Jaguars WR Dede Westbrook shreds Buccaneers secondary

Jacksonville Jaguars rookie wide receiver Dede Westbrook shredded the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ secondary in a preseason matchup…

As far as wide receivers go this preseason, no one is playing at a higher level than Jacksonville Jaguars rookie Dede Westbrook, a controversial pick out of Oklahoma.

Westbrook was selected in the fourth round (110th overall) by the Jaguars after a stellar collegiate career on the field, but troubling off-field concerns.

If Westbrook would have been able to stay out of trouble, he would have likely been a top 40 selection, perhaps even a first round pick.

With speed, quickness, strong hands, yards after catch ability, and a nose for the end zone, it’s not difficult to think that, as a fourth round pick, Westbrook could end up being one of the biggest steals of the 2017 NFL Draft. His performance against the Buccaneers on Thursday night is evidence of that:

In this video, we get to see Westbrook to everything that made him a great prospect in the first place, and then some.

Play One: Westbrook is lined up on the right side of the formation, out wide. Known for his ability out of the slot, this is somewhat of an atypical alignment for him, but nothing he can’t handle. The Bucs have a defender giving Westbrook an eight yard cushion at the snap, making this pitch and catch on a slant route a cake-walk. Westbrook is also able to pick up some nice yards after the catch as the throw hits him in stride and at full speed.

Play Two: Westbrook is again at the far right of the formation, with the Bucs giving him an eight-yard cushion. This seems like a terrible idea, and it turns out to be exactly that. Westbrook runs a deep comeback route, and there’s no one within five or six yards of him when he makes the catch. Again the key here is that he had separation to start, but even with that, he was able to create more separation with his quickness on the comeback, and he uses his hands to snatch the ball, turns upfield quickly, and fights for some extra yards.

Play Three: This is absolutely filthy. You have to watch closely at the bottom of the screen here, but Westbrook is finally getting pressed. This time he’s on the far left of the formation in one-on-one coverage. He gets a great release off the line of scrimmage, completely turning the defensive back around and forcing him to lose his footing. The throw is slightly off-target, so Westbrook doesn’t score easily on this play like he should have. Instead, he has to almost knock the ball out of the air and make a double catch.

Play Four: Westbrook is back on the right side of the formation, a little bit closer to the right tackle, and again with a big cushion from the Bucs secondary. He runs a nice out-route, and shows off his ability after the catch here. First he breaks through a tackle, then accelerates, stops on a dime, and accelerates back to full speed quickly. This is a very special type of play.

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Play Five: Westbrook comes across the formation here, ending up on the left side. The situation is a third-and-short, so Westbrook runs a clean quick out route and makes the catch beyond the sticks before hustling out of bounds for a first down.

Play Six: The Jaguars have three receivers lined up to the left of the formation, and on this play, Westbrook is the receiver closest to the tackle, playing the inside slot position. He is just running a route down the seam of the field, and the real gold on this play comes when he makes an unreal grab. The ball looks like it will be easily intercepted as Westbrook is running into a wall of coverage, and the ball is underthrown. Somehow, he comes away with the football.

Final Thoughts

This game from Westbrook was picture perfect. His final stat-line included six catches for 131 yards, many of which he created on his own.

The most important aspect of this game for Westbrook? He had a perfect wide receiver rating from Pro Football Focus of 158.3, which means that quarterbacks (Brandon Allen, in this case) were perfect when throwing the ball Westbrook’s way.

It doesn’t get any better than that.