Creating the Perfect Wide Receiver

Creating the perfect wide receiver is really simple.

I mean all it takes is someone with fantastic hands, perfect route running ability, great speed, the ability to go up and get the ball, the body control to come down with the ball, toughness to go over the middle and the heart leave it all on the field week after week.

Sounds fairly simple to me.

With all the debates about who is the best wide receiver in the game today, and what makes them the best, I thought, why not create the best receiver.

What receivers in the game today would you put together, in order to create the perfect wide receiver?

Who's hands, who's feet, who's body control, who's size, who's toughness, who's leadership?

How can we create the perfect receiver?

Or the next Jerry Rice.

Height

At 6'5" Plaxico Burress is one of the taller wide receivers in the game today. Being tall is great, but add in a seven-foot wingspan and you have height to go along with go-go gadget arms.

Burress has trouble off the field, but his height is all we care about in this scenario, and a guy with his height and length is something you want when creating the perfect wide receiver.

Speed, Release and Elusiveness

Being fast is great, but straight line speed is not what we want here. Steve Smith is not only one of the fastest wide receivers in the game, but he is the most elusive and dynamic receiver with the ball in his hands.

Making opponents miss in the open field, along with getting great separation off the line of scrimmage, makes Steve Smith the prototype for speed and elusiveness in a wide receiver.

Route Running

Wes Welker is not the fastest, most athletic, tallest receiver out there. Heck he does not even have the best hands. So what makes him one of the best receivers in all of football?

Route running. He runs crisp, precise routes that allow him to get open and make plays for his team.

Route running is one of the most important and underrated attributes to a great wide receiver and Wes Welker is one of the best.

Hands

Reggie Wayne has great hands. Is there really anything more that needs to be added to that. He is able to catch any ball thrown his way, and he does just about every way possible.

Wayne's ability to make the highlight reel catch, along with the routine makes him have some of the best hands in the game.

Blocking

Hines Ward, some call him dirty, some call him great. I call him a football player. He is and has been a great wide receiver for years, but above all that he is a great football player.

He is not afraid to stick his nose in the play and when he needs to throw a block, this guy can block.

Call him dirty or whatever, this guy can play for my team any day of the week.

Catching in Traffic

Andre Johnson is often mentioned along side of Larry Fitzgerald as the best wide receiver in the game today. One of the biggest reasons why is his ability to catch the ball in traffic.

Not only is being a big target important, but fighting for the ball. Johnson does that with the best of them in the game and is not afraid to go get the ball in a crowd.

Yard After Catch

Fast, nimble, agile and just a freak. Calvin Johnson can do anything with the ball once it is in his hands.

Some people may argue that other players are better after the catch, but no one has more talent overall in the game than the man they call "Megatron".

Leaping Ability

Randy Moss has been one of the best receivers in the NFL since he came into the league. As he ages and loses a step, he has consistently been able to do one thing, and that is go up and out jump everyone to get the ball.

Moss may not have the biggest vertical in the NFL anymore, but he continues to be able to get up and over his opponents to get the ball.

Body Control

Larry Fitzgerald has an amazing ability to go up in the air at the ball's highest point, make the catch, and come down in bounds. He may very well be the best overall receiver in the game today, but it is his body control that allows him to do this.

Put one, two or three defenders on this guy, and he will still make the play and make it in bounds.

Toughness

If any receiver in the NFL defines toughness it is Anquan Boldin. He has made a living of going over the middle, but more than that he has made a living of getting up after going over the middle.

Everyone remembers the hit in New York, and the aftermath. That alone should be enough for him to warrant this position.

Putting all these players together would undoubtedly create the perfect wide receiver but they are not that bad on their own.