Why Wes Welker Could Succeed in Any NFL Offense

There's no reason to think Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker wouldn't be successful in another offense. 

As a slot receiver in the Patriots offense, many wonder if he is a product of the system and of quarterback Tom Brady. But no receiver has excelled like Welker has in that role, and perhaps no other receiver will again.

Between his quickness, sure hands and ability to read a defense, his skill set makes him one of the most unique receivers in the NFL, and he could take that skill set with him anywhere and remain successful. 

He put all of those skills on display in Week 3 against the Bills. The Patriots lost that game, 34-31, but Welker had a career game with 16 receptions (a Patriots record) for 217 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Here's how he shredded the Bills defense. 

Reading the Defense

Welker is one of the best receivers in the league when it comes to finding the holes in the defense; the soft spots in coverage where he can get open for the catch.

On 1st-and-10 from the New England 45-yard line, the Patriots line up with 11 personnel—that's three wide receivers, one tight end and one running back. Welker is lined up in the slot.

Brady sets up the play with play-action, pulling the linebackers forward and opening up a space behind them. They're easily lured, considering the spread set and the down and distance.

There's no trickery to Welker's route-running here. He runs the route that is best suited to attack the Bills defense and their breakdown in coverage over the middle.

He could have caught this pass anywhere, but he makes his way across the field and is still wide open when the ball gets there.

Sure Hands

Think Welker can't go up and get one?

Think again. 

He may get a lot of criticism for dropping the tough catch against the Giants in the Super Bowl, but there is at least one instance of him putting those sure hands on display to make an incredibly difficult reception.

With just over eight minutes to go in the fourth quarter, the Patriots faced a crucial 4th-and-4 inside the Bills territory. With Brady in the shotgun, the Patriots come out in a spread set with four wide receivers and a tight end. Welker lines up on the outside.

The route is nothing special—a simple curl route just past the chains. That's become Welker's bread and butter.

It's what he does after running the route that is very special.

Leap, extension and catch. 

Welker's sure hands are on display on the key play of the game. Any NFL offense would be glad to have that guy on their side.

Quickness

Welker's ability to juke his way away from defenders has earned him permanent praise in the form of at least one music video.

That's all fine and dandy for Welker, but he'd rather use it to make plays.

And sure enough, not too much deeper into the game than the last one, we find yet another example of him making a play on a pivotal play. 

Another aspect of what sets Welker apart from other receivers is his ability to get it done in big situations (the Super Bowl notwithstanding).

On 3rd-and-6, the Patriots line up with 11 personnel. Brady's in the shotgun, with running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis to his right.  

Welker comes in motion across the set, a not-uncommon way for the Patriots to get him open underneath and allow him to utilize his quickness.

He put that quickness on display after the snap, with a quick in-cut across the field.

His ability to catch Bills safety Bryan Scott off guard and get him quickly off-balance allows Welker to get past Scott; it's that, not his speed, that is at work here.

And from there, it's just typical Wes Welker creating yards after the catch. He picks up an extra 17 yards before he's finally knocked out-of-bounds.

The skills mentioned above will help him excel anywhere, but Welker's symbiotic chemistry with Brady would be hard to replicate anywhere else.

The quarterback-receiver combo is one of the most efficient in football. According to Pro Football Focus, 73.1 percent of passes thrown to Welker (regular season and postseason) were completed for a total of 1,737 yards, 10 touchdowns and just one pick. That calculates to a 115.6 passer rating. In case you're curious, that's a full 10 points higher than Brady's season numbers.

It wasn't long before Welker became Brady's best friend, and the duo has trended upward for the most part. 

Greg Bedard of the Boston Globe said, "To suggest that his success is the product of Tom Brady and the system shows disrespect for Welker." That's a word for it, but I'd call it foolish beyond description.

Erik Frenz is the AFC East lead blogger for Bleacher Report. Be sure to follow Erik on Twitter and "like" the AFC East blog on Facebook to keep up with all the updates.