NFL.com: Larry Fitzgerald is the league’s best slot receiver
Sep 22, 2016, 8:21 AM | Updated: Sep 23, 2016, 10:46 am
Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald (11) pulls in a pass as Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Vernon Hargreaves (28) and defensive end Robert Ayers (91) defend during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Gone are the days of Larry Fitzgerald beating corners on deep post routes and out-leaping them when his quarterback throws lobs.
It’s taken some getting used to, but the long-time wideout now finds himself playing as a slot receiver as his younger teammates stretch the field vertically.
How has the Cardinals’ 33-year-old handled the transition in his job description?
According to NFL.com’s Chris Wesseling, Fitzgerald has simply become the best slot option in the entire NFL.
When will we learn to stop writing the 33-year-old legend off as a difference-making talent? Even after Carson Palmer posted a gaudy 119.5 passer rating on throws to Fitzgerald in 2015, conventional wisdom suggested younger teammates Michael Floyd and/or John Brown had surpassed Fitzgerald in Arizona’s pecking order entering the 2016 season. Through two weeks, Palmer has increased his passing rating to 134.2 on Fitzgerald targets. He’s the class of one of the NFL’s most dangerous wide receiver corps.
Wesseling calls Fitzgerald the league’s best blocking wide receiver and, based off last year’s results, a big-time postseason performer. Google “Packers Cardinals overtime Fitzgerald” if you somehow forgot what we’re talking about.
There’s a reason that Fitzgerald squashed retirement whispers that began before this season even kicked off.
He can still get the job done — the job is just a little different than the one he took as a rookie.
Just ask Doug Baldwin, Julian Edelman, Jarvis Landry and Eric Decker, who in that order, fill out Wesseling’s top five when it comes to the NFL’s elite slot options.
