Quote:
Originally Posted by staylor26
It's weird how Aiyuk and Rice are almost identical in terms of size/measurables and yet Rice is a YAC machine like Deebo.
The thing is, I think Rice can be a much better route runner than Deebo, even though I don't think he will ever quite separate like Aiyuk.
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Just give it time.
We used him in a very niche role last season. I think going forward he'll be used more like we used Sammy when he was healthy.
And while I think there may need to be some additional polishing of his technique (primarily footwork from what I can see), I think he'll eventually be an above average separator.
A guy that can pull away from angles like he can with the ball in his hands can absolutely get separation out of a break. It's not like he's a long-strider that's easy to read.
He has good compact strides and fast feet. I'd be surprised if he can't become more and more dangerous in the intermediate parts of the field. And sooner or later they WILL unleash him downfield where he can use that body control to simply take balls away like Higgins does.
I still maintain that he has genuinely elite body control. We just didn't see it put to use a lot last season. But when you remember stuff like that back shoulder catch he made against the Raiders (I think) deep in our own territory - that's the kind of stuff you have to be a bit special to do well.
And he is.