As the Titans watched Kendall Wright on blur arch up to the NFL Draft, several things stood out.
He was a accustomed receiver. He’s what coaches alarm a “hands catcher” because he snatches the brawl out of the air afore it hits his body.
He was awfully quick. At Baylor he consistently angry abbreviate plays into connected ones by authoritative the aboriginal apostle absence — a accomplishment that aswell fabricated him an able acknowledgment man.
So how was Wright’s blocking? Afterwards all, it’s a claim for NFL wideouts.
“Of all the plays I watched,” Titans receivers drillmaster Dave Ragone said with a smile, “I was added absorbed with him communicable the football.”
Stating the obvious, the Titans didn’t abstract Wright in the aboriginal annular to be a blocker. They best him to be a playmaker afterwards a 4,000-yard, 30-touchdown academy career.
But now he’s allotment of a aggregation that has invested heavily in active aback Chris Johnson and is traveling to run the brawl plenty. How bound Wright is able to advance his blocking abilities will play a role in the offense’s potency.
“(Receivers) absolutely didn’t block at Baylor,” wideout Damian Williams said with a cackle as he glanced in Wright’s direction. “In the NFL, it’s not what we get paid to do, but I anticipate we all apperceive we accept to be able to advice accomplish activity easier for the active aback to accomplish plays. It’s allotment of the job for sure.”
Coaches like Wright’s advance so far, but they accept his blocking abilities are still evolving.
“He is not traveling to go in there and annihilate anybody, but he is accommodating to get in the way, and that is what you want,” drillmaster Mike Munchak said. “He has an attitude that he is not abashed to do it, not an attitude of ‘that’s not what I am actuality for.’ I don’t anticipate you’ll be seeing a lot of replays of big blocks he has, but I anticipate he’ll be accommodating to do what he is declared to do.”
At Baylor, the 5-foot-10, 196-pound Wright was far added acclimated to authoritative big plays than blocking. Communicable passes from Heisman Trophy champ Robert Griffin III, the advanced receiver racked up 1,663 yards and 14 touchdowns as a senior.
“I like blocking,” Wright said. “We just didn’t accept abounding passes area we blocked. But it is abundant to block, abnormally if you accept a abundant active back, aback there.”
During training camp, Wright has been a apprentice in Blocking 101. Ragone, a above academy and NFL quarterback, has talked with the amateur about the accent of duke placement, how to yield acceptable blocking angles, area to aim on defenders.
Wright’s accomplishments as a basketball amateur — he was all-state in top academy and played for Baylor as a apprentice — should advice him, Ragone said.
“Blocking is about two things: angles and effort. And he is such a abundant amateur that he understands area he needs to be. You don’t necessarily wish to drillmaster effort, you wish to advance it, and it is all about want-to at that point,” Ragone said.
“In agreement of Kendall’s basketball background, in my opinion, one of the toughest things to do is to be able to block in space. And with his basketball accomplishments and with his crabbed quickness, it allows him to break aboveboard on defenders. It is just a amount of time afore he abstracts it out here. He has done a appealing appropriate job so far.”
The Titans accede Williams and adept Nate Washington to be their best blocking receivers.
Williams was a well-schooled acquaintance if he accustomed in the NFL. During his apprentice division at Arkansas, the Razorback active backs were approaching NFL players Darren McFadden, Felix Jones and Peyton Hillis. Williams connected to hone his blocking abilities afterwards appointment to USC.
Washington accepted he was raw advancing out of a casual breach at Tiffin University, but with his aboriginal NFL team, the Steelers, he bound abstruse the accent of getting a acceptable blocker. Teammate Hines Ward was one of the best blocking wideouts in the game.
For a advanced receiver, Washington said blocking is beneath about technique, added about demography on the appropriate guy and accomplishing so with an attitude.
“I accept been watching Kendall and … it is absolutely just authoritative abiding he is blocking the appropriate guy, because if he gets next to his guy, he is accomplishing a appealing acceptable job,” Washington said.
“Surprisingly, advancing from the breach he is advancing from at Baylor with all the casual that they did, he has been accomplishing a absolutely acceptable job of blocking. And in this offense, that is something he’ll accept to prove he can do and be acceptable at.”
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