Studying past and present wide receivers is a method that Rashod Bateman uses to take his route running to another level. One of Bateman's favorite players to watch on film is Jerry Rice, the Hall of Famer considered by many to be the greatest wide receiver of all time.
Coming off a career year with nine touchdown catches and 756 receiving yards in 2024, Bateman's passion to improve remains sky high. Sunday's practice was one of Bateman's best during training camp, and afterward, he discussed how watching film has helped him.
"I watched a lot of Jerry Rice, other guys in the league, even Zay Flowers himself," Bateman said. "You've got to be a student of the game, and I'm blessed to be a student of the game. I love it. I'm always trying to find different ways to tip off DBs, to make them go left or go right.
"Some guys don't have it, some guys do have it. Me and Zay are definitely two receivers who have what it takes to be at that elite level in route running."
Davante Adams of the Los Angeles Rams is a contemporary receiver whose route running has impressed Bateman. But even though Rice's final NFL season was 2004, his techniques have remained the gold standard for Bateman.
"You could see that he was ahead of his time when he was playing," Bateman said. "He was running routes the way a lot of us do today, and there weren't a lot of guys doing it back then. He was definitely the OG of route running."