San Francisco 49ers legend Jerry Rice is widely regarded as the greatest wide receiver to ever play the game of football. With 22,895 yards and 197 touchdowns all-time, he remains at the top in both those categories, so he knows a thing or two about playing the position.
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Rice joined the “Manningcast” to discuss how he perceives wide receivers in today’s game and what advice he would give to the current and upcoming skill players in the NFL.
Rice pointed to the RPO (Run, play, option) plays as a big factor in most offenses, and the best way to utilize that style of play is to be far bulkier. The idea behind stacking on more weight and bulk is to have the ability to break tackles for more yards after the catch opportunities.
Peyton Manning asks Rice what he think is the “biggest adjustment wide receivers face coming into the NFL.”
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Rice then goes into the RPO plays, and how it takes getting “used to.”
“I would say the biggest adjustment is the run-pass option, now. That’s gonna take some getting used to; it’s gonna be like these bubble screens and short routes. If I played in today’s era, I would need to bulk up more, be more muscular. Catching those passes underneath and being able to break tackles, and take the punishment of those defensive players,” Rice said.
Rice also pointed to players needing to get ready for the “YAC yards,” referring to yards after the catch.
There are those players, like Minnesota Vikings star Justin Jefferson are not the most muscular, but he has the vertical jump and size to go for contested catches. However, having possibly bulkier receivers can lead to more RPO success.
Rice is alluding to having a larger frame that could lead to breaking tackles. Similar to how 49ers star Christian McCaffrey runs after catching the ball, which is why he is such a dangerous dual-threat running back.
If Rice were bulkier in his day with his skill set, his records might be even more unattainable.
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