Biabreakable
Footballguy
Yeah Adam's was one of the examples of a somewhat late bloomers when I looked at this earlier this year. I should likely go back and read that again as I don't remember who else I found. There certainly are some.I understand your point. I was saying maxed out or close to in reference to being a refined route runner, not maxed out in overall ability. They can still develop other ways, and guys do.As I said in a earlier post upthread there are some late bloomers and guys who don't do anything as rookies. We have been spoiled a bit as far as expectations go by the great WR class of 2014.
My main disagreement with jtd13's post is the idea that good route runners as rookies are maxed out. I don't think that's the case at all.
Look at Stefon Diggs or Allen or any of these strong route runners early on in their careers. These guys are the ones who ascend most of the time rather than staying stagnant or getting worse.
Antonio Brown is another example of a WR who took awhile before he put up big numbers, but he still had a 1k season in his second year after not doing much as a rookie.
Route running should be something anyone who's profession is NFL wr can learn, is basically how I understood Shanahan. Some guys don't for whatever reason, and all else equal definitely give me the guy who has already mastered that skill, but I think it's low hanging fruit if the guys work at it and are given a chance over the long run to develop there. Davante Adams is an extreme example but I think no one would call him a refined route runner in year 1-2, and he's quit skilled in that area now.
ETA - I didn't read your whole initial post and saw you mentioned adams. I think you are misremembering on him a bit. His 2nd season is when he was the butt of jokes and considered one of the worst WRs in the league by metrics such as Matt Harmon's guide. He showed big improvements in year 3 but was hurt a lot. Then really took off in year 4.
I remember Adam's as a rookie prospect and he was somewhat of a one trick WR with Carr who was great at high pointing the ball and back shoulder fades. That's mostly what their connection was over and over again.
It's a great trick don't get me wrong and great body control on Adam's part, but he wasn’t getting a lot of separation or breaking defensive backs down with quick cuts then. It was winning a lot of contested catches.
And yeah that sort of carried over with him for his first couple seasons before he became a more conplete WR.
I was misremembering his 2nd season. He did miss 3 games but he didn't crack 500 yards year 2. With Aaron Rodgers, and Jordy Nelson didn't play that season.
I still disagree with the idea of a WR being maxed out as a route runner as a rookie though. There is so much nuance and skill involved with that. Even the great ones keep adding new layers and counters to their route running over time. So much of that is about footwork and timing. If they aren't improving corners learn their moves and they get left behind.
It's a lot of time at the college level for these players to develop these skills and if they haven't by the time they get to the NFL they are already behind.
The list of great athletes WR who can win at the college level, but not the NFL is long and so many of them never do.