• Best Slot Receiver In The Nfl

The receivers on this list are viewed as primarily slot receivers and therefore excluded from yesterday’s outside wide receiver list. 10) Devin Duvernay, Baltimore Ravens Duvernay is the only rookie on the list because although there was massive wide receiver talent in this year’s draft, we have not yet seen any of them do it in the NFL. Additionally, Renfrow has already established himself as a fine slot receiver in the NFL, but he lacks the overall athleticism to rise up my rankings criteria. If Ruggs can put together a solid.

A healthy Dante Pettis put on a show during his rookie season. Injuries limited him to only 12 games, but his time on the field was impressive enough to land him at No. 8 on Doug Farrar’s list of the 11 best NFL slot receivers.

Pettis’ ability to work out of the slot and outside is part of why he’s so valuable in an offense that requires a diverse skill set from receivers. He caught 27 balls for 467 yards and five touchdowns overall last season, but his work from the slot stood out to Farrar:

Especially in the slot, Pettis had some impressive moments, and he projects well as a primary receiver in multiple roles. In 2018, he caught 12 passes on 16 targets from the slot for 234 yards and two touchdowns. So, you have to project optimal production when it comes to Pettis, but it’s easy to do.

While he won’t line up a ton in the slot in 2019 with a few other receivers on the roster capable of filling that role, his high-level production in that area of the field point to all the things that make him a good receiver. His ability to quickly separate at the line of scrimmage make him deadly in the confined spaces a slot receiver works in, and he has enough speed to run away from defenders and turn short throws into big plays.

It stands to reason that Pettis notches a 1,000 yards in Year 2 as long as he stays on the field. A pair of knee injuries last year are the biggest red flag for the 23-year-old. On the other hand, he admittedly took awhile to get in the flow of the offense, and his productivity between Weeks 8 and 12 are a sign that he’s only going to get better. He hauled in 20 balls for 359 yards and four touchdowns in that four week stretch.

With the arrow pointing up on the former second-round pick, it’s not an inconceivable notion that Pettis winds up among the NFL’s best receivers overall after 2019, and not just out of the slot.

Seattle Seahawks fans understand how important wide receiver Tyler Lockett is to the team’s offense and why he has easily commanded the No. 1 spot on the roster.

Lockett isn’t just appreciated in Seattle, however, and has earned the respect of analysts around the league. Ahead of the 2020 season, Doug Farrar of USA TODAY’s Touchdown Wire named Lockett the best slot receiver in the NFL.

“Including the postseason, no slot receiver caught more touchdown passes than Lockett did in the 2019 campaign with six,” Farrar writes. “He also allowed Russell Wilson a 122.9 passer rating when targeting him from the slot. Not that creating supernatural efficiency for his quarterback is a new thing for Lockett — in 2018, he became the first receiver since at least 2018 to take at least 20% of his snaps and still rack up a perfect passer rating overall when targeted.”

“Lockett has become a top-level receiver no matter where he lines up, but he’s a great slot target for the same reasons you’ll find for every receiver on this list – he knows how to create separation with spacing and leverage, he has an extra gear when he needs it, and in Lockett’s case, there are things he’s learned about adjusting the speeds of his routes that make things very difficult for opposing defenders,” Farrar continues.

Best Slot Receiver In The Nfl

In addition to the six slot touchdowns, Lockett also hauled in 64 inside passes on 88 targets for a league-high 901 yards last year. Not too shabby.