Free Agent targets at WR

I'd move Engram to wide receiver and sign/draft another tight end. We can start Ellison there - he's pretty good - or get someone better if the cap permits.

for others to evaluate.
2018 Free Agent WRs - ( New Window )

It's been a bandaid approach for years now. Offense is broken? Must be WRs! I'm done. Beckham, Shepard, Engram/Ellison and a jag should Jen more than enough. Develop a later or mid round pick at wr just once please.

Spend the money elsewhere.

In comment 13833025 Ira said:

Quote:

I'd move Engram to wide receiver and sign/draft another tight end. We can start Ellison there - he's pretty good - or get someone better if the cap permits.

IS Engram a great WR or a great receiver for a TE? I would hate to trade unique excellence at a position and just go back to oridinary.

doing really good on the Jets was he a #2 or in the slot?

dont know how high the cost would be but a speed guy oustside woukd compliment well

coming off of his injury. He was on the radio yesterday and said he is progressing just fine and will be cleared for full football activities well before camp opens

Are both guys that I like.

Would love to bring in either one with the caveat that it only be done after all possible options have been exhausted to improve the OL first.

If there are bucks left over for another WR, so be it.

take a guy who is a mismatch at TE and put him at WR where he'd be average?

The NFL is increasingly about exploiting matchups, not having a bunch of mediocre guys.

If Marshall is cut, I could see them go sorta-cheap at FA to sign a receiver. But they still have three really solid options there right now. Maybe they still like Lewis and King enough to bring them back to a fighter's chance. Maybe Hunter Sharp improves some.

There is no reason, at all, to look at guys like Allen Robinson and Sammy Watkins and expect DG to throw money at them. It won't happen, nor should it.

I also would just see if there is any of them that we can get an a bargain deal but I think someone should be added for sure.
Here are some on my list to at least look into:

Cameron Meredith (RFA), WR, Bears. Age: 25 6′ 3″
Tyrell Williams (RFA), WR, Chargers. Age: 26 6′ 4″
Jordan Matthews, WR, Bills. Age: 26 6′ 3″
Quincy Enunwa, WR, Jets. Age: 26 6′ 2″
Kamar Aiken, WR, Colts. Age: 29 6′ 2″

Double E has over linebackers vs Corners, does not make this a good move....

I can see moving him outside in the red zone......but I would like to see him do deeper seam routes against linebackers, than those short crossing routes he did last year.....but of course, your QB needs time to do that.....

is a good player. I enjoyed watching him on the Jets.

Not sure about his injury though.

Hard to say who that player would be without knowing everyone's asking price.

But I'm guessing Watkins, Brown, Pryor will be paid more than they are worth. FA WR's even not very good ones still get paid a lot of money.

A guy I'd have my eye on though is Donte Moncrief, still very young at 24, has shown great talent, but has been injured. Maybe open to a 1 yr prove it deal, just need to convince him that his best opportunity to re-establish his value is to play with Eli and opposite Beckham.

In comment 13833041 jlukes said:

Quote:

coming off of his injury. He was on the radio yesterday and said he is progressing just fine and will be cleared for full football activities well before camp opens

I would love for Robinson to be in Blue. His ACL was back in September and should be fine. But I doubt Jax lets him walk out of the building.

from Overthecap
Link - ( New Window )

pops off that list.

"Dave Gettleman: Watching Kelvin Benjamin reminded me of a young Plaxico Burress"

Meanwhile, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reported former Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman wanted to extend Benjamin before he was fired, a move that some in the front office reportedly didn't want.

But why would the Bill spend a 3rd and 7th to just turn around and cut him? Also, Bills GM Brandon Beane spent 18 years with Panthers was on staff that drafted him.

I looked into the WRs who played 15 or 16 games last year. Sorted by age too, looking at players in their mid 20s, not older players.

Paul Richardson from Seattle kind of stood out.

I don't know anything about him other than what I read. 2nd round draft pick. He seemed to miss one year due to injury, otherwise he's played in basically all games 3 of his 4 years. He's 6 feet tall, so he doesn't fit the "we need a tall receiver" thought.

Did anyone watch this guy during the year?

We can basically do whatever we want. Probably have around 32 million in cap space this year. That number goes up to 70 million next year. That's with Eli's 23.2 million counting towards the cap. So if he's not on the roster we will have closer to 90 million in cap space.

The big priced FA's have the 49ers and Bears written all over them.

WR-needy and have tons of cap space.

pleez (for the right price of course)

Just to name a few.

Richardson started to become a big play guy for Seattle and has experience as a punt returner.

Matthews provides a big body and won't be overly pricey.

John Brown is a playmaker and can help in the return game.

stretch the field. Rumor was they were interested in Pryor last year with the old regime, so not sure if he'd be the guy they'd look to fill the bigger outside role, considering his dropsies issue.

In comment 13833211 BLUATHRT said:

Quote:

stretch the field. Rumor was they were interested in Pryor last year with the old regime, so not sure if he'd be the guy they'd look to fill the bigger outside role, considering his dropsies issue.

Moncrief would be worth taking a flier on.

But I don’t see DG spending big FA dollars on one. I think he’ll look for a bargain there later in Free Agency. There’ll be guys available that we won’t have to break the bank for. This guys not going to see many balls anyway with OBJ, Shep and Engram getting a majority of those. I think Torrey Smith is also a Free Agent. I wouldn’t mind raping the Eagles too.

#1 potential whose value is as low as it'll get. Plays outside...

In comment 13833285 Simms11 said:

Quote:

But I don’t see DG spending big FA dollars on one. I think he’ll look for a bargain there later in Free Agency. There’ll be guys available that we won’t have to break the bank for. This guys not going to see many balls anyway with OBJ, Shep and Engram getting a majority of those. I think Torrey Smith is also a Free Agent. I wouldn’t mind raping the Eagles too.

Please choose a different word in the future.

It shouldn't be addressed until later rounds in the draft and if not there, THEN we pick up a free agent. We have to sign OBJ long term. Sheppard and EE are great weapons. The priorities are do we draft a QB, then OL, LB, RB, CB, DE and PK. And I think we do need to focus more on a decent kicker than a WR. We had a few games where Aldrick played to big of a BAD part of the game.

is more than good enough. WR is not a need area. After OL we need LB's, DB's, and a real starting RB.

In comment 13833414 PatersonPlank said:

Quote:

is more than good enough. WR is not a need area. After OL we need LB's, DB's, and a real starting RB.

I highly doubt Marshall is back.

Paul Richardson

spend money on the OL. draft the skill positions on offense.

there is only one ball to go around. we have OBJ, EE, and shep ellison and the RB as a check down. the other wr is not a position i would allocate money too. just use king or preferrably a fast rookie to stretch the field

But taking a WR somewhere in the draft is ideal because the F/A WR I want cost good money that I would rather invest in the OL.

With Engram's ability to split out wide or in the slot and Ellison's ability to move anywhere inline or at FB, this gives us a lot of different looks from this grouping. I don't see the need to spend big money on a WR that will (or should) be in a sub package or relegate Shepard or Ellison to the bench for a majority of snaps. We need depth, so maybe a Jaron Brown type and a mid-late round burner to add a couple different dimensions to the unit, but we it isn't a huge need at all.

An explosive type like one of these would work.

But my #1 guy for the NYG to add is Albert Wilson. He gets wide open in the NFL. Super explosive guy in his prime.

I have no idea what the market will be for Wilson. I think it may be too strong for NYG but I'd love to see this guy with the Giants.

Sure, he can split out more, but part of what makes him special is that he can play in-line and be a match-up nightmare. Defenses don't know how to defend him with their personnel- do they sacrifice run defense by having an extra DB on the field, or do they risk matching EE up with a LB or safety in order to keep their base personnel.

You move him to WR, a defenses don't have to worry about him lining up in-line. They simply see that he is in the game and that means they need to bring in another CB to match-up on him.

I don't get how people fail to see that Engrams best weapon is his versatility, and by converting him to WR, you give up that advantage that you have on the defense.

In comment 13833041 jlukes said:

Quote:

coming off of his injury. He was on the radio yesterday and said he is progressing just fine and will be cleared for full football activities well before camp opens

Yesssss! If medicals are good

In comment 13833288 adamg said:

Quote:

#1 potential whose value is as low as it'll get. Plays outside...

I agree

For all intents and purposes he is a WR right now, he's being asked to run routes significantly more than he's being asked to stay inline and block. Which is precisely why we shouldn't be spending big money at the position, we're covered because of Engram, however you want to label him.

It's not just about Engram running routes as opposed to blocking. It's where he lines up.

When he lines up on the LOS, he's going to see different coverages when he chips and runs a route as opposed to what he'd see lining up wide or even in the slot.

How much time he spends as a blocker isn't really relevant - we obviously didn't draft him to block, but that doesn't mean he isn't a TE.

In comment 13833438 arcarsenal said:

Quote:

Paul Richardson

He's second to Watkins on my wish list. I think he's like Pryor where there's high upside but some risk too. I think Watkins has a higher floor.

In comment 13833568 adamg said:

Quote:

In comment 13833438 arcarsenal said: Quote: Paul Richardson He's second to Watkins on my wish list. I think he's like Pryor where there's high upside but some risk too. I think Watkins has a higher floor.

I'm a big Richardson fan - he's only 25 years old, just had his best season and is an ascending talent who hasn't had a big enough year to command a huge payday.

Guy is a big play machine. Would love to pair him with Beckham and Shepard.

In comment 13833564 arcarsenal said:

Quote:

It's not just about Engram running routes as opposed to blocking. It's where he lines up. When he lines up on the LOS, he's going to see different coverages when he chips and runs a route as opposed to what he'd see lining up wide or even in the slot. How much time he spends as a blocker isn't really relevant - we obviously didn't draft him to block, but that doesn't mean he isn't a TE.

Whatever, TE is still a label. It's simply a matter of snaps and what those 5 skill players are doing. I currently see a weak OL, which tells me that Ellison should be on the field as much as possible to help those guys out because Engram blocking is ineffective and a waste of his talent. I see Engram as a matchup nightmare and weapon that you can move all over the field. And then you have OBJ and Sheppard that are two talents you want on the field as much as possible. Taking into account cost, where are the snaps coming for Richardson and Robinson to justify the $$$ considering all of the other needs on the roster? I understand there are injuries and different sub packages, but I see our 4 base skill players outside of RB set in OBJ, Sheppard, Engram and Ellison. Go bargain shopping for a one dimensional deep threat and one dimensional outside possession WR to round out the unit, but some of the names dropped are going to be too costly for what is needed.

In comment 13833580 arcarsenal said:

Quote:

In comment 13833568 adamg said: Quote: In comment 13833438 arcarsenal said: Quote: Paul Richardson He's second to Watkins on my wish list. I think he's like Pryor where there's high upside but some risk too. I think Watkins has a higher floor. I'm a big Richardson fan - he's only 25 years old, just had his best season and is an ascending talent who hasn't had a big enough year to command a huge payday. Guy is a big play machine. Would love to pair him with Beckham and Shepard.

I think either addition would be exciting. I think both could present good value too.

In comment 13833582 AcesUp said:

Quote:

In comment 13833564 arcarsenal said: Quote: It's not just about Engram running routes as opposed to blocking. It's where he lines up. When he lines up on the LOS, he's going to see different coverages when he chips and runs a route as opposed to what he'd see lining up wide or even in the slot. How much time he spends as a blocker isn't really relevant - we obviously didn't draft him to block, but that doesn't mean he isn't a TE. Whatever, TE is still a label. It's simply a matter of snaps and what those 5 skill players are doing. I currently see a weak OL, which tells me that Ellison should be on the field as much as possible to help those guys out because Engram blocking is ineffective and a waste of his talent. I see Engram as a matchup nightmare and weapon that you can move all over the field. And then you have OBJ and Sheppard that are two talents you want on the field as much as possible. Taking into account cost, where are the snaps coming for Richardson and Robinson to justify the $$$ considering all of the other needs on the roster? I understand there are injuries and different sub packages, but I see our 4 base skill players outside of RB set in OBJ, Sheppard, Engram and Ellison. Go bargain shopping for a one dimensional deep threat and one dimensional outside possession WR to round out the unit, but some of the names dropped are going to be too costly for what is needed.

I don't think guys like Richardson, Brown or Wilson will require breaking the bank for.

We're coming off a year where literally all of our WR's were injured. We had several games where our starting WR's were Tavarres King, Travis Rudolph and Roger Lewis Jr.

WR is still a need. Marshall likely isn't coming back and Beckham/Shepard isn't enough.

Also too early to know whether the OL will be weak or not.

I feel pretty sure that Gettleman isn't going to let this team go into the 2018 season with the same OL we just saw in 2017.

Flowers is currently the best player under contract in a lean year in FA. It's likely. In fact it's more likely if we spend 10m/yr on a WR. I think we're all hoping for competent on the unit.

I think Wilson may be cheaper but Brown, Robinson, Watkins and Richardson have done enough to warrant 8m/yr+ contracts. I do understand the threat of injuries, which is why we do need to add 1-2 FAs at the position, but with what we have on the roster, it's a little overkill going for the likes of Allen Robinson. The Jaron Brown's of the world is what we should be looking at there.

In comment 13833618 AcesUp said:

Quote:

Flowers is currently the best player under contract in a lean year in FA. It's likely. In fact it's more likely if we spend 10m/yr on a WR. I think we're all hoping for competent on the unit. I think Wilson may be cheaper but Brown, Robinson, Watkins and Richardson have done enough to warrant 8m/yr+ contracts. I do understand the threat of injuries, which is why we do need to add 1-2 FAs at the position, but with what we have on the roster, it's a little overkill going for the likes of Allen Robinson. The Jaron Brown's of the world is what we should be looking at there.

FA hasn't even started yet. It's extremely premature to say the OL will be a weak unit, especially with the only direction our FO has publicly taken being that the OL needs to be fixed. Also that the only leak of a player tied to a re-sign is Justin Pugh. I'm imagining we'll be feeling a lot better on the opening day of FA with how the OL is taking shape. Assuming otherwise is just being needlessly pessimistic.

It's going to be a process. Just because the new GM drops the word hogmolly doesn't mean he can wave a magic wand and fix it. He's going to $$, he's going to need to hit on draft picks and he's going to need a little time. I'm optimistic the unit takes a step or two up...but keep in mind where we are starting from.

Of course it's going to be a process - but teams like MIN and LAR made massive improvements to their offensive lines in one offseason.

It doesn't need to be a long, drawn out 3-5 year process either.

Keep in mind, both MIN and LA were much closer than we currently are. We have 1, maybe 2, borderline starters on the roster. And MIN only took a step up to average, they weren't world beaters and were partly responsible for their shellacking in the NFCC. Both of those teams also dropped big money on the unit, the kind of money that would preclude us from going for the best WRs on the market.

FWIW, I think the OL was absolutely horrid the first month or so of the season, but after a few guys got moved around/replaced, it wasn't quite as bad.

It got shitty again when Fluker/Pugh got hurt and we started experimenting with guys like Wheeler and Biz. But I think the OL can be "passable" this upcoming season if we play our cards right. It doesn't have to be awful or excellent - it can fall somewhere in between and that'd be a good start.

A serviceable O line should be good enough to compete at a high level.

But the guys you mentioned aren't even under contract, just to get guys under contract to play at that mediocre level will cost money. Flowers and Wheeler are the only guys under contract that I even want competing for a starting spot. Brent Jones will be coming back, but that 2nd round tender will cost some money. So optimistically currently looking at 2 out of the 5 starters set. And those two starters are pretty mediocre. Circling back to my first post, I think we'll want Ellison on the field as much as possible.

I would be fine with that - and think it's something we should be doing regardless.

Ellison was woefully underutilized by the prior staff.

He's a stud.

But if it's a choice between an offensive lineman or a WR, the decision is obvious.