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Over his 10-year NFL career, Marques Colston made his living by getting open.

The former New Orleans Saints wide receiver had six seasons with at least 1,000 receiving yards and 70 receptions. Not bad for a seventh-round pick out of Hofstra University. Though Colston never had burning speed, he was able to consistently fool defenders with his precise route-running technique.

STACK recently caught up with Colston, who offered up one of his most useful route-running tricks. If you can make the start of every route look exactly the same, you're going to put your opponent in a very tough position.

"First and foremost, the common misconception is that your 40 time correlates to your ability to run routes. That's not true," Colston said. "The secret to running great routes is to make every route look the same. Whether you run a 4.3 or a 4.7, if you can make the start of every route look the same, you're going to be able to run good routes and get open. If your curl looks like the beginning of your slant route and that looks like your go route, he has no idea which of the three you're going to run. That little bit of indecision is what helps to create separation."

RELATED: Larry Fitzgerald's Crucial Advice For Young Receivers

So, what exactly does that mean?

For one, you should explode off the line on every route. Getting off the ball and taking your first few strides like you're trying to beat the DB downfield are critical for making every route look the same.



"My first NFL receiver coach, Curtis Johnson, engraved it in my brain to get off the ball and make everything look like a go route," Colston said. "Your arm action—you should look like you're getting out of the blocks on a 100-Meter Dash. Then he can't judge you based on your speed."

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