Film Review: What the New York Giants Are Getting in WR John Ross

John Ross has a reputation as being a receiver that can slice the top off of a defense. So why has he struggled to succeed in the NFL so far? Nick Falato breaks down the tape.

The Giants signed 2017 top-10 selection John Ross to a one-year, $2.5 million contract. Ross flamed out and disappointed in Cincinnati, never fully living up to his high draft pedigree. Several warning signs were ignored by the Bengals when they selected him.

Ross has an extensive injury history that includes chronic issues with his right knee and shoulder and a couple of groin strains in his NFL career. 

He tore his right meniscus twice and his right ACL once back in college. Once he got to the NFL, he further injured his right shoulder (which existed from college as well) in 2017. 

He sprained the A/C joint in that same shoulder in 2019 as well. His 2018 season was also affected by groin strains that nagged him through the season.

The injuries proved to be an issue, but so were his hands. Ross had 14 drops on 199 targets. In his career, he hauled in 51 catches for 733 yards and ten touchdowns. It’s not easy for Bengals fans, especially after one looks at the three picks directly after John Ross (Patrick Mahomes, Marshon Lattimore, and DeShaun Watson).

Nevertheless, I like this signing for the Giants; it’s a low cost, low risk, and it adds a once intriguing prospect to a positional need. Furthermore, the Giants desperately need explosive playmakers, and Ross has that quality. 

He owns the fastest 40-time in combine history with a 4.22. He’s certainly fast on the field, but that timed success hasn’t invariably translated to the field.

He dealt with injuries and inconsistencies and never found a grove in Cincinnati. He was ultimately benched for Tee Higgins and only played one snap after week two in 2020. Let’s revisit his 2019 tape and see what he can offer the Giants.

(slot, top of the screen)

Ross has shown exceptional vertical speed, but winning deep isn’t based purely on one’s 40 time. Ross didn’t face a ton of press coverage because of his speed, but he shows a good release outside into space above. 

He quickly fires his feet at the line of scrimmage and wins outside; one can see his easy acceleration up the red-line and away from the man coverage assignment of the Dolphins’ defender. He then secures the catch through contact. This is a good play from Ross; sadly, his tape wasn’t always consistent.

(boundary, the bottom of the screen)

Drops were all too prevalent in his film. Ross runs a quick curl here (where have we seen that route before?), and he can’t complete the catch on the turn.

Early in his career, the Bengals would attempt to get him the football in space to use his ridiculous play-making ability, but concentration issues like the play above would happen. These drops kill drives and frustrate coaches. (Giants fans should know.)

(No. 2 receiver, top of the screen)

Ross had a lot of deep drops as well; they weren’t all just underneath concentration ones. I don’t want to criticize the player by any means, but these same issues drive Giants fans crazy with players like Evan Engram, so I feel it necessary to acknowledge these struggles.

(No. 1 receiver, the bottom of the screen)

I really like this out route from Ross here. He’s not known for being a great route runner, but he does show some nuance with his route running. 

He’s going up against off coverage and does a very good job angling his stem inside, which keeps the defenders guessing; defenders have to be very wary when facing players with Ross's speed. 

Watch how Ross varies his tempo up to the 36-yard-line when he turns the jets to full blast and puts the defender into a tough position. 

The defender squeezes inside to restrict the inside stem, but that’s exactly what Ross wanted him to do; Ross then breaks the route outside into space for a nice gain. This is a very good route and play from John Ross.

(No. 1 receiver, top of the screen)

Ross scores this touchdown against the 49ers. He runs a good route here: angles his stem outside accelerates to get up on the corner, gets the corner’s hips flipped, then hits the dig route, and accelerates upfield. 

Ross turns the corner around and has the athletic ability to take the ball to the house. He’s got a lot of big-play ability. Ross comes out of the break cleanly, which he doesn’t always consistently do:

Balance Issues Out of Breaks

Ross sometimes looks too fast for his own good coming in and out of breaks. He’ll lose balance and throw the timing of plays out of sync.

(No. 1 receiver, top of the screen)

(No. 1 receiver, the bottom of the screen)

In the top clip, we see him against off coverage, releases outside to widen the cornerback, and get space between the apex defender, but he loses his balance a bit as he turns. 

In the second clip, he comes out of a slant quickly and can’t recoup his balance out of the break. It’s not something that happens on every route, but something that happened enough to address.

Alright, back to his ability to make big plays for his offense:

(No. 1 receiver, top of the screen)

Ross runs a subtle out and up and creates separation against the cornerback here. The pass is underthrown, but the safety takes a terrible angle to the football, and Ross grabs it at its apex, secures it, and runs it in for a touchdown. 

Ross had a great game against the Seahawks; he had seven catches for 158 yards and two touchdowns on 12 targets, but he also had three drops in that game.

(No. 2 receiver, top of the screen)

Watch the turbojets on Ross here. He uses a nice delayed release, presses the outside shoulder of the corner, and breaks back inside against man coverage. 

The cornerback misses his attempt at making contact, and Ross makes the safety miss while taking the pass 34 yards. It is a nice quick slant success for John Ross, who combines foot speed, acceleration, and overall burst to succeed.

(No. 2 receiver, the bottom of the screen)

Two Seahawk defenders had a beat on Ross, and it didn’t matter. The former Washington Husky is so sudden and quick with exceptionally fast lateral movement skills that he just made both players look completely silly.

(No. 1 receiver, top of the screen)

Ross shows very good acceleration and ability to sink his hips to sell a fake; watch how he breaks down and sinks his hips at the 47-yard-line, acting like he’s stopping. 

The corner bites, realizing it's a fake, and completely panics because he knows Ross’s speed is far too much to handle. It’s a very nice and smooth route here by Ross; he can drop his weight and fake breaks like this, and if defenders bite, it could be “good night!” 

Defenders have to respect his vertical ability. Ross’ fake creates about four yards of separation on a comeback route.

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SEE ALSO

• Giants Agree to Terms with Receiver John Ross (including contract details)

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Final Thoughts

John Ross is an inexpensive 26-year-old with a high draft pedigree who did not work out with his first team. If he fails to make the Giants roster, it’s not a big deal; but if he can unlock his potential, stay healthy, or even just use his speed as a distraction to stretch defenses vertically (and horizontally), then the signing is a win.

The Giants need explosive players and Ross definitely has that in his repertoire; he just needs to fix the inconsistencies and be a more durable asset. 

(Clips via NFL Game Pass.)

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