puts him between the quarterback and the corner, and then breaks upfield once he gets inside of the numbers. That allows him to completely shut the cornerback off from the ball, rather than giving him a lane to jump the pass from inside. It is this understanding and execution that allows Boyd to consistently make tough catches in traffic.
Finding the Soft Spot
Being able to read a zone and sit down in the soft spot is an essential tool for zone beating wide receivers to have, as you might expect. Boyd does this very well. Since he rarely is able to separate from corners in man coverage, these are really the only occasions where Boyd has open space around him when he catches a pass. He has an incredible feel for how the defenders on the defense are interacting within the zone and he knows how to react to their movements. In the play above he gets past the underneath coverage and senses the safety coming forward, so, rather than pushing farther upfield, he just slightly turns inside. Part of that is due to the pass from the quarterback, but Boyd’s understanding of the zone on this play allows him to stay open longer than he would have otherwise.
Bringing Down Everything
Boyd’s ability to reel in passes that come anywhere close to his body is yet another tool he has to combat his poor separation ability. He doesn’t have the explosive leaping ability that many catch point demons in the NFL do, but he has the body control and strong hands to make up for it. Boyd isn’t an exceptionally big receiver, either. He weighs only 200 pounds for someone who stands at 6’2″. His ability to track and adjust to passes mid-flight is just too much for most cornerbacks to handle, though. Add on top of that his incredibly strong hands and you have a menace at the catch point. This is just another example of Boyd working through his athletic limitations with a natural feel for the position.
YAC, YAC, YAC
Sticking with the theme of the post, Boyd’s ability as an open field runner isn’t due to his athleticism, but rather mostly due to his ability to manipulate defenders. Now, I’m not going to completely defame Boyd’s athletic ability. He does have enough speed and lateral agility to be somewhat of a threat in the open field, but he maximizes that ability with his nuance as an open field runner. In the play above, Boyd does a great job of not getting up field too fast. Instead he waits for his blocker to create a hole and he shoots through it for an extra few yards. If Boyd had taken a more direct approach to this play, he is likely tackled for a 6 or 7 yard gain. Instead he manages to get 12 or 13 and pick up the first down. As an open field runner at least, Boyd is very similar to Jarvis Landry. Neither have great athleticism, but they use other methods to be threats after the catch.
There’s a lot to like about Tyler Boyd. He can be a threat for an NFL team, but he isn’t going to be an offense’s No. 1 threat. Hell, he’s even going to struggle to succeed as a boundary receiver at the next level. His skill-set just lends itself to being a secondary threat for a passing attack as a “big slot” receiver. There isn’t anything wrong with that. That type of player just isn’t a first round pick, or even an early second round pick. The top flight category of wide receiver prospects should be reserved for dynamic playmakers who can transform a passing attack.
That’s just not who Tyler Boyd is.
Anthony Chiado
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