Why Brian Quick Is Proving to Be the Rams' Real Wide Receiver of the Future

Brian Quick hasn’t needed much time during his first season as a starter to show that he’s more than just a receiver with a really great receiver name.

He came from humble beginnings at tiny Appalachian State and has now grown in his third year to the point where we're forced to wonder, is he the St. Louis Rams’ future at wide receiver instead of Tavon Austin?

This is a team and front office that’s invested heavily in youth at the position during recent drafts. On their current depth chart, the Rams have four receivers selected in the third round or higher since 2011.

	Draft Year	Round	Age
Tavon Austin	2013	1st (8th overall)	23
Austin Pettis	2011	3rd (78th overall	25
Brian Quick	2012	2nd (33rd overall)	25
Stedman Bailey	2013	3rd (92nd overall)	23

Chris Givens set a rookie record in 2012 with a catch of 50-plus yards in five straight games, and he wasn’t too far behind as a fourth-round pick. Of the six Rams receivers currently rostered, five are either at or below the age of 25.

Austin is the assumed savior, an automatic title when your talent is deemed worthy of a top-10 pick (eighth overall) in the 2013 draft. The Rams also jumped to secure the diminutive but blazing-fast slot receiver, shuffling three other picks to Buffalo in the process.

But unlike Quick, Austin has his limitations, which seems like an odd contradiction for a player who’s consistently been described as versatile and finished his collegiate career with 1,033 rushing yards in addition to 3,413 yards through the air.

Being able to do everything doesn’t necessarily translate to doing it all at a high level in the NFL.

With his limited size (5’8”, 176 lbs), he can’t play on the outside regularly, which is where Quick is thriving while using his wide frame and physicality to fight for balls.

To utilize Austin’s speed, creative scheming and even wild gimmicks are playbook staples. According to Chicago radio host Zach Zaidman, that trickery has now been parroted:

The play that inspired Bears head coach Marc Trestman involved Austin faking an end-around before reversing and streaking down the sideline 65 yards in Week 3 of his rookie season.

He can do that and become a punt returner on command. But while operating more conventionally as a receiver, his production has been minimal and scattered. Much of it (33 percent) was concentrated in one game last year.

	Receptions	Yards	Yds/catch	Touchdowns
Against Colts in Week 10	2	138	69	2
Rest of Season	38	280	7.4	2

Taking that further, nearly half of Austin’s 2013 offensive production came on four plays, with 259 yards accounting for 45.5 percent of his football yards pie. That’s only his yards from scrimmage and doesn’t include the return game.

None of that is bad or unwanted. It’s merely reality for Austin and his quest to justify a top-10 pick when healthy.

After that investment, he should be the Rams’ unquestioned top weapon ahead of Quick and the primary focus of what they do offensively.

Instead Austin’s output has been sporadic and situational, lowlighted by six drops over only 15 career games, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

Meanwhile, Quick can be both booming and consistent.

He’s been eased in and is now showing early signs of following an old but still often golden third-year wide receiver breakout path. In 2013, Quick was on the field for only 361 snaps. That added up to a tiny 35.1 percent of the Rams’ total offensive snaps, yet he still caught five passes for 20-plus yards despite only 18 receptions.

As a receiver, Quick’s 2013 season looks mighty fine next to Austin’s considering that lack of usage.

	Snaps	Receptions	Yards	+20 Yard Catches
Tavon Austin	434	40	418	5
Brian Quick	361	18	302	5

During predraft workouts, Rams wide receivers coach Ray Sherman dropped a rather talented name while discussing Quick: Terrell Owens.

"I see a lot of similarities to Terrell Owens," Sherman told Yahoo Sports' Michael Silver. "The way the kid goes and gets the ball, the physicality, the desire ... he has a chance to be special, no doubt."

Ignore the namedrop there if it’s reaching too far for your liking and instead focus on the general idea and observations of Quick's characteristics as a receiver. He has height and a body (6'3", 218 lbs) that allow him to be physical, as well as fine speed (4.55-second 40-yard dash, per NFL.com) for a target of his size.

He brings natural leaping ability too as a former basketball player and high jumper. That’s also led to his rawness and slow development, as he didn’t start playing football until his senior year of high school.

Now as a starter this season (his snap percentage is up to 77.0), Quick has 235 receiving yards over only three games, including a 51-yard touchdown catch in Week 3. According to PFF (subscription required), he’s done that on 21 targets and has 110 receiving yards when targeted in traffic directly up the middle 10 or more yards downfield.

Quick's blend of speed and power is reflected in his route tree and what Rams offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer has asked him to do so far, per Backyard Banter's Matt Harmon:

Nearly half of his routes take Quick deep, but he’s still doing plenty of fighting and grappling up the middle through curls and slants. Austin, meanwhile, saw 49 of his 65 targets last year on throws either behind the line of scrimmage or traveling fewer than nine yards.

Austin will have his bursts and moments when he makes defenders do the full pretzel, many of which will come as a returner.

Offensively, however, the pint-sized receiver has largely needed gadget plays to find success. That’s not a problem, with a healthy Austin able to do a lot with less.

Quick can do a lot with a lot, which is why it’s not difficult to see him as the Rams’ primary receiving focus going forward.