Who is our #2 RB this year?

[PikeBadger]

Essentially getting him for vet minimum. Absolutely outstanding.

 

[Thirteen Below]

I also might not be too upset as we would possibly upgrade to one of the deepest WR rooms leaguewide.

Aren't we already there? I can't think of a single team deeper at wideout.

 

[Heyjoe4]

Aren't we already there? I can't think of a single team deeper at wideout.

The problem is Watson. By now he should be the clear #1 WR. He's not even in the conversation because he can't stay on the field. This is a "prove it" year for him.

It's a deep draft for WRs. If someone with Watson's physical attributes (6'4", 220 lbs, ideally around 6.4 in the 40) it would be tempting to take that guy. I have no idea if there is someone like that available on day 2. I think they clearly have other priorities, but who knows?

Correction 3-21: I meant 4.4 in the 40. Thanks Pike!

 

[Thirteen Below]

The problem is Watson. By now he should be the clear #1 WR. He's not even in the conversation because he can't stay on the field. This is a "prove it" year for him.

It's a deep draft for WRs. If someone with Watson's physical attributes (6'4", 220 lbs, ideally around 6.4 in the 40) it would be tempting to take that guy. I have no idea if there is someone like that available on day 2. I think they clearly have other priorities, but who knows?

Probably a wise move to take a WR anyway, if for no other reason that we don't want our entire receiver corps coming up for contract renewals in the same 14-15 month period. It'd be nice to stagger the years of service a bit, spread it out some.

Because when these kids all hit 2025-26, we're going to have some tough decisions to make, and we can't possibly keep them all. I'd like to have some buffer on the roster.

 

[OldSchool101]

Good points.
We might be deep, but at WR it needs to be balanced with a couple of guys who can get in that top32 area. The Packers had 1 WR inside the Top 50. Philly had 2 inside the top 20! Tampa 2 in the top 23! SF 2 in the top 24, Miami 2 in the Top 27.
Only 2 of 14 teams made the Postseason without a Top 40 WR.
Us and Baltimore. Now that’s not a slight but it is 100% an observation. Hopefully that will change in 2024, but we can promote it by creating competition via draft talent. Nothing drives a player to raise the production bar more than competition for their job.

Plus, it just seems like we’re always down a man. Sometimes even down 2 guys due to injury etc..

Also there are advantages to using a staggered contract approach. 2025 will be here before we know it and we’ll have several WR in contract years. Positions like CB and WR need to be addressed on an ongoing basis due to the sheer volume of players retained.

Thirdly, there is an Avenue if we’re mid season and everyone is healthy? Great. Make a Player Trade to a team who desperately needs a starting caliber player and activate your WR7 from PS to the 53. Having too many options at a position is never a bad thing, we witnessed that last season, but we’re always taking the approach of being better than last year.

Jacobs, Dillon, Wilson, while it bumps us down the “need” chain, similarly shouldn’t prohibit us trying to get better IF the right player crosses our value threshold.

 

[PikeBadger]

The problem is Watson. By now he should be the clear #1 WR. He's not even in the conversation because he can't stay on the field. This is a "prove it" year for him.

It's a deep draft for WRs. If someone with Watson's physical attributes (6'4", 220 lbs, ideally around 6.4 in the 40) it would be tempting to take that guy. I have no idea if there is someone like that available on day 2. I think they clearly have other priorities, but who knows?

Hey that describes me! Although it could be a struggle to do the 40 in 6.4.

I'll volunteer for practice squad and gladly accept the pay.

 

[Thirteen Below]

Thirdly, there is an Avenue if we’re mid season and everyone is healthy? Great. Make a Player Trade to a team who desperately needs a starting caliber player and activate your WR7 from PS to the 53. Having too many options at a position is never a bad thing, we witnessed that last season, but we’re always taking the approach of being better than last year.

I know I sound like a broken record, but I've been saying for months that these recievers are going to be valuable assets when the time comes that we need to trade for someone. I still wouldn't be surprised to see it happen this pre-season, and wouldn't be shocked if it involves draft position.

 

[PikeBadger]

Good points.
We might be deep, but at WR it needs to be balanced with a couple of guys who can get in that top32 area. The Packers had 1 WR inside the Top 50. Philly had 2 inside the top 20! Tampa 2 in the top 23! SF 2 in the top 24, Miami 2 in the Top 27.
Only 2 of 14 teams made the Postseason without a Top 40 WR.
Us and Baltimore. Now that’s not a slight but it is 100% an observation. Hopefully that will change in 2024, but we can promote it by creating competition via draft talent. Nothing drives a player to raise the production bar more than competition for their job.

Plus, it just seems like we’re always down a man. Sometimes even down 2 guys due to injury etc..

Also there are advantages to using a staggered contract approach. 2025 will be here before we know it and we’ll have several WR in contract years. Positions like CB and WR need to be addressed on an ongoing basis due to the sheer volume of players retained.

Thirdly, there is an Avenue if we’re mid season and everyone is healthy? Great. Make a Player Trade to a team who desperately needs a starting caliber player and activate your WR7 from PS to the 53. Having too many options at a position is never a bad thing, we witnessed that last season, but we’re always taking the approach of being better than last year.

Jacobs, Dillon, Wilson, while it bumps us down the “need” chain, similarly shouldn’t prohibit us trying to get better IF the right player crosses our value threshold.

Just curious. Who are you willing to trade if we start out 5-2 or 6-1 and are looking prime for a deep playoff run?

 

[sschind]

Not going to be a popular opinion but I think a lot of people are crowning our WRs maybe a bit too soon. I love these WRs so far but they are still very young and we are already talking about which one to trade at the 2024 deadline for that missing piece that will put us through to the Super Bowl. Hopefully they continue on an upward track but lets be honest, if the exact same WRs were on the Bears or vikings and their fans were acting like this we would be screaming hold your horses, wait and see if they can put a couple of good years together.

 

[OldSchool101]

Just curious. Who are you willing to trade if we start out 5-2 or 6-1 and are looking prime for a deep playoff run?

Christian Watson.

He’d have a year left on his contract and he’s got deep threat speed and size.

 

[OldSchool101]

Not going to be a popular opinion but I think a lot of people are crowning our WRs maybe a bit too soon. I love these WRs so far but they are still very young and we are already talking about which one to trade at the 2024 deadline for that missing piece that will put us through to the Super Bowl. Hopefully they continue on an upward track but lets be honest, if the exact same WRs were on the Bears or vikings and their fans were acting like this we would be screaming hold your horses, wait and see if they can put a couple of good years together.

Exactly my point!! You literally made my point by saying you don’t think anyone is that standout that we currently have. What if we drafted Devontez Walker (Hypothetical) and he pops like the next Tee Higgins??

These are all hypotheticals. In my case I was specifically talking about a future hypothetical if we got position heavy.
There would likely need to be a + in our equation first. Let’s say Devontez Walker is sitting at #88. He’s a guy I’d be very interested in and might not pass on just because someone in here thinks we’re too good at WR. If Devontez then comes in and becomes a Tee Higgins Rookie type athlete that we stole? The next Terry McLaurin? We dont need to overlap or hold onto 7 WR is my point.

No one sais we need to try to hide players. Trade a player for player or draft pick. Especially one that’s got 1 year left and you have duplicate on the roster and he could get more playing time on an AFC team that’s playoff bound. Absolutely.

Maybe that player is Heath or Melton and he gets a chance to shine. I doubt his feeling are hurt.

 

[PikeBadger]

Christian Watson.

He’d have a year left on his contract and he’s got deep threat speed and size.

I don't see it happening in the middle of the season unless he's causing problems in the locker room.

 

[OldSchool101]

I don't see it happening in the middle of the season unless he's causing problems in the locker room.

This isn’t a punitive exercise. We are discussing plans IF we signed a player in the draft that suddenly becomes an early standout and we’ve got 6 WR’s that can start. Either that or you slide a guy at the bottom onto the PS and might kiss him goodbye to someone’s active roster (bye bye player or draft pick in exchange)

There’s a hundred options


Maybe you guys are right. Maybe we don’t touch a WR that’s possible. We do have a nice overall crop compared to past rosters imo. We could be fighting over Shepherd, Abbredaris and that kid from the XFL again.
Then again. This is one of the 3 best WR classes in the last decade AND we will have to pass 11 times

and btw speaking of fringe players. Whatever happened to DuBose?
I digress we’re getting off topic

 

[gopkrs]

Not going to be a popular opinion but I think a lot of people are crowning our WRs maybe a bit too soon. I love these WRs so far but they are still very young and we are already talking about which one to trade at the 2024 deadline for that missing piece that will put us through to the Super Bowl. Hopefully they continue on an upward track but lets be honest, if the exact same WRs were on the Bears or vikings and their fans were acting like this we would be screaming hold your horses, wait and see if they can put a couple of good years together.

I just don't see drafting a W/O. Everyone can catch the ball. They all are fast enough. Even Heath looks good to me. And Melton just caught everything when he wasn't going deep. Don't know how some team let that guy go. It just seems a bit early to worry about when their contracts all come up.

 

[Heyjoe4]

Hey that describes me! Although it could be a struggle to do the 40 in 6.4.

I'll volunteer for practice squad and gladly accept the pay.

 

[Heyjoe4]

Freudian slip Pike. I'll correct that. And hey, you'd get my vote.

 

[Heyjoe4]

Probably a wise move to take a WR anyway, if for no other reason that we don't want our entire receiver corps coming up for contract renewals in the same 14-15 month period. It'd be nice to stagger the years of service a bit, spread it out some.

Because when these kids all hit 2025-26, we're going to have some tough decisions to make, and we can't possibly keep them all. I'd like to have some buffer on the roster.

Yeah it's always a good idea to stagger rookie talent, if possible. Gluten just hit home runs with WRs and TEs in the last two years. But adding someone now makes sense for the reason you mention.

 

[Thirteen Below]

Not going to be a popular opinion but I think a lot of people are crowning our WRs maybe a bit too soon. I love these WRs so far but they are still very young and we are already talking about which one to trade at the 2024 deadline for that missing piece that will put us through to the Super Bowl. Hopefully they continue on an upward track but lets be honest, if the exact same WRs were on the Bears or vikings and their fans were acting like this we would be screaming hold your horses, wait and see if they can put a couple of good years together.

Well, I don't know if anyone's going so far as to think we're going to trade Dontavion Wicks or Bo Melton for a "magic bullet" like Marshall Faulk or Charles Woodson. That's just not realistic.

But as these players develop another year or year and a half, some of them - yeah - will settle into a sort of "regression to the mean". Looking at them last year, we saw not only how amazing they were in that moment as they grew week by week, but were also swept away by how unexpected it was. Because you didn't expect them to be that good, and because basically all we saw was progress and positive development all year. We saw no regression at all, at any poimt.

But next season, we will. Some of them will fall short of the bar they set last year - and we'll notice, and be dissapointed. And then they may not look as special to us.

But even assuming that some of them won't shine so brightly in 24, I think it's safe to expect that as a group, over the next couple of years we're likely to have a deeper group of promising young receivers than almost any other team in the league. None of them are going to net us a star player in a trade, but some of them may bring back a player who meets a need in an area where we're weak. And sometimes just the right player, in the right spot, at the right time is the last piece you need.

 

[DoURant]

I think a step back in the WR play is possible....we have seen it before. Adams struggled in year two, Watson due more to injury had the same fate. There are more pessing needs to address than WR, but I wouldn't be upset if they drafted one early, especially someone who will challenge this group to be better.

 

[sschind]

Exactly my point!! You literally made my point by saying you don’t think anyone is that standout that we currently have. What if we drafted Devontez Walker (Hypothetical) and he pops like the next Tee Higgins??

These are all hypotheticals. In my case I was specifically talking about a future hypothetical if we got position heavy.
There would likely need to be a + in our equation first. Let’s say Devontez Walker is sitting at #88. He’s a guy I’d be very interested in and might not pass on just because someone in here thinks we’re too good at WR. If Devontez then comes in and becomes a Tee Higgins Rookie type athlete that we stole? The next Terry McLaurin? We dont need to overlap or hold onto 7 WR is my point.

No one sais we need to try to hide players. Trade a player for player or draft pick. Especially one that’s got 1 year left and you have duplicate on the roster and he could get more playing time on an AFC team that’s playoff bound. Absolutely.

Maybe that player is Heath or Melton and he gets a chance to shine. I doubt his feeling are hurt.

I agree, that's why I didn't quote your post. I like your comment about not 1 in the top 50. I love what I saw out of our guys last year from top to bottom ( except Watson's injuries) but I'm not ready to crown them the cream of the crop. They may be the deepest from top to bottom but our top starts a fair distance down from some of the other tops. If one of Gutes top whatever number you want to plug in drops 25 spots Id hope he grabs him and I don't care if he is a WR.

Well, I don't know if anyone's going so far as to think we're going to trade Dontavion Wicks or Bo Melton for a "magic bullet" like Marshall Faulk or Charles Woodson. That's just not realistic.

But as these players develop another year or year and a half, some of them - yeah - will settle into a sort of "regression to the mean". Looking at them last year, we saw not only how amazing they were in that moment as they grew week by week, but were also swept away by how unexpected it was. Because you didn't expect them to be that good, and because basically all we saw was progress and positive development all year. We saw no regression at all, at any poimt.

But next season, we will. Some of them will fall short of the bar they set last year - and we'll notice, and be dissapointed. And then they may not look as special to us.

But even assuming that some of them won't shine so brightly in 24, I think it's safe to expect that as a group, over the next couple of years we're likely to have a deeper group of promising young receivers than almost any other team in the league. None of them are going to net us a star player in a trade, but some of them may bring back a player who meets a need in an area where we're weak. And sometimes just the right player, in the right spot, at the right time is the last piece you need.

Some people seem to sure think we can. "Don't draft a WR because who would you replace?". That's crazy. You replace the bottom guy if a guy you really like is available. I saw one mock that had Odunze falling into the second round. I think that is ridiculous but if for some chance he did fall within reach I wouldn't mind if Gute took him. Heck I wouldn't mind if he took him at 25. You send Melton packing and move everybody else down. Maybe not right away but if a rookie eventually becomes our #1 over anybody we already have I don't care. You NEVER stop considering guys that can really help your team no matter who you already have.

 

[PikeBadger]

Not going to be a popular opinion but I think a lot of people are crowning our WRs maybe a bit too soon. I love these WRs so far but they are still very young and we are already talking about which one to trade at the 2024 deadline for that missing piece that will put us through to the Super Bowl. Hopefully they continue on an upward track but lets be honest, if the exact same WRs were on the Bears or vikings and their fans were acting like this we would be screaming hold your horses, wait and see if they can put a couple of good years together.

Agree. Defensive coordinators are going to adjust to all these guys. The question remains whether the kids will be able to adapt and expand their skills.

 

[PikeBadger]

I agree, that's why I didn't quote your post. I like your comment about not 1 in the top 50. I love what I saw out of our guys last year from top to bottom ( except Watson's injuries) but I'm not ready to crown them the cream of the crop. They may be the deepest from top to bottom but our top starts a fair distance down from some of the other tops. If one of Gutes top whatever number you want to plug in drops 25 spots Id hope he grabs him and I don't care if he is a WR.



Some people seem to sure think we can. "Don't draft a WR because who would you replace?". That's crazy. You replace the bottom guy if a guy you really like is available. I saw one mock that had Odunze falling into the second round. I think that is ridiculous but if for some chance he did fall within reach I wouldn't mind if Gute took him. Heck I wouldn't mind if he took him at 25. You send Melton packing and move everybody else down. Maybe not right away but if a rookie eventually becomes our #1 over anybody we already have I don't care. You NEVER stop considering guys that can really help your team no matter who you already have.

I think they'd keep Melton before Heath.

 

[gopkrs]

It seems I'm more optimistic about their abilities than some of you. I do not expect them to regress. I'm not very high on Toure but we have one too many right now. And we will have several on the practice squad that I know nothing about.

 

[DoURant]

It seems I'm more optimistic about their abilities than some of you. I do not expect them to regress. I'm not very high on Toure but we have one too many right now. And we will have several on the practice squad that I know nothing about.

I don't think we are pessimistic, and think they will regress. Many of us just feel that you can't "settle" and competition to get better is healthy for the group. Drafting BPA on their board, if a WR is in that spot needs to be discussed. Worse case, they will bring in a handful of UDFA's.

 

[PikeBadger]

I'm good with whatever as I long as I see effort made to improve the middle of the defense. That's my biggest concern and with 5 picks in the first 91, I shouldn't be very concerned.