The list of receivers in the general area of 5-foot-8 and 165 pounds leans toward gadget guys as opposed to legitimate outside targets. When you’re that small, you’re generally not expected to deal with bigger, more physically dominant cornerbacks; you’re generally best off exploiting open space from the slot or the backfield.
The Houston Texans have had a different plan with rookie receiver Nathanial “Tank” Dell. The Houston alum has caught 15 passes on 23 targets for 251 yards and two touchdowns, and where he’s catching those passes is pretty interesting. Through his first three NFL games, Dell has lined up in the slot on just 27 snaps, and 74 outside. And all three of his explosive plays have come out of an outside alignment.
“I would say the biggest growth, really has just been the minutia of route-running,” Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik said this week of Dell’s development. “When I say that, Tank has always been a really good route runner and a really good separator. But how he uses his speed and how that impacts his routes – and not just deep routes, but intermediate routes, short routes, how he gets in and out of cuts – not just with freak athleticism, but now with intentionality and tying it to other routes that we run that maybe he’s not coming out of a break point. So, being able to make things look similar to other routes we run has started to really resonate with him. I think it shows up on tape and he’s really doing a great job in that area.”
Dell’s vertical ability showed up twice against the Jacksonville Jaguars last Sunday — there was this 46-yard near-touchdown in the first quarter where he just ran through the Jaguars’ Cover-2…
…and this 68-yard actual touchdown in the fourth quarter in which Dell did the same to Jacksonville’s Cover-1.
In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell,” we discussed the challenges Dell will present to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense this Sunday, in conjunction with rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud.
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You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” featuring detailed tape and metric breakdowns of Week 4’s biggest matchups, right here:
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You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…
…and on Apple Podcasts.