Clemson Football: Tigers’ slot WR position will be a group effort

The wide receiver position is going to be a bit different for Clemson football, especially at the slot, coming into the 2019 season.

Clemson football has had its slot wide receiver pretty much etched in stone for what seems like ages.

For the first time in quite a while, the Tigers will have a brand new starter taking over the slot position with Hunter Renfrow now gone onto the NFL.

Renfrow was a safety blanket for Clemson football QBs Deshaun Watson, Kelly Bryant and Trevor Lawrence. He came up with important 3rd down snags and kept drives alive with his catching ability. There may not have been a better pure pass-catcher in the country than Renfrow.

With him gone, the Tigers will change their system at least a little bit. The slot position will no longer be characterized by a shorter receiver who can catch the ball in tight coverage. Instead, the Tigers will look to use a group effort and perhaps make opposing defenses uncomfortable with a mixture of options in the slot.

First, it should be pointed out that when Amari Rodgers returns from injury, he’ll be expected to move into that starting role at slot receiver. Rodgers, who played the ‘field’ position last year, moved over to slot to make way for Justyn Ross to be on the outside opposite of Tee Higgins.

With Rodgers out, the Tigers will look to platoon the position with several different body types. Derion Kendrick, who is similar to Rodgers in some ways, will get an opportunity to play inside, but is also expected to be a part of the defense at cornerback.

Both Cornell Powell and TJ Chase are expected to fill in at the slot position, but perhaps the most exciting player to watch inside will be Diondre Overton. Can you imagine a defense having to defend three 6-foot-4, 210 pound wide receivers all at one time? Talk about intimidating.

The Tigers won’t necessarily have the consistency that they’ve had in the past at slot receiver, but they will have a range of versatile options that will certainly keep defenses on their toes and allow the offense to work in many different ways.