Why did Isaiah McKenzie fail as starting Slot WR?

[DapperCam]

If you look at his stats for last season, they actually aren't that bad for a slot receiver (probably middle of the road for the league). I think people get frustrated because it feels like he could have been even better, but never reached that next level. His stats were very similar to Dawson Knox for the year.

2022 Regular season stats:
42 receptions

65 targets
423 rec yards
10.1 rec avg
4 rec TDs
9 rushes
55 rush yards
6.1 ypc
1 rush TD

He had a lot of games where he had 3 or less targets, which limited his counting stats. I'm not sure if it was Allen not trusting him, or Dorsey not including him in the game plan. He officially had no fumbles this past season, but I could have sworn he had a few on special teams that weren't lost.

[NewEra]

15 minutes ago, DapperCam said:

If you look at his stats for last season, they actually aren't that bad for a slot receiver (probably middle of the road for the league). I think people get frustrated because it feels like he could have been even better, but never reached that next level. His stats were very similar to Dawson Knox for the year.

2022 Regular season stats:
42 receptions

65 targets
423 rec yards
10.1 rec avg
4 rec TDs
9 rushes
55 rush yards
6.1 ypc
1 rush TD

He had a lot of games where he had 3 or less targets, which limited his counting stats. I'm not sure if it was Allen not trusting him, or Dorsey not including him in the game plan. He officially had no fumbles this past season, but I could have sworn he had a few on special teams that weren't lost.

He was Josh Allen’s slot receiver for the entire season.  Of course his stats aren’t going to be “that bad”.  
 

He wasn’t good (he was closer to poor than good last year imo) and we’d prefer good+ as shown by trading up to draft his replacement 

[Logic]

Some players seem to have an exact niche into which they fit perfectly, and they're not really suited for anything else.

McKenzie, to me, perfectly fills that "gadget role" niche. Jet sweeps, motion, eye candy, bubble screens. Sure, he'll have the occasional big play or big game as a traditional receiver (remember him going off against the Pats?), but by and large, that's just not what he is.

Remember: Several times the Bills were happy to let McKenzie walk, and several times McKenzie tested the free agent market and never really had any suitors. He always wound up coming back to the Bills for relatively low pay. He CLAIMS that he was turning down more money from other teams because he preferred Buffalo, but who knows if that's true.

Maybe it's the mental aspect of the game. Maybe it's imprecise route running. Maybe it's so-so hands in big moments. Maybe he didn't have the trust of his QB for a combination of the reasons mentioned here. 

Whatever it is, McKenzie is very good at the role to which he is suited. He is average to below average as a traditional receiver. I had hoped that, as the season went on, Dorsey would realize this and use McKenzie the way that Daboll had. Daboll seemed to know EXACTLY how to use and how not to use McKenzie.

Anyway...I'll be interested to see how he does with the Colts.

Edited June 2, 2023 by Logic

[Ralonzo]

Very fast but only from the neck down.

[blacklabel]

He was just never as involved as people expected. Last season he averaged about four targets a game with two or three catches for around 26-27 yards. 

 

He took over in that game against the Pats in 2021 but never really came close to that type of performance again. 

 

He seems like a nice dude but in the NFL he's probably seen as just another guy. 

[Alphadawg7]

16 hours ago, JohnNord said:

Like many here and many in the media, I thought we would see big things from Isaiah McKenzie.  After signing a multi-year contract with Buffalo, it seemed like he was going to be the heir apparent to Cole Beasley.  Even when the Bills signed Jamison Crowder, McKenzie routinely hyped as one of the most impressive WR’s in training camp.  I believe he was called “uncoverable” several times by beat reporters.  
 

But last season was not the step forward we thought he would take.  While he still put up decent numbers there were times when he seemed invisible in the offense - a far cry from when Cole Beasley’s role.  
 

I’m wondering why… did he struggle with getting open and reading defenses in the way that Beasley did?  Did Allen not trust him?  Was Dorsey unable to utilize his skills and find advantageous matchups for him, the way that Daboll did the season before?

 

Or did McKenzie simply prove that he is not a starting caliber WR…and is instead more of a gadget/role player?   I know there were issues with drops this season too which didn’t help.  

 

I know on Ty Dunne’s podcast he said he was getting open but wasn’t getting the ball.  Is this true?  I can’t say that I completely buy that.  
 

If anyone has theories why or has watched his film, let me know. 

Well guess this is one of those “I told you so” moments because I said all off-season last year McKenzie wasn’t good enough to start and wasn’t going to do a whole lot last year.  I knew he was going to fail in the slot, yet everyone kept arguing with me all last offseason that he was some sort of “heir” to the Beasley throne.  And the number 1 reason was this one game anomaly he had against NE as if that was somehow gonna be the norm for a guy who had never been anything more than a gadget guy who could barely crack the offense.    
 

There is nothing he does well outside run fast.  He is a sloppy route runner, has inconsistent hands, can’t fight through press coverage, doesn’t catch well in traffic, doesn’t track the deep ball well with his speed, and doesn’t make contested catches. 
 

I even pointed out the staffs complete lack of confidence in him being the “heir” to Beasley by signing him to non starter money, signing Crowder who was a much more accomplished slot WR and better overall player, and also drafting Shakir.  Literally nothing the staff did last offseason showed any faith he was their locked in slot starter.  And the staff even continued to show lack of faith in him during the season going out and getting Cole Beasley too.  
 

Yet so many people argued he was gonna have this great Beasley like year because he had one anomaly game against NE.  

 

So…here it is:  I told you so 😜

Edited June 2, 2023 by Alphadawg7

[JohnNord]

1 hour ago, Florida Bills Fanatic said:

Drops, bad route runner, and had trouble identifying man vs zone coverage.  At times, it looked like he didn't know what he was doing on the play.  When two receivers ended up being too close together on their routes, McKenzie was usually one of them.  Had Crowder not been injured, McKenzie would have been a regular inactive on game day or even cut.

Cool…thanks for the concrete examples.  This makes more sense then “loses focus.”  

27 minutes ago, blacklabel said:

He was just never as involved as people expected. Last season he averaged about four targets a game with two or three catches for around 26-27 yards. 

 

He took over in that game against the Pats in 2021 but never really came close to that type of performance again. 

 

He seems like a nice dude but in the NFL he's probably seen as just another guy. 

I wouldn’t say “just another guy.”  The fear with McKenzie was that he was mainly a gadget guy who could take advantage of matchups - like he did with NE in 2021.

 

2022 seemed to prove this to be true.  In the right situation he could make plays but he doesn’t seem to be able to do this consistently 

[BADOLBILZ]

11 hours ago, Einstein said:

 

Nah, Daboll is legit.

He proved that when he turned that terrible QB of the Giants into a decent player.

 

So Sam Wyche coming within a minute of beating the 49ers in the SB wasn't "legit" but Daboll squeezing a 15 TD pass season out of top pick QB Daniel Jones is?

 

I don't think you understand the point.    Like I said........when they are doing well you think that they are special..........but when they are bad they are REALLY bad.

 

Wyche had a lot of terrible coaching seasons after the good part of his stint in Cinci.   Daboll was an OC in the NFL 4 times and was fired after one season the first 3 times because he was horrible.........and was historically bad in the first half of his first season with the Bills.

 

Mike Mularkey had top ranked offenses in Pittsburgh with Tommy Maddox and Kordell Stewart at QB.    Mularkey taking the job with the Bills was very similar to Daboll with the Giants.   On paper he seemed like a very good OC but he drove Bill Cowher nuts and I believe it was the same with McDermott and Daboll.   Mularkey had an excellent first season in Buffalo breathing new life into Drew Bledsoe........and then the season finale against his old employer happened with the playoffs on the line.........and then next year he was terrible from start to finish.    He seemingly did a great job with a weak roster as HC in Tennessee as well but got fired.   

[RoyBatty is alive]

McKenzie was way too mistake prone.  Recall the backward shuttle pass he lost against KC which resulted in a turnover and the "ghost" that tripped up McKenzie on a kickoff who proceeded to fumble the Ball and the colts picked it up ran it to the 1 yard line (that set all the momentum to the Colts we we got embarrassed that game).

[Beck Water]

12 hours ago, NewEra said:

It doesn’t have anything to do with Beane.

 

name two successful WR’s in nfl history that are mckenzies height and arm length.    Name one?  
 

I’ll save you some time.  In the history of the NFL there are no successful WRs with dirtys dimensions. Check mate my friend 

 

edit:  I’m a fan of Harty and I expect him to make some big plays for us…. But he was never signed to be our starting slot WR imo.  The likelihood of him staying healthy if he gets 100+ targets is very unlikely imo.  I expect him to play some outside (not just slot) and run a fair amount of outside/ deep routes. 

 

First of all, a lot of my post to which you're responding was in response to someone else, not to your comment "Idk why, but he’s too dam small and his arms to too dam short to be a good target."  Lose the crowing about "checkmate", because I'm not trying to argue that the history of the NFL is replete with successful small short receivers - I'm making the point that if what you say is true about McKenzie, it's an ongoing problem for the Bills.  (as far as NFL history, there's always a rule until someone comes along and breaks it.  And Beasley, FWIW, measured 5'7 7/8" which gives him a mighty 3/8" on McKenzie)

 

Second, it absolutely has a lot to do with Beane!  If the problem with McKenzie is that he's "too damned small and his arms are too short to be a good target", then in fact the Buck stops in the middle of Beane's desk by going into the season with two options at slot:

1) Crowder, who at 5'9"( combine 5'8 3/8") is not THAT much bigger, and who had missed almost 1/3 of his games the previous two seasons

2) McKenzie, who is listed in Pro Football Reference as 5'8" (combine measurement 5'7 1/2") and who has 28 3/4" arms

 

And it will also be on Beane that he's apparently replacing a good bit of McKenzie's role in the slot with Harty, who is listed as 5'6 3/8" and 28 1/4" arms.  Please note that McKenzie was used on deep routes (from the slot) as I expect Harty will be - but do you really expect Harty to be able to line up outside and gain a clean release or hand-fight against much longer armed corners?  That seems like a big "ask" to me.  And if McKenzie's problem was that he's "too damned small and his arms are too short" to be a good target, isn't that just exacerbated with Harty?

 

Personally, I don't think McKenzie's issue is that he's too small to be a good target.  I think some other folks called part of it out correctly: he could lack focus within games leading to some inexplicable gaffes.  And even if he is correct that he was open, his habit of body-catching the ball made him a dangerous target on some routes and didn't necessarily mean he was running the route Josh expected against that coverage (wherever the disconnect may lie). 

 

So if Harty can stay healthy, I think he can be a good target despite his short stature and arms.  And yes, Beane explicitly said "we see him as our #4" meaning not as the starting slot - but he does have to be able to run a larger route tree than just gadgets, and I'm not sure he can handle the outside role you suggest at his size vs. getting a free release as a slot then running a deep route.
 

PS short arms are also an issue with Shakir, 29", which may also hinder his use outside.  Unless Shorter or Patmon or someone come thru, I think we're still thin outside, it's Diggs Davis and who?

Edited June 2, 2023 by Beck Water

[ALLinALLEN]

Simply put, I just dont think he is/was ever that good or talented. 420 and 4td out of the slot last year might be his ceiling career wise. Smart of us to look elsewhere and I don't think the Colts will be impressed with him.

[Beck Water]

2 hours ago, Logic said:

Some players seem to have an exact niche into which they fit perfectly, and they're not really suited for anything else.

McKenzie, to me, perfectly fills that "gadget role" niche. Jet sweeps, motion, eye candy, bubble screens. Sure, he'll have the occasional big play or big game as a traditional receiver (remember him going off against the Pats?), but by and large, that's just not what he is.

 

So Logic-ally, the problem with the "gadget role" niche is, if the player does not run any other plays, opposing defenses key on him and say "here comes the reverse" or "get ready, there's that jet sweep again!". 

 

We saw that towards the end of the 2019 season, and Daboll started to use McKenzie on shallow crossers and slants, just so that teams couldn't key on it.

 

So "gadget guy" really needs to have a broader vocabulary.

[NewEra]

1 hour ago, Beck Water said:

 

First of all, a lot of my post to which you're responding was in response to someone else, not to your comment "Idk why, but he’s too dam small and his arms to too dam short to be a good target."  Lose the crowing about "checkmate", because I'm not trying to argue that the history of the NFL is replete with successful small short receivers - I'm making the point that if what you say is true about McKenzie, it's an ongoing problem for the Bills.  (as far as NFL history, there's always a rule until someone comes along and breaks it.  And Beasley, FWIW, measured 5'7 7/8" which gives him a mighty 3/8" on McKenzie)

 

Second, it absolutely has a lot to do with Beane!  If the problem with McKenzie is that he's "too damned small and his arms are too short to be a good target", then in fact the Buck stops in the middle of Beane's desk by going into the season with two options at slot:

1) Crowder, who at 5'9"( combine 5'8 3/8") is not THAT much bigger, and who had missed almost 1/3 of his games the previous two seasons

2) McKenzie, who is listed in Pro Football Reference as 5'8" (combine measurement 5'7 1/2") and who has 28 3/4" arms

 

And it will also be on Beane that he's apparently replacing a good bit of McKenzie's role in the slot with Harty, who is listed as 5'6 3/8" and 28 1/4" arms.  Please note that McKenzie was used on deep routes (from the slot) as I expect Harty will be - but do you really expect Harty to be able to line up outside and gain a clean release or hand-fight against much longer armed corners?  That seems like a big "ask" to me.  And if McKenzie's problem was that he's "too damned small and his arms are too short" to be a good target, isn't that just exacerbated with Harty?

 

Personally, I don't think McKenzie's issue is that he's too small to be a good target.  I think some other folks called part of it out correctly: he could lack focus within games leading to some inexplicable gaffes.  And even if he is correct that he was open, his habit of body-catching the ball made him a dangerous target on some routes and didn't necessarily mean he was running the route Josh expected against that coverage (wherever the disconnect may lie).  So if Harty can stay healthy, I think he can be a good target.
 

PS short arms are also an issue with Shakir, 29", which may hinder his use outside.

“It” doesn’t have to do with Beane.  The “it” I’m referring to is in reference to small midgets succeeding in the nfl.   Inwasnt referring to Harty.  I also don’t expect Harty to be out slot WR, like McKenzie was.  If he was, I wouldn’t expect him him to succeed in that role.  I expect him to be similar to Mecole Hardman.  A guy that can take the top off the defense and can take a short pass/handoff to the house.  Definitely a niche type player.
 

The always a rule until someone comes along to break analogy doesn’t vibe with me in this case.  Let’s say that there were 10 players as small as mckenzie that had success.  There were still 100 others his size that didn’t have success.  There’s a reason for that.  I’d argue that in many cases, it’s because they were too small

and their arms and hands were too short.  L

 

Having longer arms and bigger hands make it easier to catch with your hands and avoid body catching.

 
I agree that his size isn’t his only problem.  But it IS a big problem. As has been rehashed here thousands of times, by you as well, he’s football IQ is lacking.  It’s another reason why he hasn’t had success.  
 

I realize shakir has short arms.  It’s not a one or the other problem.  It’s a one and the other problem.  A combination of being super short with super small arms, hands and weighing 175lbs is one of the reasons dirty isn’t very good. Shakir doesn’t have the same combination of deficiencies.  I do believe that if he has 32 inch arms, he would’ve been a 2nd rd pick and he’d have a higher ceiling.  
 

My apologies if you got offended by the check mate comment and if I misread your initial reply.  I stand by my belief that his size is a big reason why he isn’t a better WR.  I just should’ve included his football IQ in my initial post. 

[JohnNord]

4 hours ago, DapperCam said:

If you look at his stats for last season, they actually aren't that bad for a slot receiver (probably middle of the road for the league). I think people get frustrated because it feels like he could have been even better, but never reached that next level. His stats were very similar to Dawson Knox for the year.

2022 Regular season stats:
42 receptions

65 targets
423 rec yards
10.1 rec avg
4 rec TDs
9 rushes
55 rush yards
6.1 ypc
1 rush TD

He had a lot of games where he had 3 or less targets, which limited his counting stats. I'm not sure if it was Allen not trusting him, or Dorsey not including him in the game plan. He officially had no fumbles this past season, but I could have sworn he had a few on special teams that weren't lost.

I saw this stat as well.  He did bobble a backfield pass which caused a turnover against Kansas City but for some reason they gave that fumble to Allen.

 

 

[Doc Brown]

4 hours ago, NewEra said:

 

McKenzie measured was 5’7 at the combine.  Maybe he grew?  🤷🏻‍♂️ 

 

I get your point, but I hope you also get my point.  Size DOES matter when you’re THAT small.  If it didn’t, there would be other successful 5’7 WRs 

Of course it does.  It’s not a guarantee you can’t be a successful WR like Beasley though if you’re superb in other areas.  McKenzie wasn’t.

[BuffaloMatt]

5 hours ago, JohnNord said:

I’ve listened to just about all of his podcasts with Tyler Dunne.  He presented it as though he was open and doing his job - Josh just wasn’t throwing to him 

He wasn't focused on the one job he needed to be good at.  If I am GM I put in contract no in season broadcasting unless it's team authorized. 

[Jerome007]

Well, the answer might be with reserve engineering, and look at what made Beasley so good at the position. Dude was money on 3rd downs!

 

Harty won't be used as a slot IMO. More of a deep threat kind of guy- and my "surprise" pick for this year to make quite an impact that was under the radar. I can imagine him running sweeps though.

[Einstein]

4 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

when they are doing well you think that they are special..........but when they are bad they are REALLY bad.

 

Yeah that's where we disagree. Just because a play or game doesnt work out the way we hope, doesnt mean it's a coordinators fault.

 

4 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

Daboll was an OC in the NFL 4 times and was fired after one season the first 3 times because he was horrible........

Daboll was fired because he had terrible QB's and its practically impossible to overcome that.  Very few have.

 

4 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

Mike Mularkey had top ranked offenses in Pittsburgh with Tommy Maddox and Kordell Stewart at QB.    Mularkey taking the job with the Bills was very similar to Daboll with the Giants.   

 

Mularkey's offenses in Pittsburgh were 11th in total TD's scored, 19th in TD's, and 10th in TD's.

 

It was a good offense, but hardly a "top ranked" offense, considering it was only top 10 once and top 5 never.

Daboll averaged 45 TD's per season as o-coordinator with the Bills. Mularkey averaged in the 30's.

[mjt328]

To be a good Slot Receiver, a player needs to excel at:

1.   Route Running / Timing

2.  Short-Area Quickness 

3.  Great Hands

 

If a WR can't get open in less than 2 seconds, be exactly where his QB is expecting on the field, and then be able to grab a lightning quick pass in traffic... he's just not going to be good in that position.

 

 

There are different kinds of speed, and Isaiah McKenzie is more like a small running back.  He can accelerate quickly and be shifty with the ball in his hands.  But ask him to make quick cuts to get open... just not really his skillset.  Not to mention, his hands can be questionable at times.

 

 

[RoyBatty is alive]

2 hours ago, JohnNord said:

I saw this stat as well.  He did bobble a backfield pass which caused a turnover against Kansas City but for some reason they gave that fumble to Allen.

 

 

It was a close call, a GOOD RB or Receiver would have gotten that ball, he basically muffed it.  Some say it was an ad lib by Josh but I see it as a muff and because is was behind the line of scrimmage it went down as a Josh fumble.