Is this the year that, come NFL football season, the Los Angeles Rams offense finally figures out what to do with seasoned wide receiver Tutu Atwell and then puts that plan into action?

Although speed cannot be taught, do NFL coaches really value that quality? When it comes to the yearly NFL Draft and the speed aspect of possible prospects, one might argue that every NFL franchise seems to lean toward speed. Quick players appear to be chosen more quickly than those with other qualities.

But converting raw speed into NFL production is another matter altogether. You can look back to the NFL career of speedster WR John Ross. Despite his selection as the ninth overall player chosen in the 2017 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals, he never seemed to have the opportunity or forte to convert that speed into NFL yardage. In five NFL seasons, and in appearing in just 37 games, he caught just 62 of 143 passes for 957 yards and 11 touchdowns.

That was hardly the type of production that warranted a first-round selection of any wide receiver, much less the ninth overall player chosen. To be fair, Ross stepped away from the game after the 2021 NFL season. That means that while he attempted to compete, he ultimately surrendered with the Kansas City Chiefs in June 2023. But he is attempting a comeback with the Philadelphia Eagles this year:

The Kansas City Chiefs just drafted quick wide receiver Xavier Worthy, who is also a speedster with comparable obstacles to overcome. As demonstrated by the simulation below, Ross and Worthy both have lightning-fast speeds. As a result, during the NFL Draft, both players attracted a lot of interest and good reports from NFL organizations.

NFL speedsters, however, are constructed like cheetahs and gazelles. Built for speed usually means having a long stride and a sleek, thin frame that can cover ground at an unparalleled rate. But in the NFL, is that sufficient? He and his player agents surely hope so for Xavier Worthy.