Can you feel it? That familiar blend of excitement and optimism that comes as a new NFL season draws close. Whether your team has a legitimate chance to hoist the Lombardi trophy at the end of the year or not, you’ll take any form of football you can get after half a year of just the memories of seasons past to get you by. The Preseason is fast approaching, and meaningful football is just on the other side of August.
Last year, Executive Producer Peyton Manning and Netflix brought fans starving for football an inside look at the life of NFL quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes, Kirk Cousins and Marcus Mariota during the 2022 season. Quarterback did a tremendous job showing the peaks and valleys of playing the most highly scrutinized position in sports, and as a follow-up, this season focuses on the position that depends on them to get the ball: receivers.
There was a lot of chatter and speculation that Manning and everyone behind the show had a tough time finding a new group of quarterbacks that were willing to participate. It makes sense then that they would pivot to a position that has a reputation for being a little flashier, craving the opportunity to showcase what they – and mostly the ball – can do. Receiver follows Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings, Davante Adams of the Las Vegas Raiders, Amon-Ra St. Brown of the Detroit Lions, and a pair of San Francisco 49ers in Deebo Samuel and George Kittle.Yes, Kittle is a Tight End, but that’s semantics, and he steals the show. (Check out Jesse Singer’s review of the premiere episode).
Receiver immediately looks to dispel the notion that these guys’ only job is to “catch the ball.” While making a circus catch, or dropping a pass that hits them in the hands is likely what will land them on SportsCenter, they spend most snaps blocking, or running crisp routes to beat their defender, only to never see the ball come their way. Receivers are always open, just ask them.
The series is not unlike HBO’s Hard Knocks, offering a behind the scenes look of everything that leads up to gamedays, from practice to recovery, and balancing that with life outside of football. It does significantly narrow its focus though, allowing much more time to illuminate each player. There are endearing qualities about each of these guys, and there are some eccentricities as well, but that’s essentially a requirement to play the position that leaves you open to violent hits coming across the middle.
We get to watch each player live through some of the more riveting storylines that they went through last season, like Justin Jefferson dealing with his first significant injury, St. Brown’s Pro Bowl snub during an historic season for the Lions, and Samuel constantly playing hurt due to his physical style of play. The show doesn’t shy away from showing the physical toll that making a play can have on their bodies. Nobody makes it through the season without a visit to the blue medical tent, and it’s interesting to see the decision-making process they all must go through in determining when they can return to the field.
It also highlights the very short window they have to work with the training staff and others at home to get themselves ready to play again. At least half the interviews with Samuel are while he’s getting his body worked on. With these guys mic’d up for every practice and every game, we get Insights like Davante Adams frustrations with QB Jimmy Garoppolo’s accuracy, saying that he needed to get out of Las Vegas before he “loses his life,” along with frankly stating that he signed off on the decision to bench Jimmy.
Mixed into all the football centric action and storylines is time spent at their kids’ birthday parties, their spouses and with their parents who sacrificed to help them achieve their dreams. Those private family dynamics help show who these players are, and what drives them to perform the way they do on the field on Sundays; their why. Despite being an elite Tight End, it is in those off field, or at least pregame moments, that George Kittle really steals the show. If the series is accurate, he might be the most positive person in the NFL, always encouraging his teammates throughout, and it all starts with his pregame routine that we see in detail.
Kittle is always looking for his family in the stands and along the sideline, and going through a process that includes taking in the stadium and the moment with calm meditation. That calm then transfers into the violence necessary for the game. He also has a last interaction with his wife. They are a team within the team, and it’s just one fun example of the off the field support that it takes for each of these guys to devote themselves to the game and perform at their best.
It may seem easy enough for producers to just hand pick the top ball catchers in the NFL to be a part of the show, but there is a lot of luck involved to deliver the most compelling story possible. While Episode 3, “Moving Target,” has the misfortune of both Jefferson and Samuel being out with injury during the Vikings and 49ers matchup, Samuel, Kittle and St. Brown later go head-to-head for a chance to play in the Super Bowl during the final episode, “Leaving Las Vegas.” You can’t ask for higher stakes during the climax of a show than that.
If you are one of the millions of people clamoring for the NFL to return to your life, Receiver is the perfect way to bridge the gap to the preseason and gain an even greater appreciation for the passion that these players bring to every facet of their lives. Being able to peel back the curtain a bit more to associate some of the best in the league with more than just their statistics and production on the field might make you view them differently, but at the end of the day, they still need to just catch the ball.
