SI All-American: Ranking the Top 10 Slot Receivers in the Class of 2021
After compiling several months worth of data in addition to cycling back for a closer look at the 2019 football season, SI All-American has put pen to paper at each position group.
As we work towards the preseason SI99, ranking the top college football prospects regardless of position, establishing a top 10 ahead of the 2020 season for each position group plays paramount. For the pass catching group, the first position to break down is in the slot.
With college teams lining up in 11 personnel and 10 personnel at a higher rate, the inside wide receiver or slot receiver has become a starting level position with elevated responsibility within an offense. From running option routes and putting pressure on underneath defenders with a two-way go, to bubble screens and jet sweeps, we are tracking the right blend of quickness, pure play-making ability and production in establishing the initial slot ranking.
Here are the best of the best ahead of the 2020 football season.
1. Mario Williams, Plant City (Fla.) High
5-foot-10, 175 pounds
Committed to Oklahoma
Williams would contend for the top spot on any wide receiver list. Few in the class have the combination of explosiveness, ability after the catch and true route construction like the future Sooner shows consistently on tape. That unmatched polish lines up masterfully with his competitiveness and ability to play bigger than his frame suggests. Williams, also a baseball star, has a true plan at the line of scrimmage with diverse releases and the ability to start-stop at will at any point in the route. Add in overall physicality, the ability to make contested catches along with plus success at the high point and the Floridian sets the pace among slot standouts nationally.
2. Christian Leary, Orlando (Fla.) Edgewater
5-foot-9, 180 pounds
Committed to Alabama
There's no doubt who the fastest slot talent on this list is. Leary is a blur and it doesn't take him long to ramp up that lower body power all the way to full tilt. While the polish, compared to a guy like Williams, isn't quite as developed, there isn't a bigger home run threat at the position. Only a part-time wideout in high school, his experience in the backfield and in the return game provides stunning showcases of vision, elusiveness and even lateral ability that make the slot position projection an easy call. As his understanding of the route tree expands into the future, Leary's strong hands and natural tools should get him on the field in space early in his college career.
3. Destyn Pazon, New Orleans (La.) Edna Karr
6-foot, 170 pounds
Considering LSU, Alabama, Florida, Florida State and others
There's so much to like within Pazon's game. He is smooth off the line of scrimmage with variety in his release plan relative to the defense with the quickness to challenge leverage immediately. The polish is evident throughout a given route, with a wide catch radius and extension skill to make plays away from his body at the catch point. Quicker than fast, the uncommitted Louisianan is strong after the catch with easy elusiveness and even some power and grit to push for extra yardage. Particularly strong on in-breaking routes, there's a savvy to adjust on the fly in his game that college offensive coordinators will utilize Pazon against any coverage look.
4. Jabez Tinae, Burien (Wash.) John F. Kennedy
6-foot-1, 190 pounds
Committed to Washington
Already with considerable experience from the slot position, Tinae is advanced compared to most high school wide receivers in the polish department. He stems his routes, sets up defensive backs at more than one stage of the plan and has good separation quickness. More classic slot traits like spatial awareness, strong hands and plus production after the catch show up throughout the tape. Above average long speed and a rock solid frame make the future Washington Husky an easy call on this list given one of the best floors in the country at any position.
5. Xavier Worthy, Fresno (Calif.) Central East
6-foot-1, 160 pounds
Committed to Michigan
Bored on a Tuesday? Pop in Worthy's 2019 tape and enjoy. The recent Michigan commitment is among the more exciting skill position stars in the class of 2021 with his ability to challenge defenses at the line of scrimmage or simply take the top off of the secondary all together. Projecting him in the slot is more about hitting a higher ceiling based on playing in space compared to more polished slot types on this list, and for good reason. Worthy has exceptional speed and burst, but there's a level of smooth in his current route tree understanding to go along with the ball skills that make him the type to build a passing attack around down the line. A long stride and expansive catch radius emphasize his ability to make an impact regardless of down and distance. Once he fills out, watch out.
6. Kyron Ware-Hudson, Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei
6-foot-1, 195 pounds
Committed to Oregon
Ware-Hudson is the progression pick on the list. He has great production as well as flash ability while playing for national powerhouse Mater Dei in California but his elevation and understanding of the route tree blossomed as a junior. He clearly emphasized polish in the offseason and it paid off in 2019 during a 13-touchdown campaign. Perhaps the biggest prospect in the slot rankings, it's the combination of route-running and catch radius that has him high up. The slot position isn't just about low center of gravity, quicker-than-fast space specialists. There is room for the physical mismatch with added value against a sub defender in the red zone when a physical, body-contorting leaper like Ware-Hudson lines up inside.
7. Quaydarius Davis, Dallas (Texas) Skyline
6-foot, 193 pounds
Committed to USC
Already plenty comfortable working in the slot, Davis has plenty of the conventional traits one would associate with the position projection. Few, if any, on this list are quicker than he is off the line of scrimmage with true torque in getting to the second level and beyond. Acceleration and agility are present before and especially after the catch, as a combination of vision, patience and even power make him tough to corral. Davis will flash plus route-running and leaping ability with the ball in flight that makes his ceiling that much higher while theoretically working against smaller defensive backs at the next level.
8. Gavin Blackwell, Monroe (N.C.) Sun Valley
6-foot, 165 pounds
Committed to North Carolina
The in-state commitment for Mack Brown and the Tar Heels is as productive as it gets from a consistency level, churning out back-to-back 1,000-yard campaigns heading into 2020. Blackwell does it with a well-above average standing throughout his game, from quickness to route running and ability to win at the catch point. Your jaw may not drop when watching him work but he doesn't show any glaring weaknesses while holding his own in the speed, elusiveness and catch radius departments. In Chapel Hill, Blackwell will work best as a complementary option who can line up inside and out with reliability at either spot.
9. Troy Stellato, Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Cardinal Gibbons
6-foot, 175 pounds
Committed to Clemson
Another ultra productive prospect on the list, Stellato does it against elite competition in south Florida on Friday nights. He is a well-built prospect from both an appearance and functional standpoint with the head-turning top end speed to offset most coverage alignments. Already comfortable in the slot, he can tempo his releases relative to leverage with enough acceleration to cross multiple zones on one route. The polish is also present with his ability to decelerate, work the stem of the route and finish with strong hands in traffic or away from his body. Factor in a competitiveness and clear advantage down the field and Stellato shouldn't have to wait terribly long to make his Death Valley debut.
10. Jaquez Smith, Atlanta (Ga.) Westlake
6-foot, 190 pounds
Considering Tennessee, Alabama, Minnesota, Kentucky, Georgia, and Colorado
A threat to all three levels, Smith has one of the strongest frames on this list but moves like a prospect much smaller in stature. He can overwhelm smaller defensive backs with physicality while putting pressure on bigger ones with suddenness and the ability to get to top speed quickly. He gets out of his breaks on low plane with plus route construction samples littered on tape, with an understanding of attacking leverage soon after the snap. Slot traits like strong deceleration, an understanding of the soft spot against underneath zone looks and elusiveness after the catch make Smith the type to one day manufacture touches for.
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