GarageGabs

E very so often we are blessed with smallish, white, slot receivers that are blessed with any one of the following: Fantastic Hands, great route running, blazing speed, Unusually high “awareness”, or in this case, just flat out SICK moves. Check out Wes Welker doing his best Dante Hall impression on the Chargers:

Moves like that aren’t really new to Welker

Now, in tribute to Welker, an in depth look at some other smallish white guy WR’s throughout the years.

Fred Biletnikoff: Never known for great speed or athleticism, Biletnikoff made his name with perfect route running and fantastic hands. His numbers pale in comparison to today’s run & gun offenses, but Biletnikoff was one of the best wide receivers of his day, and of all time. A 6 time pro-bowler and MVP of Super Bowl 11, Biletnikoff will always be the poster boy for overcoming athletic ability with sheer desire. A true Raider.

Golden Richards: Best known as a Dallas Cowboy, Richards was a speedster out of Hawaii. Despite only catching 122 career passes & 17 TD’s, Richards had a knack for catching the deep ball. During his 5 years in Dallas he had scoring catches of 53, 52, 58, 46, 43, & 62 yards. His most memorable catch was a 29 yard TD from fullback Robert Newhouse in Super Bowl XXII.

Mike Renfro: One of my personal favorites. I grew up watching Renfro catch passes from Danny White as a Dallas Cowboy. Much like Biletnikoff, Renfro wasn’t blessed with great physical attributes, but was a skilled route runner with great hands. Renfro was probably best known for making the catch that wasn’t during his Oiler days. Renfro caught what appeared to be a game tying TD in the 1979 AFC Championship game vs. Pittsburgh. Officials ruled that Renfro didn’t get both feet in bounds (NBC replays showed Renfro got both feet in) and the Oilers ended up settling for a field goal. The call reportedly became the moment that the NFL seriously began to consider using instant replay as a means of officiating. Renfro never had a 1,000 yard season.

Steve Largent: Raiders cornerback Lester Hayes actually called Largent “the master of tomfoolery”. Largent was another guy that lacked speed and size but made up for it with everything else. Lateral quickness, precise route running, exceptional hands, and just good old trickiness made Largent one of the best receivers of all time. When he retired he held NFL records for most catches, yards, and TD’s (all of which have since been broken by Jerry Rice). Largent appeared in 7 pro-bowls and caught exactly 100 NFL TD’s. After his NFL career, Largent became a U.S. Congressman.

Tom Waddle: Ok, this guy had zero athletic ability. In fact, he was often referred to as “the slow white guy”. Despite this moniker, (or perhaps because of it) Waddle was a fan favorite in Chicago. In 1991, due to lack of depth in the Bears receiving corps, Tom Waddle somehow became the Bears “go-to” guy. He capped the season off vs. Dallas in a divisional playoff loss by grabbing 9 passes for 104 yards and 1 TD. Many of the catches were “acrobatic”, and Waddle was often assisted to the sidelines after getting plastered by Dallas defenders. The Chicago crowd actually began to chant “Waddle, Waddle, Waddle”. That 1991 season earned him a spot on the “All-Madden” team. By 1992, Waddle had become a starter & caught a game winning TD in the opener with only 1 second remaining. He further delighted fans later in the year by burning Deion Sanders for a TD. Waddle fizzled out after 1993 as the Bears began to look for more speed at wide receiver. He caught 9 career TD’s.

Tim Dwight: 5′8″ of pure speed. The ultimate do-it-all guy. Dwight scored 17 receiving TD’s, 3 rushing TD’s, 2 kickoff return TD’s, and 3 punt return TD’s. Honestly, I’m not quite sure if he’s still in the league, he spent last season with the New York Jets. Just a pure burner, who if he had a sliver of room….was gone.

Steve Tasker: Another guy that was absolutely loved by fans. Tasker made his name as a special teams demon (got him to 7 pro bowls), but would occasionally catch a ball or return a punt. Tasker finished his career with 9 TD catches and is now in the Buffalo Bills Hall of Fame.

Don Beebe: Best known for running down Leon Lett in Super Bowl XXVII & knocking the ball out of his hands, Beebe was actually a pretty good receiver. In 9 NFL seasons, Beebe scored 25 TD’s; 23 receiving, 1 kickoff return, and 1 fumble recovery.

Wayne Chrebet: 5′10″, undrafted out of Hofstra. Somehow this guy survived for 11 NFL seasons. Another fan favorite (see the trend? fans relate with people their size or smaller), Chrebet caught 41 TD’s and tallied one 1,000 yard season. Chrebet was known as “Mr. 3rd Down” because 379 of his 580 career receptions were 1st downs. Chrebet had his career ended prematurely due to a concussion. Despite being unconscious and lying on the field for several minutes, Chrebet still made that final 3rd down grab, symbolic of his entire career.

Ed McCaffrey: Doesn’t really qualify because he’s 6′5″, but he still had the prototypical white wide receiver skill set. A very good receiver in his day, caught 55 career TD’s.

Today’s Smallish White Wide Receivers: Just a few of the guys that join Wes Welker these days

Brandon Stokely

Kevin Curtis

Mike Furrey

Who’d I forget? I know I didn’t think of all the smallish white guys. Let me know who I forgot!