Karl Dorrell – July 28, 2019
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Sunday, July 28, 2019
Wide Receivers Coach Karl Dorrell
(You have six proven veteran receivers. You have some talented young guys, obviously, here as well. How tough is this going to be to whittle this down to whatever number the franchise needs to whittle it down to on Labor Day?) – “It’s going to be really tough. When you have a situation like I have, that’s what you want anyway. You want it to be tough. You want to make sure that you’re putting pressure on the guys that were already here to keep them getting better and improving on their skillset. Then you want the young guys to be talented enough to be able to push those guys and if anything, maybe even overtake them at some point too. It’s really good competition in the group. Like you said, it’s pretty deep. I’m excited about it. I like our young talent with the young guys that we brought in. I think when we added Allen (Hurns) a couple of days ago, that’s a good veteran talent that he’s here, along with the other guys that were older that were already here, so it’s a good mix. It’s a good mix of guys that are trying to fight for some spots. You’re right. There’s only a handful of guys that we’ll end up keeping and there’s 10 guys or 11 guys out there, so they’re all fighting for a spot.”
(Your first three months with WR DeVante Parker, how do you think he’s looked? Has there been an emphasis on maybe trying to high-point the ball and to use his size to his advantage?) – “Absolutely. That’s definitely part of it. He’s a guy that he does create some problems because of his size. That’s some of the stuff that he’s been improving on in the offseason, as you guys have noted. But there are a lot of other things that I want him to be good at, as well. If he’s going to be a dynamic player in this league, he’s got to be multifaceted in a lot of different ways. He’s accepted that challenge. He wants to do that. He wants to be that type of player. I’m very excited about how he progressed to this point and now we’re trying to get him ready to play.”
(What are you looking to see out of WR Jakeem Grant, WR Albert Wilson and WR Allen Hurns early in camp as they are coming back from injuries?) – “All of those guys are kind of transitioning at different levels back from injury, like you mentioned. I’m pleased with their efforts and how they’re trying to get back. They’re all at different stages about where they’re at but Jakeem, who you mentioned in your question, he’s doing really well. Of those three guys, he’s had most of the reps so far in camp and he’s really kind of surprising us and doing the things that we already saw him do in his past; but to fit himself in our offense and to be able to do some of the things that we’re asking him to do, he’s been doing those things pretty well. Albert is doing well too. From where he was late in the spring to where he is now, he’s getting on the field. He’s kind of where actually Jakeem was in the spring, just kind of gradually picking up the pace as we go. Albert is doing that and he’s in that mode right now. He’ll be ready to go, I think, in due time as well. Allen is actually recovered. He’s full ready-to-go. Obviously he’s trying to get himself back in playing shape and tuning up his game. It’s good to have a good veteran presence like him. Like I said earlier when we opened this whole discussion, I’m very pleased with the level of veteranship in this group and the young players in this group.”
(Obviously WR Kenny Stills can play boundary and slot, and you have WR Allen Hurns now at slot as well. Do you see value for Stills in the slot? He’s done a lot of good work from that position.) – “Absolutely. He’s done those things before. Kenny is kind of our versatile player where he can play inside and out. He has the speed to do that. He’s accepted that and he understands what we’re trying to get out of him and in our offensive scheme. We have just a lot of options. That’s really what needs to be said is we have some guys that are at different size levels. You guys have mentioned Preston (Williams) at 6-foot-4-and-a-half. He’s a big kid. Obviously DeVante (Parker) is a good kid. We just have a good range of players from big to small and all different speeds and different skillsets. So it’s fun. For me, as their position coach, it’s a fun problem to have. It really is.”
(I know you guys don’t want to make any kind of excuses but when you do have new quarterbacks working with the receivers, is there a learning curve that you have to allow for?) – “Absolutely. You’re right, we aren’t going to make any excuses about that. And there is (a learning curve). Sometimes as receivers, you have to get used to the different arm in terms of how the ball comes off his hand and the timing of how he throws. Then from the quarterback perspective, he’s getting used to a different group of receivers that he’s not quite used to throwing to. So there is some timing that both sides of the coin need to work on to get better. That’s why we practice and that’s why they do the little extra work that they do after practice is to try to get on the same page about what it should time out to be and what it should look like, and also to point out some ideas about how to run a route or ‘this is where I want the ball when you throw this route.’ I think there is a learning curve on both sides of that.”
