NFL Media's Oklahoma Drill series presents exclusive, quick-hitting one-on-one interviews with players and coaches from around the league. No nonsense -- just football experiences directly from the source.
Wes Welker
Wide Receiver, free agent
Born: May 1, 1981
Experience: 12 NFL seasons
Interview by Brooke Cersosimo | May 25, 2016
It's a lot tougher [going undrafted], just because if you're a first-round pick and make a few plays, you're probably going to be playing. You're definitely going to be on the team, even [as] the second-, third- or fourth-round pick, because somebody drafted you. When you're undrafted, you have like one person who kind of liked you, maybe a couple, but they kind of saw you as we don't have any money invested in him or he's easier to get rid of. It's a longer road and you really can't make too many mistakes. You have to make a lot of plays and kind of show that you belong. You can't be late or anything negative. It's all gotta be positive every time they talk about you. All those things add up day after day, and then you give yourself a chance.
One of the first preseason games, I was returning punts and ended up returning one for 30 or 40 yards. Then the next game, I returned one back for a touchdown and was kinda like, "OK, I can do this."
Which painting is better? Picasso or Michelangelo? Everybody has an opinion, and it's whoever they're a fan of or like, but you can't go wrong with [Tom Brady or Peyton Manning]. They are the top two guys and it's anybody's guess. They are well accomplished and they're winners.
Peyton is always very much like, "Hey, we run the route this way. I want you to break out on this at this yardage and the ball will be there."
Tom is kind of more like, "Get to this area, find a place and get open."
It was awesome [playing with Tom]. Everything I learned, the knowledge. We would sit there in the offseason and go over every single route. This is how we wanted it against this coverage or that coverage, so we'd sit there and go over it all. Every time we stepped on the field or I was going to run a route, he knew the coverage, I knew the coverage and he knew exactly where I was going to run it and where I was going to be. It was a perfect set-up.
I don't know [how long my career receptions record in New England will stand]. It depends on how long Tom keeps on playing and if somebody stays around there for a long time. If Gronk and him play together, maybe not much longer. To have a guy like Tom come around is like a once-in-a-lifetime thing for an organization. To have another one to come along would be kind of tough.
Making the Super Bowl three times is obviously pretty cool, but the highest moment of my career was the season where we were undefeated up until the very end. That was one of the most fun seasons anybody could ever have.
Shoot, I don't know. This morning, I felt like I probably had zero [quality years left to play]. Some mornings I think maybe I can play one more, but I don't know. I'm still trying to figure that out.
There's days where I'd like to [keep playing] and others where I'm kind of ready to shut it down. I'm not going to rush into any decision, but at the same time, I know we're getting pretty close to the end.
[The toughest part of being a slot receiver] is getting hit by linebackers a lot. Going over the middle, everything is clustered up in there with crossing routes and different things like that. Taking those hits is probably the toughest part about it.
Wayne Chrebet was a guy I always looked up to, and Tim Dwight. I ended up learning a lot from [Dwight] when I was in San Diego. There were a lot of slot guys out there that I looked up to.
[I see similarities between other slot receivers and myself]. Even in New England, there's Julian [Edelman]. Every team seems to have one slot receiver that you kind of like and stuff.
It was pretty historical moment [to catch Peyton Manning's 508th career touchdown pass] and a cool thing to be a part of. I'm just happy he came to me on it.
I'm absolutely a fan of [the Oklahoma City Thunder]. They are going to win [the NBA Finals].
Russell Westbrook. Just his competitiveness and the way he plays every single game and hustles, he lets it all hang out there. You gotta respect it.
Darrelle Revis was one of the toughest corners. He was strong. He was smart. He was a very instinctive guy and had good ball skills. He was the total package.
There's a lot more throwing going on. There are a lot more spread-out looks. When I first came in [as a rookie in 2004], there weren't too many slot receivers, except maybe on third downs. Now it's first, second and third down, and four wide receivers and sometimes five. A lot of times, you used to see four or five running backs taken in the first round. Now it's maybe two. A lot of those guys who would've gone in the first round are second-round guys.
Whenever you're not around the game, it's the relationships you miss and the guys that you've gone to battle with and everything like that. You miss the game in general, the Xs and Os, how to beat guys and this and that. But the camaraderie of being in that locker room and going to battle with guys is the thing you miss most.
