WR Speed

[One-If-By-Sea]

And a fifth: Efton Chism Speed.

Vrabel said that Chism and Hollins like to play games in the tub.

 

[n1997y]

I think the real difference is between timed speed and playing speed. It's one thing to run a 4.4 in shorts and a t shirt, and another to do it in a full uniform and pads. Then you have to take into account all of the football factors, leverage, separation, tracking the ball etc... Williams demonstrated that he had those abilities last season, and will get better with more experience. Defenses have to respect his speed or get burned, and ultimately that's what he adds to the unit as a whole. Yoo ooo u want to force defenses to have to defend as much area as possible, that opens the field up for everyone, and that space creates more opportunities for the offense.

Exactly. Except that I think Williams has not yet conclusively demonstrated that he has all the necessary abilities. That’s why his place on the squad is still an open question, with some indications that it may not be as solid as we would like. There still seems to be some question about his route running, perhaps leverage and separation. That’s what makes things interesting, as how much defenders having to respect his speed might help his separation is part of the questions remaining to be answered.

One of my questions in starting this thread was how much more do defenders have to respect his speed at 4.40 than the 4.45 of Palmer? Or the 4.44 of Pop Douglas? And intuitively it seems that whatever respect they give Pop’s 4.44 will help his separation on cuts and moves, so does that help Pop more than Williams even if Williams gets more respect for his speed? It’s a nice multi-variable situation.

 

[n1997y]

Vrabel said that Chism and Hollins like to play games in the tub.

TMI.

As long as they leave their kinks off the field they don’t matter.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

TMI.

As long as they leave their kinks off the field they don’t matter.

I am just repeating what Vrabel said.

 

[Brotherblues]

A slightly faster 40-yard dash by 0.1 seconds means about 2 feet of separation. Which in the NFL equates to about a mile.

 

[Triumph]

A slightly faster 40-yard dash by 0.1 seconds means about 2 feet of separation. Which in the NFL equates to about a mile.

For elite QBs single coverage is open.

 

[goheels22002]

One word: Ochocinco. Ochocinco was fast but could not read a defense.

In McDaniels' offense, the receivers need to read the defense and run the correct route to be where the QB expects them to be when he releases the ball. Drake Maye is in graduate school this summer learning how to call the right route tree based on what the defense shows him. The receivers then need to adjust to what's called at the line that will give them the advantage and leverage they need to be where the ball is going.

Vrabel is pushing the pace of the offense to look more like 2011 and 2012 when the Patriots averaged over 80 offensive plays/game. The raw speed of the receivers becomes less important than being in the right place at the right depth to draw the coverage to places on the field that opens up lanes or soft spots.

This group of receivers, so far, looks like an excellent group to get good at this in 2026. Even the slowest guys like Mack Hollins become great targets if everyone is doing their job in this offense.

 

[jimnance]

Playing speed is much different. Have you ever watched Jerry Rice pull away from guys? Guarantee a bunch of them were faster than Rice, he of the 4.71, maybe 4.6 on a good day 40 yard.

Wes Welker hit 4.65 in the 40. Jules hit 4.52.

One of the most important abilities is just outknowing your opponent. If you understand what they're trying to do, you'll know how to counter it. That's how game tape nerds like those guys made their living. They could look at how their defenders were set up and shake them off using that knowledge.

Quickness is more important than speed.
Straight-line speed w/o short area quickness, is almost useless.
That's whst made Tyreek Hill so great: he had both and knew how to use both effectively.
Too bad hes a scumbag human.
Also do you have moves? Shake n bake?
Jules had the shake n bake,the quickness and a bunch of other elite traits like his strength,toughness,intelligence and work ethic. So did Jerry Rice.
Straight 40 times are pretty worthless.
Edelman was a better wr than the vast majority of wrs who ran faster 40's.

 

[jimnance]

A slightly faster 40-yard dash by 0.1 seconds means about 2 feet of separation. Which in the NFL equates to about a mile.

That's not necessarily true.
A fast wr needs to have the play strength and toughness to get off jams but also needs moves. Great moves are more of an asset to getting separation than strsight- line speed

 

[n1997y]

That's not necessarily true.
A fast wr needs to have the play strength and toughness to get off jams but also needs moves. Great moves are more of an asset to getting separation than strsight- line speed

Yes, that’s where the factors like agility and lateral quickness and change of direction speed come into play to complicate the discussion. That 0.1 second or 2 feet gets lost in the shuffle pretty easily.

 

[n1997y]

One word: Ochocinco. Ochocinco was fast but could not read a defense.

In McDaniels' offense, the receivers need to read the defense and run the correct route to be where the QB expects them to be when he releases the ball. Drake Maye is in graduate school this summer learning how to call the right route tree based on what the defense shows him. The receivers then need to adjust to what's called at the line that will give them the advantage and leverage they need to be where the ball is going.

Vrabel is pushing the pace of the offense to look more like 2011 and 2012 when the Patriots averaged over 80 offensive plays/game. The raw speed of the receivers becomes less important than being in the right place at the right depth to draw the coverage to places on the field that opens up lanes or soft spots.

This group of receivers, so far, looks like an excellent group to get good at this in 2026. Even the slowest guys like Mack Hollins become great targets if everyone is doing their job in this offense.

Ocho is a great reference. And a very good example of what we might still be concerned about with Williams, or any other fast receiver.

Interesting to hear that DeGennaro flashed today partly because of his speed. Another burner on the roster is always nice!