HTTR24-7:Spreading the Wealth – The Case Against Adding More Wide Receivers this Off-Season

[washedup2]

We need a 3rd down, change of pace RB, that can score at anytime, bascially another throwing target ....before an additional WR.

[pjfootballer]

I like your assessment DogofWar1. I would love to see Helu come back healthy and not even have to address RB in the draft. That may not be possible, plus Shanahan always takes a RB.

[mistertim]

I wouldn't expect one per say but I wouldn't rule it out. I think they are looking for a 3rd down RB/Slot back. Think of a guy that can fill the role they had for Banks/Royster and Helu ( If he can't get healthy ). I could also see them taking Terrance Williams If they don't like the safety/CB options at 51.

I definitely wouldn't mind Terrance Williams, but I have a hard time seeing him dropping to the lower part of the 2nd round. I see him as more of a high 2nd or maybe even a low 1st rounder, depending on how his combine and pro day goes.

[darrelgreenie]

My concerns are when Pierre Garcon and Fred Davis are out, like we had for a stretch this year, when that happens there arguably isn't a guy on the roster who can stretch the field with consistency outside of Santana but they seem to want to limit Santana's reps. Depending on what they do with free agency, considering this is a deep draft for WR, I'd at least consider someone in the 2nd-4th round if they are the highest guy on the board. Having said that its far from my top concern, and i'd be perfectly fine if they go all defense 2nd-4th.

I hear yah and I'm not against drafting a WR. The draft is fluid and teams have to react to the draft and be ready to take value where you can. I just don't think WR should be a priority that trumps other areas if all things are equal.

And to your point about losing Garcon/Davis; I think every team is gonna experience a dip in performance when their top WR and top TE or out at the same time. But I don't think that occurance (#1 WR&TE being out) should guide they views nor the decision making process about the WRs group.

How funny will it be if a WR and a DB are the BPA on their board at pick 51? They're gonna face the philosophical quandry of team building vs. amassing talent in real time. Trade down? Take the WR? Take the DB?

I wonder if they are considering more heavily TE -- its arguably a deep draft for that position. You got Paulsen who was averaging slightly over a 1 catch a game for the last 7 games, and had critical drops. Paul hasn't it seems adjusted to the position yet. And as Bruce Allen said recently, F. Davis is coming off a serious injury. Players can come back from similar Achilles injuries, most recently it was Suggs, but F. Davis arguably relies on his speed more than Suggs would.

I'm with you on TE. If they don't think Davis is healthy or cost more then his value in the scheme then we should find a TE in FA like Delanie Walker or Casey (Houston) or draft one.

[Skinsinparadise]

How funny will it be if a WR and a DB are the BPA on their board at pick 51? They're gonna face the philosophical quandry of team building vs. amassing talent in real time. Trade down? Take the WR? Take the DB? .

If it goes down that way I'd guess the decision is easy, go DB. But, am guessing there is a chance it goes down this way: you got a guy like Patton, Austin, Hopkins, T. Williams at our pick, and its surprising. Conversely, there is a run on corners and maybe guys you expect to be there at our 2nd round pick are gone like an Alford or Poyer. If that's the case and they lets say have a 92 grade on Patton and lets say the best DB on the board is an 82, then what do they do? Safety I'd gather is the wild card, its a deep class, and am guessing they will have good choices at that pick. I am basing this simply on the fact that in recent years DBs tend to go earlier than expected and WRs often go later.

I'm with you on TE. If they don't think Davis is healthy or cost more then his value in the scheme then we should find a TE in FA like Delanie Walker or Casey (Houston) or draft one.

And TEs tend to drop in the draft, its an unusually deep draft for the position - in the 4th they might have options like Reed, Escobar, Kelce, etc.

[No_Pressure]

I feel like we should stand where we are at WR next season. Though we didn't have incredible statistics from anybody, I feel like we have a few guys who will step up their production next year for various reasons:

Garcon is a very talented WR and I feel he has 1,000 yards in him. I don't think he will have health concerns next season.

Morgan is a tough WR. He took a lot of shots while catching or after catching (ones which by stupid NFL rules should have drawn a number of flags and fines but didn't). I know everyone hated him for losing the Rams game, but I think he could up his production next season and be a sure-handed 3rd down option.

Moss may be in the decline, but he caught a whole bunch of touchdowns for us last year and RG3 really liked going to him in "must win" scenarios. I think he can match his production from this season next year, assuming he is still here.

Aldrick Robinson might actually progress enough to make more regular appearances, and could continue to be the home run threat he was in a couple of games this season. I'd like to see him become more of a producer on shorter routes with his speed, but we'll see how far he comes in year 2.

Hankerson is the questionmark. We all know he has talent, we've seen flashes of it. He has his injury history accounting for his slow progression. This is a make or break off-season for Hank. He either overcomes Josh Morgan and is our #2 WR and a 700+ yard guy alongside Garcon, or he gets into a battle for #3 with Moss and Robinson. Only time will tell.

I like our group. I know everyone wants to have that 2 top guys dynamic we've seen with Peyton Manning type teams (Broncos this season) and the Falcons, or at least the hyper productive #1 and somewhat productive #2 we see with teams such as Detroit, Houston, Cincy, etc. I don't think that's the dynamic which will happen here. I think we're more along the lines of the Packers, Patriots, and 2011 Saints which is to say we'll spread the ball around a lot. Green Bay had 0 receivers over 1,000 yards this season, and yet Aaron Rodgers threw for 4200 yards. Green Bay did have 4 players over 600 yards receiving however.

RG3 had 4 receivers over 500 yards, though none were over 700. 6 were over 300. We ran a lot last year, and I expect that we will pass a bit more next season. With a healthy Garcon I could see him over 1,000 yards, I could see a healthy Davis in the 6-800 range, I could see Morgan or Hankerson getting as high as 800, I could see Moss/Hankerson (whoever wins out on the depth chart) getting in the 400+ club, with perhaps another 300 going to our deep threat Robinson or Hank at #4. That would put us in at 3,300 which is most certainly realistic with RG3 or Kirk Cousins at the helm. I don't think we need to add a WR.

Tight end is a questionmark however. I briefly threw "healthy Davis= 6-800 yards" in there, but who really knows? Do we go TE in the draft? I don't think so. I think our draft will focus on bolstering O/D linemen, linebackers, and of course the secondary. I wouldn't be surprised to see our top pick being used on a safety and I think that would be a much better investment than spending it on a WR. Free agency is out of the question with our salary cap situation.

[Dirt]

Banks did zero last year in the regular offense. He averaged 1.9 yards a catch on 8 catches - which takes some doing - and had 7 rushing attempts for 36 yards, 21 of which came on a single carry. You take that single play when he gained 21 yards away and his production was nothing short of terrible. His production as a returner was awful as well especially on punts with a 6.9 average and a long of 27 yards.

He is a free agent and I'd be very surprised if we make any attempt to bring him back.

No Banks is definitely gone, I know. There was one play where his motion, and RG3's pump fake screen to him had Hankerson wide open for 25 yards. It's these kinds of things the Shannys want to do on offense. They want a "versatile" guy to open the playbook. Banks was not it, but you saw some of things they did, they did only with Banks, like he was that special guy. I think they still want that kind of guy.

[Lavarleap56]

We need a 3rd down, change of pace RB, that can score at anytime, bascially another throwing target ....before an additional WR.

I think you can find players that fit both roles in this draft. A guy I like for 3rd down back with slot WR ability is Theo Riddick from ND.

---------- Post added February-20th-2013 at 04:25 AM ----------

I think the Skins add a WR to the mix via draft or FA. That wont be going out trying to find a prototypical #1 like Johnson, Fitz, or A.Johnson etc. Ryan went to work on this article when the Percy Harvin talk was dominating the discussion,

[chipman5544]

Terrance Williams would be a monumental pick for this team. I hope he doesn't do so well at the combine and people realize how talented he is, he's got ideal size and speed to be a number one receiver and obviously the familiarity with RGIII is helpful. Another guy to consider is a local product in Tavon Austin. He played primarily runningback in high school and then receiver in college. In my opinion why not bring in a guy who can play both runningback and receiver as Austin did take handoffs at the college level his past two seasons. He's a playmaker and a burner who can return kicks as well.

[SWFLSkins]

Hankerson is going to surprise a bunch of mugs around here. He was slow to develop at Miami as well, he is a hard worker that will continue to overcome and produce. This is his first year where he is able to participate in off-season activities. He was no. 3 in production last year and I feel easily has the biggest chance to be no. 2 or no. 3 again this year. Most WR's take longer than a year to overcome hip surgery, Hank was productive this year and will grow.

[Skinsinparadise]

duplicate post with the one below

[Skinsinparadise]

I feel like we should stand where we are at WR next season. Tight end is a questionmark however. I briefly threw "healthy Davis= 6-800 yards" in there, but who really knows? Do we go TE in the draft? I don't think so. I think our draft will focus on bolstering O/D linemen, linebackers, and of course the secondary. I wouldn't be surprised to see our top pick being used on a safety and I think that would be a much better investment than spending it on a WR. Free agency is out of the question with our salary cap situation.

Doubt FA is out of the question, they had the exact same cap problem last year and made Fa signings. I think its possible to come out of FA with another safety and corner. As for the draft, Shanny seems to be a BPA kind of guy and I like that approach. It's a deep draft for WRs -- and heck if its the third round and lets say you are staring at WR Stedman Bailey or whomever who is at the top of your board, IMO grab him. TE looks ditto to be a deep position in the draft. I think you go into a draft with priorities like improving the secondary but round by round I believe you go with your draft board and if a guy stands out above the rest at that pick, take that guy. Within reason of course, but the team has enough needs depth wise that there are few positions where we can go wrong. If they sign a CB and safety in free agency part of what I like about it -- is it gives the team flexibility in the draft.