Danny Amendola has a secret weapon as he seeks to start his NFL career — Wes Welker.
Welker has paved the way for every wide receiver considered too slight or too short to carve out a place in the NFL. At 5-foot-9, 185 pounds, Welker was an undrafted free agent coming out of Texas Tech University in 2004. The Chargers didn’t keep him his rookie season, but Welker worked his way into a supporting role with the Miami Dolphins from 2004-06.
Then, in 2007, Welker had a monster season as New England’s slot receiver, catching 112 passes for 1,175 yards and eight touchdowns. The Patriots thought so much of Welker that they traded draft picks to acquire the former undrafted free agent.
Amendola, who is 5-foot-10½ and 183 pounds, has much more in common with Welker than just their relatively similar build. Amendola also went to Texas Tech University and played in the same pass-happy offense Welker did.
In fact, they played the same position — slot receiver. Welker left the Red Raiders with 3,069 career receiving yards and one of college football’s best-ever punt return averages. Amendola capped his Texas Tech career with 109 catches for 1,245 yards and slipped into the program’s top five in all-time receptions. Amendola also handled punt return duties.
So many similarities exist that the fifth-year NFL veteran calls Amendola his “replacement.”
“He’s kind of paved the way for the little slot receivers out there,” Amendola said. “Coming from the same school, that doesn’t hurt either.”
Welker’s success with the New England Patriots could actually help the likelihood that Amendola will carve out his own NFL career. It might have led to Amendola’s invitation to the NFL Scouting Combine.
Since they played the same position, Amendola adopted Welker’s physical nature for his own, inviting contact every time he caught the football.
“I’ve taken a lot of hard ones,” Amendola said, citing former Texas safety Michael Griffin as the hardest hitter of his college career. “You’ve got to be tough. You’ve got to really not care if you get hit. I kind of like to get hit, because it kind of feeds the fire inside of you and makes you play a little harder the next play.”
Truth is, Welker probably taught Amendola how to take a hit. Welker is a regular around the Red Raiders’ Lubbock training facility in the offseason, so the NFL vet and the NFL newcomer have had plenty of time to get to know each other.
Amendola never saw Welker play in college, but he’s watched plenty of Welker’s Red Raider game film. In fact, Amendola can’t put a figure on the number of hours of Welker’s film he’s watched.
He found it impossible to escape Welker’s imposing shadow in Lubbock.
“To tell you the truth, I’ve been compared to Wes since the day I set foot on that campus,” Amendola said. “I say it’s an honor just because he’s such a great player. I’m going to stick by that statement. He’s a great player. He’s a great guy. He’s a hell of a player, to be honest with you. He’s a guy I look up to and a guy I admire.”
Amendola can’t even escape comparisons to Welker from his own coaches, including head coach Mike Leach.
“I’ve been told by my Tech coaches that we resemble each other a lot,” Amendola said. “He plays hard. I feel like I play hard. If the ball is running the other way, then we’re going to be over there. We’re going to go until the whistle blows.”
So, if you can’t escape it, embrace it. Amendola and Welker became workout partners, on the field and in the weight room, whenever Welker returned to Lubbock. They met during Amendola’s freshman year in Lubbock, a casual meeting that eventually became a friendship and mentorship for Amendola.
As Amendola watched, he also listened to what Welker had to say about the NFL and his struggle to break into the league.
“We run around in the summer,” Amendola said. “We just beat up on each other, basically.”
Slot receivers in the NFL used to fit a prototype — tall, tough, physical specimens who could make tough catches over the middle while taking punishment from opposing defenders.
Welker has changed the rules for the position, and Amendola and other smallish receivers could benefit now and in the future.
“We’ll find out this year, I guess,” Amendola said. “I’d like to think it’s going to change.”
Story courtesy of Red Line Editorial.