Last season, per Sports Info Solutions, NFL quarterbacks attempts 18.983 passes, and of those passes, 7,998 went to targets in the slot. That 42.1% slot target rate throughout the league tells you everything you need to know about how teams see the importance of the slot receiver these days. No longer is the slot receiver an ancillary concern — in most offenses, they’re nearly as important as your best X-iso guy, and in a lot of cases, your best X-iso guy is asked to win from the slot, as well. It’s a slight uptick from, say, five years before, when in 2016, 40.2% of all passing attempts went to slot targets.
No longer is the slot the sole domain of the smaller, quicker receiver who can beat a slot defender on a simple two-way go. Now, offenses are constructed in ways that provide specific schematic advantages to slot targets. Those receivers are asked to run switch releases and crossers with other slot receivers and outside targets. They’re asked to beat inside defenders up the seam and across the field with posts and deep overs. They can be smaller receivers, bigger receivers, tight ends, and running backs. Sometimes, they’re actually outside receivers in reduced splits after the actual outside receiver motions to the other side of the field pre-snap.
The modern slot receiver is a full-on starter with his own required skill sets, and here are the 11 best slot receivers in the NFL today.
(All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus and Sports Info Solutions unless otherwise indicated).
