Yeah he probably thought of it as a compliment in his head.
Edelman isn't as good in the slot compared to lining up on the outside, so no clue about that.
Woodhead has lined up in the slot quite a bit for the Patriots in 5 receiver sets. So has Darren Sproles for the Saints. None of them are possession receivers. Like I have been saying for a long time, Welker has had a similar role to a runningback. Bellicheck fused the typical wideout position with receiving role of a runningback. I mean Brian Westbrook ran similar routes during his career but also took handoffs, only one season with a ypc higher 9.6 with 4 seasons over 70 catches, the last big one was 54 catches, none over 1k. Marshall Faulk would be a better comparison as receiving threat, he ran similar routes, lined up in the slot quite a bit, 5 seasons with over 80 catches, 4 of them with over 10 ypc, 1 1k receiving season. But when these guys do it, its because they are "athletic", when Welker does it, people say they are "cheap yards" (like any yards come cheap lol)
Welker is the only wideout that has around half of his yards after the catch for the past 5 or 6 seasons. The only other one that has had more than half of his yards after the catch is Percy Harvin, also a slot receiver, he isn't as reliable and can't stay healthy. Everyone else with more than half of the yards after the catch are backs, Percy Harvin was a hybrid wr/rb at UF, just like Welker was a slot/kr/pr at Tech but a rb in high school. This is why Welker's season coming back from acl/mcl injury Woodhead had his biggest role, his receiving role declined last year. He should have at least a bigger receiving role now that Gronk is out, and is on pace to match his reception total from 2010, but not as close to his 2010 rushing totals. He had 20 less rushes last year but in a less creative way, and on pace for a similar number, seems like his receiving abilities were ignored until about week 6 this year.
No other black slot guys that have been as successful but are considered in the same mold like Davone Bess and McCluster. Bess might get 1k but will probably fall short, and less than 300 came after the catch. McCluster hasn't even come close but was supposed to be a "stud" coming out of the SEC.
If they really wanted to Woodhead could be put at the slot role permanently, but Id rather see him used more like a runningback, and not just the passing back that he is, a back that gets real running plays to go along with the screens etc, but it might play out that way if Welker signs somewhere else. Woodhead is just as explosive as Welker and faster than Welker with his top end speed, but I don't know if he'd be as consistent as Welker, as in 100 receptions a season 10 to 11 ypc. While Welker does get a lot of the passes a rb gets, there is a great deal of it that is more complicated than what a rb gets. Probably around 70 to 80 receptions, hopefully at least 30 to 40 rushes.
The problem is not every White guy has the skillset to be in the same mold as Welker getting a ton of yards after the catch, and a lot of these teams that get White receivers don't use them correctly, or try to force them into some role and these dumb coaches are just sitting their scratching their heads like "i don't understand".
Many of the coaches I have met aren't exactly the brightest people, wouldn't expect many to think outside of the box and utilize a player's talents to the fullest.
Former players like Boomer and Hoge are probably worse.
You think Hoge would understand a little bit and it seemed like he did earlier this season it must have popped into his head "hey, Tebow is a better runner than I was, maybe they should move him to runningback". He seemed to get "it" and talked about how Tebow was used at UF and how it really wouldn't be any different than him used in a power running game that the Jets have, except he won't be getting direct handoffs, and he was criticized heavily for it from what I remember. People said he was a clown and stupid.
There is no reason Tebow shouldn't have a big role in an offense, no matter where he is lined up. What did the Jets do? ask Tebow to get up to 250 when he was around 236, now he doesn't have the same burst when running it, not that they are letting him run on any creative plays or anything, but I think if he had stayed the same weight he would look much better with those few carries he has gotten. The weight he gained looks like fat. Now they can say "he can't run it either!"