Riddick a hit at making opponents miss in Lions attack
Allen Park — Theo Riddick made Eagles linebacker Mychal Kendricks look like he had two left feet a few times on Thanksgiving.
Meanwhile, Riddick looked to be a master of the cha-cha as he moved his feet one way to set up his next step and leave Kendricks looking foolish yards away from the play.
To be fair, Kendricks is hardly the only linebacker Riddick has had little problem gaining separation against. As Riddick has catapulted to the NFL lead in receptions among running backs in his third season, he’s had little problem dancing away from defenders in the open field.
“It’s bad,” Lions defensive end Darryl Tapp said of Riddick beating linebackers in space.
A sixth-round pick in 2013, Riddick has 55 catches for 507 yards this season. He’s second among running backs in receiving yards, behind only San Diego’s Danny Woodhead (569).
And according to Pro Football Focus, Riddick has forced 21 missed tackles on his catches, second only to Patriots running back Dion Lewis (24).
“He kills linebackers in there, and it’s fun to watch,” Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson said. “He’s been doing it his whole time here in practice, and he’s finally doing it on the field.”
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Because Riddick had limited opportunities his first two seasons, he’s already set career highs in just about every statistical category. He flashed some of these receiving skills last year with 34 catches for 316 yards and four touchdowns — he has three scores this year — but played sparingly behind Reggie Bush and Joique Bell.
Riddick hasn’t had many opportunities to run the ball with 28 carries for 84 yards, so it’s hard to label him the Lions’ No. 1 running back. But, he has more receiving yards than the combined rushing and receiving yards of Bell or rookie Ameer Abdullah.
“It’s a rare thing to see a guy cover him one-on-one when you give him a couple ways to break, and you get him in the open field a little bit,” offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter said. “He’s a really impressive route runner. He’s got a really natural instinct for getting open that’s hard to teach.
“You can draw routes on the board, you can show tape of guys running routes, but he’s just got an instinct for getting the guy moving one direction and going back the other one and vice versa.”
And that’s what Riddick did to Kendricks last Thursday en route to a five-catch, 62-yard performance. On his second catch, Riddick came face to face with Kendricks at the line of scrimmage before faking left and going right on an ankle route, freeing himself for an easy 8-yard touchdown.
On his third catch, Riddick beat Kendricks to the edge on a wheel route for an 11-yard gain. Riddick mixed in another 11-yard gain against defensive back Eric Rowe on a curl in which he lined up out wide and then turned inside after the catch to avoid Rowe.
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Then, it was back to work on Kendricks as Riddick beat him twice on one play for a 9-yard gain. Starting in the slot, Riddick faked an inside move on what became an out route, creating a couple steps of separation. Then, Kendricks caught up to Riddick after the ball arrived, and Riddick turned inside and through Kendricks’ tackle attempt.
Riddick’s moves are so electric that Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford admits it took a long time to get on the same page with the running back in practice.
“You have to sit there and throw a bunch of passes to him,” Stafford said.
Fortunately, Stafford said he trusts Riddick to make the right decisions on routes with multiple options.
As a rookie, Riddick had just 13 touches on offense as he played almost exclusively on special teams. He thrived there, too, as he tied for third with seven special teams tackles, which caught the attention of coach Jim Caldwell when he took over in 2014.
Back then, Riddick was still wearing No. 41 and a relative unknown when Caldwell watched film of his new team.
“Then I realized, 41. I said, ‘Ah, he’s probably a defensive back,’ ” Caldwell said. “But then I looked, and it’s Theo Riddick. I said, ‘Wow. This guy is a real factor on special teams and he’s a running back.’
“Thus, after that, we had a chance to see his talents, and he’s an unusual guy athletically.”
jkatzenstein@detroitnews.com
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