Colin Cowherd Delivers Strong Message to NFL Wide Receivers

On By Littum

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel isn’t happy with the amount of touches he’s getting, writing “not fighting at all, just not getting the ball!” in a since-deleted message on X, then doubled down on his frustration.

“I mean, you read what you read,” Samuel said Tuesday, via Matt Barrows of The Athletic . “(I’m) definitely a little frustrated.”

Samuel is far from the first wideout to regret not getting the ball, and he certainly won’t be the last. A desire to make plays and be at the center of the frame is almost a prerequisite for a pass catcher. And life has been very good for these explosive talents over the past several years as the NFL has embraced a pass-happy philosophy.

But looking around and noticing a renewed desire to pound the rock – with several of the elite teams making a strong run to the top of the standings – Colin Cowherd suggests times have changed.

“Here we go again,” he said on his show Wednesday. “Another high maintenance wide receiver the quarterback has to make sure he’s happy like AJ Brown in Philly, and Deebo and Malik Nabers earlier this year with the Giants and Davante Adams with cryptic messages when he was a Raider. Ceedee Lamb is forever unhappy and George Pickens and Diontae Johnson, even Ja’Marr Chase – who I love – made noise this year Oh by the way the top-five rushing teams in the NFL: Philly, Baltimore, Washington, Detroit and the Packers are 48-17.”

“Hello receivers,” Cowherd continued. “We gave you a few years to be stars and you wasted it complaining. The world changes fast. Nine months ago we were just hearing the media bemoan the future of running backs, nobody wants to pay a running back. Running backs saying nobody loves us. Today, power running football is back.”

“Wide receivers have turned into flashy sports cars again,” Cowherd concluded. “Really expensive, maintenance. You buy one and you find out they’re not good in the winter months.”

There’s no one on the air better at turning a phrase than Cowherd. And it’s hard to argue that NFL teams don’t need a great game to be successful. But making a statement like this with such a small sample size is dangerous. Plus, it should be pointed out that the five teams he mentioned have some pretty impactful wideouts.

There is Amon-Ra St. Brown in Detroit, Zay Flowers in Baltimore, Terry McLaurin in Washington and AJ Brown in Philadelphia. All four of those guys rank 17th or better in receiving yardage this year. Others in the top-20 of this statistic include: Ladd McConkey, Nico Collins, Courtland Sutton, George Pickens, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Justin Jefferson. All of their respective teams currently hold a playoff spot or are very much alive. If you look at yards per game, then Collins, Jefferson, Puka Nacua, AJ Brown, Chris Godwin, DK Metcalf and Cooper Kupp sit in the top-10 who have serious playoff hopes.

Football, like any other sport, is constantly evolving. The running back resurgence has been interesting and in some ways eye-opening, but defenses will soon adjust and wide receivers, who may actually be suffering a bit of a dip, will see their stock rise again.

That’s a problem for a future segment.