Must all white receivers be compared to other white WRs? We asked two of them
MOBILE, Ala. — NFL scouts will proudly and candidly tell you they don’t see color in their evaluations. They see talent. Black, white, whatever … it’s their job to get the best players they can.
Which is true. But they also see players’ races, and when it comes down to finding NFL comparisons for prospects — most NFL scouts are asked to do it — it’s hard for some to avoid the obvious white-to-white and black-to-black comparisons. It’s just … natural, right? Even if it’s not always accurate.
Media scouts are guilty of it, too, and if there’s a position it seems to happen most at it would appear to be wide receiver. Are there not white receivers who have a similar style of play and attributes to black players? Of course there are. You just rarely hear those comps uttered. Why is that? This is not some scourge on football society, or anything, certainly not high on the list of public worries these days. It’s just … odd.
We asked two Senior Bowl receivers (yes, both white) about the phenomenon — and they were definitely aware of it. And perplexed as well.
“I was going to ask you guys [in the media] … what’s up with that?” said Eastern Washington’s Cooper Kupp, one of the early stars of the North Team practices. “Yeah, I hear it. Sure I do.”
Yes, Kupp is white. And he’s good at football. That has been clear through two excellent days of practice at the Senior Bowl. Both things apply to North Carolina’s Ryan Switzer, too, and like Kupp, Switzer is a little confused by the white-white comps that seem to come out of everyone’s brain whenever he’s mentioned as an NFL prospect. Are there true racial biases for the position?
“Man, that’s just America being lazy,” Switzer told Shutdown Corner after Wednesday’s practice. “But yes, to answer your question, it is like an unwritten rule or something. I don’t know why it is.”
Switzer said he’s not necessarily offended when he’s compared to Julian Edelman or Wes Welker, and he certainly wouldn’t be upset to play for a team such as the New England Patriots, who annually seem to turn sub-6-foot quick slot receivers into stars.
“When they make the comparisons to Welker or Edelman, guys who are catching 100 balls a year, if they want to compare me to that I’m OK with it,” Switzer said. “Those guys have made their millions doing just that. So I am very OK with that.”
So who does Switzer compare himself to — white, black or otherwise? He says he doesn’t care for the comp game in general but does watch receivers who fit a certain type of profile that he hopes to emulate in the NFL.
“I study a lot of NFL tape. I watch guys like Doug Baldwin, Randall Cobb … guys that are successful who are similar to my stature,” Switzer said.
That stature is 5-foot-8 ½ and 179 pounds, for the record, and both Baldwin and Cobb are in fact a bit bigger. But Switzer has come in and through two days of practice with the Cleveland Browns-coached South squad and consistently gotten open and shaken defenders with hiccup-quick moves at the top of his stems. He might not be blazing fast, but Switzer knows how to get open and make hay.
Kupp should be the higher-drafted prospect, though. He has been one of the standouts through two days of practices, catching almost everything in his direction — although he criticized himself for not hauling in one pass Wednesday — and has shown superior route-running ability. Basically, he has won almost all his one-on-one drills so far this week.
Hmm, smart, savvy, not blazing speed, good route runner … all just coded language, right?
“To me, being compared to any NFL receiver is a blessing,” Kupp said, taking the more diplomatic route. “Three guys I look up to a lot — A.J. Green, Antonio Brown, Larry Fitzgerald — they’re just so good at what they do. I take stuff from them, too.”
So yes, draft analysts, you too can find white-black or black-white comps that make sense. It works! We’ll go with Jamison Crowder for Switzer and Donte Moncrief (with Mohamed Sanu’s speed maybe?) for Kupp.
See, that wasn’t so hard.
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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!
