Rejoice, rejoice, the Pittsburgh Steelers have gotten quarterback Ben Roethlisberger a “tall” wide receiver and he’s reportedly pleased with the Saturday selection of Clemson wide receiver Martavis Bryant in the 2014 NFL Draft.
So why is having a tall wide receiver such a big deal? Wide receivers coach Richard Mann shared his thoughts on the matter Saturday during his post selection press conference
“A lot of times, in my opinion, doesn’t mean I’m always right, you get cheap touchdowns in the red zone,” Mann reasoned. “A lot of times people know where the ball is going to go and there is nothing they can do about it if you got a mismatch. And that’s what we think we have here with the reach that he has, the wingspan. We feel like we can get some cheap touchdowns down there.”
Bryant, who the Steelers managed to select in the fourth round, has 32 5/8-inch arms and a 79-inch wingspan. In addition, his 39-inch vertical jump combined with the fact that he’s nearly 76-inches tall, gives him one heck of a catch radius.
During his three years at Clemson, Bryant only caught 61 passes for 1,354 yards, but 13 of those catches went for touchdowns. Only four of those were in the red zone, however, so he’s still got a lot to prove down in that part of the field. Bryant is confident that he will do just that.
“I bring a big threat in the red zone,” he said. “I’ll do anything they ask me to.”
