Contrary to popular belief, Danny Amendola possesses qualities similar to those of perennial pro bowler, Wes Welker. Yesterday, I made a call into to WEEI radio's "Big Show" and briefly stated that IF Wes Welker were to leave, Danny Amendola would be an ideal replacement. I did NOT say that the Patriots SHOULD replace Welker with Amendola that is unless they couldn't re-sign him. One of the host s of the show, Glenn Ordway, proceeded to tell me that the only reason I made the comparison is because they are both white, which I couldn't help but take personally. He then asked "how big is Amendola?", because he didn't know. He also remarked that Amendola couldn't stay on the field, which was a fair thing to say and partially true.





I would just like to clarify why I make the comparison of Amendola to Welker, and it's definitely NOT because they are both white. First, there is their size and skills; Welker is 5'9" 190 lbs while Amendola is 5'11" 193 lbs. Both began their pro careers by returning punts and kicks (with nearly identical results), both play the majority of their NFL snaps in the slot position. Neither was drafted, probably because their athletic skills were lacking in comparison to a true NFL caliber outside wide receiver. One thing we've learned since the emergence of Welker is that NFL combine numbers matter very little for slot receivers. It's a position that is more about quickness, smarts, hands and route running than downfield speed, leaping ability, wing span or size. Below, I've listed the combine results for Amendola and Welker, neither are impressive, compared to say a Julio Jones (which I've included as well) type of wide receiver. The numbers are similar, Welker is quicker, Amendola is faster, but the numbers overall are quite similar.









Wes Welker's Pre-draft measureables Ht Wt 40-yd dash 10-yd split 20-yd split 20-ss 3-cone Vert Broad BP Wonderlic 5 ft 9 in 186 lb 4.65 s



4.01 s 7.09 s 30 in 9 ft 5 in 12 reps 30 All values from Texas Tech Pro Day











































Julio Jones' Pre-draft measureables Ht Wt Arm length Hand size 40-yd dash 10-yd split 20-yd split 20-ss 3-cone Vert Broad BP 6 ft 2¾ in 220 lb 33¾ in 9¾ in 4.39 s





6.66 s 38½ in 11 ft 3 in 17 reps [53] All values from NFL Combine





Production is ultimately the most important thing at the end of the day, and career wise, this is where the two separate themselves. Amendola, in my opinion, is a younger and probably less talented version of Welker. Admittedly, he has struggled to make a mark in the first few years of his career, but that makes him even more similar to Welker. I'll begin with their senior years of their college careers, as both players ironically attended Texas Tech. Both played in a "Run n' Gun" system, which is known to be extremely pass oriented. Amendola had 1245 yards from scrimmage, Welker had 1248. Welker had 97 catches, Amendola had 109. Welker had 10 TD's, Amendola had 6. It should be noted that Amendola had Michael Crabtree on his team, regarded at the time as college's best wide receiver. You could argue that either it opened things up for Amendola, or took away from his production. Either way you want to argue, the numbers are still similar.





The NFL careers of both players started similarly, with both forcing their way onto teams through the return game. They were cut from their initial teams, San Diego for Welker, and Dallas for Amendola. Amendola played a full season on Philadelphia's practice squad, the following year signing for St. Louis. Welker signed for Miami and earned a spot on special teams. After two to three years of special teams’ duty, both players had earned a spot on their teams' offenses. Welker was traded to New England after two moderately successful years in which he started only 3 games and only scored 1 touchdown. Amendola's first year in St. Louis was equally unimpressive, managing 43 catches for 326 yards and 1 touchdown. However, in Amendola's second year he had a massive jump in production nearly doubling both his receptions and yards totals (85 catches for 689 yards). The next year, he broke his arm in week 1, and was out for the rest of the year. This past year, he broke his clavicle, missed three games, and his production was still almost identical to his 2010 season.





With Tom Brady (arguably in his prime) now throwing Welker passes, his production quickly skyrocketed to what we now see every year; a pro-bowl player forcing the words "slot receiver" into sports talk shows across the country. The argument has been made that Welker is actually the best wide receiver in football. Certainly, over the course of his time in New England, he has been by far the most effective at his position. The Patriots consistently own the NFL's number one offense, in large part, due to the all-world quarterback and short passing system that revolves around Wes Welker. Meanwhile, Amendola has had to deal with a major injury (no longer a concern) and a struggling young quarterback, in a system that doesn't allow him to shine like I believe he could in New England.



