CBs vs WRs

[dolphins4life]

This is just for my own curiousity.

How do they determine whether a speedy player is a receiver or a cornerback?

Let's use X and Reek as examples.

What led scouts to make X a cornerback and Reek a WR?  What are the differences in motor skills between CBs and WRs.

[Dave Gray]

I think you're mistaken that scouts do this.  Players and coaches, starting with pee wee football, start to evaluate, coach, and work with players not only based around their own talents, but the needs of the team, and most importantly, what the players want.  Often these things will align.  By the time you get to the NFL, you'd been perfecting your craft for years.  Once in a long, long while, a guy will switch positions and do something new, just based on their athleticism, but it's not the norm, and it often doesn't work out.

There is a more cynical answer regarding DBs and WRs specifically.  "If he could catch, he'd be a wide receiver."

[Phishfan]

When I grew up most guys played both ways until college. At that point the coaches decided where they best fit because it was no longer about best athletes on the field because that was balanced out.