Wes Welker – November 10, 2022
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Thursday, November 10, 2022
Wide Receivers Coach Wes Welker
(I wanted to ask you something that I was asking Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith. Have you seen receivers get seemingly as open, often wide open, as WR Jaylen Waddle and WR Tyreek Hill? Is it entirely because of their skills and defenses and safeties playing maybe back on them, and corners obviously, and giving up shorter routes? Are there other factors? What comes to your mind as a reason why they’re so open, so often?) – “I would say, first and foremost, the main reason is them. They’re the ones out there doing it, taking coaching points, all that stuff, but those guys are just different. It makes our job a lot easier. Where there can be a little bit of error with them, a lot of guys have to be more perfect, especially in the NFL, and all those different things, but the line of error for them is a little more than others. Obviously, we don’t want any – (we want to) have that line brought down as much as possible to get them open as much as possible, but at the end of the day, it comes down to their skillset and who they are and the way they play the game and all those different things. I think as the season goes on, all those details get really put down where we’re on it even more. So those yards of separation hopefully become more, even if it’s just a little bit. But at the end of the day, it’s them.”
(In addition to the obvious strengths of WR Tyreek Hill of straight-line speed and quickness, what are some of the other unique parts of his skillset that as a former receiver and wide receivers coach, we might find interesting?) – “I think first and foremost as a receiver, I think it’s your mindset and he definitely has that. Everything else is just about the details of things and being on top of all the assignments and the techniques and everything like that. But with him, he can run every route. Some of the stuff that we’re able to do just because of the skillset and who he is and all those different things, your imagination can go crazy as a coach in all the different things that that you could possibly do with that type of skillset and mindset and everything just kind of clashing together to be able to produce the way he is.”
(Off the field, is there something you’ve seen WR Tyreek Hill do or heard him say that sort of resonates with you and sort of illustrates that he’s more than just the guy who catches the ball and runs fast?) – “Yeah, I think if you watch his blocking, you don’t see guys leading the league in receiving and blocking the way that he’s blocking – the whole room really. We take a lot of pride in that, and he’s at the forefront of that. It makes my job a lot easier when your best player in the room is buying in and doing those type of things. It leads to team success.”
(Since fans are constantly asking, I have to ask you about WR Erik Ezukanma. How close is he to get to the point where you guys feel comfortable putting him in the lineup?) – “I feel like we’re comfortable with it, it’s more just kind of the scenario we’re in and the players that we have right now. We’re probably a little more comfortable with other guys right now. That’s no fault to Erik (Ezukanma) or anything else. He’s been working his tail off. It has nothing to do with him or anything else, it’s just where we’re at in the room and where other guys are. What’s the difference? Do we put somebody else down who’s been earning it the whole time? That’s a decision that we struggle with all the time, but right now, it’s more about him just continuing to get better and when the opportunity arises, being ready for that opportunity. But we don’t know when that’s going to happen. There are a lot of different factors that kind of go into that. I think there’s the gel, the team, the camaraderie the guys that are on the field, the guys have proved it on the field during a regular season. I don’t think it’s fair to Erik, or it’s fair to the room, or fair to anybody else to change it at this point. We’ll keep it rolling as is, and then he just has to know that if something were to happen, or anything else, that he’s got to be ready.”
(As a quick follow up if I may, do you have to have conversations with WR Erik Ezukanma to make sure he keeps his head up, particularly in the situation where you elevate WR Braylon Sanders from the practice squad over him for a game?) – “I think that was more position specific. If another position – he’s been learning the Z, and then we had the deal with River (Cracraft) where he came down with an illness and Braylon (Sanders) had been working X. Well, he was backing up X. There’s a lot of factors that kind of go into it, so it’s not just like, ‘Alright, well Erik, you’ve been working Z this whole time, now you’re going to play X.’ Well, that’s not fair. It’s not fair to Erik, it’s not fair to the team and all those different things. So there’s more factors to it than just switching a guy to a position and doing that. It’s nothing Erik is doing. It’s just the way it kind of played out that week. It was a Saturday deal and Braylon had been on top of his stuff. We felt comfortable with it and he was able to get in there and play some X that week.”
(WR Cedrick Wilson Jr. was involved for the first time in a long time. Can you talk about how he’s come along in this offense?) – “’Ced’ (Cedrick Wilson Jr.) has been awesome. He’s handled everything like a pro and just gone out and practiced and done what he needed to do. There’s going to be multiple times this year going forward where we’re going to need Ced to make plays for us. He’s been coming through for us and been a pro about it … I think at this point, Trent (Sherfield) has just played really, really well and he’s been on top of all of his assignments. When the ball has come his way, he’s made plays. So it’s kind of where we’re at right now, but we’re always trying to integrate all our best players and get them on the field as much as we can. We definitely want to do that with Ced, so when those opportunities arise, I know he’s going to be ready.”
(It seems like such a key element of this offense is the effort away from the ball and from where the pass actually goes. Do you see it that way? And then also, how do you cultivate a situation where you get such good effort on routes where the ball is not going to that particular route?) – “Yeah, but you don’t really know that. So the way I looked at every single play, it’s a matter of doing your job for anybody. If y’all are going to write a report, or write whatever, are you going to put your best into it? Or are you going to take a play off? No. That’s your job. That’s what you’re expected to do each and every play, and that’s just kind of the way I look at things, and all of us do, as far as what’s my job, what’s my assignment on this particular play? And then the next one? So whatever happens, did you do your job? With our quarterback and everything else, you don’t know. It could be a time that he comes to you or he sees something. The guy sees the field really, really well. So for us to not be on it and for somebody to miss that (opportunity) because they weren’t on their stuff, that’s on them. If they continue to do that, then we have to find somebody else.”
(I want to ask you about the receiver position in general. When you look at in recent years, rule changes have benefited offensive players more. I know a lot of people say the quarterback is the most important position on a team, but when you look at a lot of quarterbacks around the league, they have that big offensive weapon receiver. How do you think the receiver position has grown in importance in recent seasons and recent years?) – “Yeah, I think people are starting to realize – I wouldn’t say starting to realize, but at the end of the day, the game is going to come down to a third-and-4. It’s going to come down to a third-and-5. It’s going to come down to a third-and-10. It’s going to come down to you having to throw the ball, and you have to be able to have guys that are going to get open. That play could be in the first quarter. It could be in the second quarter. It could be the difference in going down and scoring on a drive or not scoring. So to me, the receiving position and being able to get open and being able to throw and to catch is about as important of a thing that you can have in this league and the timing that you have to have with it, being on the same page with the quarterback on each and every play and having your depth being where he’s expecting you to be and all those different things, it takes a lot of work. It’s not something that just kind of happens overnight, it’s something that we work on through OTAs and everything else and trying to get on the same page. But that’s why pass rushers get paid all that money, because if you’re able to sit there and get to the quarterback and not give those guys time to be able to make the plays that they need to make – it’s the same with corners. If you’re able to cover a guy at a consistent level, you’re going to make a lot of money in this league. So at the end of the day, that’s what our league is. It’s not just ground and pound anymore. They’re going to make you get in third-down scenarios and can you separate and beat man coverage and keep the chains moving or make big plays in those situations for your team to win? That’s the game.”
