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- Jan 14, 2013
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Assuming that Calvin Ridley is off the board, my choice is . . . (building suspense again)
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bff_t4Fzv_g
I made this exact thread last year and chose Cooper Kupp as my guy. This year, my guy is Anthony Miller. Why? Well, like last year, I'll highlight three things: 1) Production/Intangibles, 2) Physical Talent, and 3) Technical Skill.
Production/Intangibles
Anthony Miller's stats over the past three years:
2017: 96 receptions for 1462 receiving yards, 15.2 yards per catch, and 18 receiving TDs
2016: 95 receptions for 1434 receiving yards, 15.1 yards per catch, and 14 receiving TDs
2015: 47 receptions for 694 receiving yards, 14.8 yards per catch, and 5 receiving TDs
Anthony Miller is one of two Memphis WRs in its history to post a 1000+ yard receiving season. The other WR is Isaac Bruce. Miller actually turned down scholarships to FCS schools to bet on himself and walked onto the Memphis football team. He worked his arse off, earned a scholarship, and became their most prolific WR of all time. Miller walks around with a chip on his shoulder, competes on every play like its his last down of football, and has supreme confidence in his abilities. He's known around Memphis for being a guy who leads by example in the locker-room, the film room, the weight room, and on the field. Miller has exactly the sort of mindset that you want your #1 WR to have. He knows how good he is, but he always wants to be better.
Physical Talent
Miller was unable to participate at the Combine beyond the bench press due to an ankle injury. His Pro Day is next week, but I'm not that concerned with the results. At 5'11" 201 pounds, Miller is a well-built WR who posted 22 bench press reps at the Combine. Miller has 10 inch hands, which are massive for a guy his size, and it shows in his game. Miller is a twitchy athlete with quick feet, easy acceleration, and great change of direction skills. While he isn't a 4.3 40 type burner, Miller plays fast and has showed the ability to climb over the top of the defense with consistency. Miller's play strength matches up to his weight-room strength and allows him to bully smaller players. One of Miller's best traits is his body control; it's truly tremendous. He makes difficult catches look effortless, he is a master of the sideline catch, and he seems to glide while in the air. Miller is also a deadly run after the catch WR due to his combination of strength and quickness. He's elusive enough to make defenders miss in space, but also strong and physical enough to power through tackles. He has great balance and is very slippery with the ball in his hands.
Technical Skill
It's very easy to tell that Anthony Miller works hard on his game. There are nuances in his route running that not many college players possess. Miller is an unorthodox route runner who uses his quick-twitch athleticism to the max. He utilizes a lot of head and body fakes, stutter steps, and leverage to keep defenders guessing. Miller displays the understanding of how to leverage his routes to create separation at the break-point. Miller is also an explosive cutter with the ability to create separation on just about any route at any level. He works aggressively back to his QB when coming out of his breaks, and he uses his body and positioning to shield out DBs. Miller has good recognition when playing against zone coverage to find the hole and sit down. While Miller is good against zone coverage, he's truly phenomenal against man coverage. His explosive cutting ability, unorthodox route running, and understanding of how to attack defenders makes him a nightmare for DBs. His quickness, strength, and strength make him very difficult to press at the LOS. He's going to be a very frustrating player for NFL CBs to try and press.
In addition to his route running, Miller has phenomenal hands. He's a step below the true elites like Fitz or Alshon, but Miller can win in the air, make highlight-reel catches, and snatches the ball with ease. He's a very natural catcher of the football with big, soft hands. Miller shows near perfect technique when it comes to snatching the football or bodying it when in traffic. Miller will finish catches through contact, but he does seem to be aware at times when there's a DB lurking and looks to protect himself. Miller also has shown the ability to win 50/50 balls and contested catches with some consistency. However, Miller drops some passes he shouldn't when he looks to run after the catch before securing the ball.
I hate to say it, but the WR who comes to mind for me when watching Miller is Antonio Brown. However, it's not really fair to expect anyone to be that level of great. In the past, I said I thought his game reminded me of Golden Taint, but after some more thought on the matter, I think Greg Jennings is a great comparison for Anthony Miller. Miller is a guy who will separate with consistency at the NFL level due to his good all-around athleticism and great route running. Miller will make some amazing catches, but also drop a few passes he shouldn't. He'll run well after the catch when given the opportunity. Some will say that Miller is a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none type player, but I think he has the ability to be a master-level route runner. That's just about the best skill for a WR to have.
Here are a few gifs that demonstrate the type of player that Miller is:
Yes, this is real.
Making an amazing catch look easy.
Leverages the route towards the inside hip of the defender to give his QB more space for the throw to the corner, throws a little fake right before breaking to freeze the defender, subtle push-off to create separation right before the catch, and then those steel-trap hands squeeze the ball despite a great recovery by the CB.
Same route, same result. He freezes the CB again with a fake right before the break.
Miller wins on a deep post route here. It's hard to tell, but there's a subtle sell right before he breaks that causes the DB to be late to react. Watch his shoulders and eyes right before he plants. He sells it like he is running a go right up and until he changes directions.
Great sell on the double move here, and yes, he did catch it.
He makes a great grab look easy, and then you see the run after catch skills.
This is how you turn a bad play into a first down.
Mike Hughes is a tremendous press-man CB. Before we made our trades, he was one of the guys I was targeting at #23. Look at the footwork and hand usage on the release to stymie Hughes' press attempt. Then, we see the subtle push-off right before the contested catch.
Watch the fake right before he breaks. He fakes the post and gets the CB moving in the wrong direction. Then, he finishes the play with a great catch.
@StealYoGurley I didn't want to hijack your thread to a greater extent.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bff_t4Fzv_g
I made this exact thread last year and chose Cooper Kupp as my guy. This year, my guy is Anthony Miller. Why? Well, like last year, I'll highlight three things: 1) Production/Intangibles, 2) Physical Talent, and 3) Technical Skill.
Production/Intangibles
Anthony Miller's stats over the past three years:
2017: 96 receptions for 1462 receiving yards, 15.2 yards per catch, and 18 receiving TDs
2016: 95 receptions for 1434 receiving yards, 15.1 yards per catch, and 14 receiving TDs
2015: 47 receptions for 694 receiving yards, 14.8 yards per catch, and 5 receiving TDs
Anthony Miller is one of two Memphis WRs in its history to post a 1000+ yard receiving season. The other WR is Isaac Bruce. Miller actually turned down scholarships to FCS schools to bet on himself and walked onto the Memphis football team. He worked his arse off, earned a scholarship, and became their most prolific WR of all time. Miller walks around with a chip on his shoulder, competes on every play like its his last down of football, and has supreme confidence in his abilities. He's known around Memphis for being a guy who leads by example in the locker-room, the film room, the weight room, and on the field. Miller has exactly the sort of mindset that you want your #1 WR to have. He knows how good he is, but he always wants to be better.
Physical Talent
Miller was unable to participate at the Combine beyond the bench press due to an ankle injury. His Pro Day is next week, but I'm not that concerned with the results. At 5'11" 201 pounds, Miller is a well-built WR who posted 22 bench press reps at the Combine. Miller has 10 inch hands, which are massive for a guy his size, and it shows in his game. Miller is a twitchy athlete with quick feet, easy acceleration, and great change of direction skills. While he isn't a 4.3 40 type burner, Miller plays fast and has showed the ability to climb over the top of the defense with consistency. Miller's play strength matches up to his weight-room strength and allows him to bully smaller players. One of Miller's best traits is his body control; it's truly tremendous. He makes difficult catches look effortless, he is a master of the sideline catch, and he seems to glide while in the air. Miller is also a deadly run after the catch WR due to his combination of strength and quickness. He's elusive enough to make defenders miss in space, but also strong and physical enough to power through tackles. He has great balance and is very slippery with the ball in his hands.
Technical Skill
It's very easy to tell that Anthony Miller works hard on his game. There are nuances in his route running that not many college players possess. Miller is an unorthodox route runner who uses his quick-twitch athleticism to the max. He utilizes a lot of head and body fakes, stutter steps, and leverage to keep defenders guessing. Miller displays the understanding of how to leverage his routes to create separation at the break-point. Miller is also an explosive cutter with the ability to create separation on just about any route at any level. He works aggressively back to his QB when coming out of his breaks, and he uses his body and positioning to shield out DBs. Miller has good recognition when playing against zone coverage to find the hole and sit down. While Miller is good against zone coverage, he's truly phenomenal against man coverage. His explosive cutting ability, unorthodox route running, and understanding of how to attack defenders makes him a nightmare for DBs. His quickness, strength, and strength make him very difficult to press at the LOS. He's going to be a very frustrating player for NFL CBs to try and press.
In addition to his route running, Miller has phenomenal hands. He's a step below the true elites like Fitz or Alshon, but Miller can win in the air, make highlight-reel catches, and snatches the ball with ease. He's a very natural catcher of the football with big, soft hands. Miller shows near perfect technique when it comes to snatching the football or bodying it when in traffic. Miller will finish catches through contact, but he does seem to be aware at times when there's a DB lurking and looks to protect himself. Miller also has shown the ability to win 50/50 balls and contested catches with some consistency. However, Miller drops some passes he shouldn't when he looks to run after the catch before securing the ball.
I hate to say it, but the WR who comes to mind for me when watching Miller is Antonio Brown. However, it's not really fair to expect anyone to be that level of great. In the past, I said I thought his game reminded me of Golden Taint, but after some more thought on the matter, I think Greg Jennings is a great comparison for Anthony Miller. Miller is a guy who will separate with consistency at the NFL level due to his good all-around athleticism and great route running. Miller will make some amazing catches, but also drop a few passes he shouldn't. He'll run well after the catch when given the opportunity. Some will say that Miller is a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none type player, but I think he has the ability to be a master-level route runner. That's just about the best skill for a WR to have.
Here are a few gifs that demonstrate the type of player that Miller is:
Yes, this is real.
Making an amazing catch look easy.
Leverages the route towards the inside hip of the defender to give his QB more space for the throw to the corner, throws a little fake right before breaking to freeze the defender, subtle push-off to create separation right before the catch, and then those steel-trap hands squeeze the ball despite a great recovery by the CB.
Same route, same result. He freezes the CB again with a fake right before the break.
Miller wins on a deep post route here. It's hard to tell, but there's a subtle sell right before he breaks that causes the DB to be late to react. Watch his shoulders and eyes right before he plants. He sells it like he is running a go right up and until he changes directions.
Great sell on the double move here, and yes, he did catch it.
He makes a great grab look easy, and then you see the run after catch skills.
This is how you turn a bad play into a first down.
Mike Hughes is a tremendous press-man CB. Before we made our trades, he was one of the guys I was targeting at #23. Look at the footwork and hand usage on the release to stymie Hughes' press attempt. Then, we see the subtle push-off right before the contested catch.
Watch the fake right before he breaks. He fakes the post and gets the CB moving in the wrong direction. Then, he finishes the play with a great catch.
@StealYoGurley I didn't want to hijack your thread to a greater extent.
