5-Time Pro Bowler Makes Wacky Claim about Randy Moss
He’s misremembering.
That’s the word from Minnesota Vikings fans to Wes Welker this week after the five-time Pro Bowler insinuated Miami Dolphins’ wide receiver Tyreek Hill is a better wideout than Randy Moss was in the late 1990s and 2000s.
5-Time Pro Bowler Makes Wacky Claim about Randy Moss
Hill is on pace to hit 2,000 receiving yards in a single season, scheduled to hit 2,046 if he continues his current pace. The veteran pass-catcher will also likely win Offensive Player of the Year unless Christian McCaffrey gets his way.
Welker is the Dolphins’ wide receivers coach, so it makes all the sense in the world that he’d go to bat for his guy. Hill is a phenomenal playmaker and assuredly belongs in any conversation alongside Moss. Welker was also teammates with Moss for three and a half seasons from 2007-2010.
But he might’ve gotten a little carried away in describing Hill’s apparent superiority to Moss. “Randy is probably the best deep ball receiver ever in the game. But Tyreek can run the whole route tree. He can run choice routes, he can run lookie, he can take the top off. His ball skills? Coming in and out of breaks. Name a route you don’t like Tyreek on? I can’t think of one,” Welker told reporters.
Hill must play about five or more seasons to pass Moss on the all-time receiving yards list. Moss also hauled 156 career touchdowns to Hill’s 73.
Welker added, “That’s what separates him in that regard. It’s his mindset, and the way he approaches every single day, and every single game. It’s very impressive that he’s got that mentality, along with all those skills.
Usually during a Moss debate, Jerry Rice is the competition, and folks, especially Vikings fans, insist Moss was just as talented as Rice. Rice, of course, blew Moss out of the water for longevity and holds the WR GOAT title accordingly.
Yet, pitting Moss against Hill is a new animal. Hill, 29, has a few seasons remaining in the NFL and will probably continue drawing comparisons to Moss, a Hall of Famer. Welker’s splashy statement is a brave new world, evidently a declaration that Hill is a more complete receiver than Moss in his heyday.
If one is so inclined, pull up any definite highlight clip of Moss, and deep-balls-only are not exclusively showcased. Moss did it all, including the route-running referenced by Welker. It’s just that Moss’ deep-ball retrieval was so otherworldly that people erroneously remember Moss only for that.
And the assertion or recollection is flatly false.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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