Size Doesn’t Matter for Top Receivers

When it comes to wide receivers in the NFL, most teams since the 1990s have naturally gone for the bigger players in the league. Stats in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s showed that just five of the leading top 30 receivers were under six feet tall, but recently these winds have shifted. Made glaringly obvious this season by receivers such as the Patriots’ standout 5-9, 185 WR Wes Welker, the NFL is making a shift toward the smaller, faster players that are currently dominating receptions. This season (through Week 7,) 25 of the top 30 reception leaders are wide receivers, and of those 25, 11 are players who stand under 5-11.

This new trend of little big men is becoming more and more accepted in the NFL, and ESPN has recently ranked the top small receivers in the league. Topping this list is the Panthers’ Steve Smith, who stands at 5-9, 185 but makes up for his lack of height in speed. Also on this list are Buffalo’s Lee Evans (at 5-10, 197), Pittsburgh’s Santonio Holmes (5-11, 192), New England’s Wes Welker, the Jets’ Laveranues Coles (5-11, 193), Baltimore’s Derrick Mason (5-10, 192), Washington’s Santana Moss (5-10, 200), Seattle’s Deion Branch (5-9, 182) and Tampa Bay’s Joey Galloway (5-11, 197).

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