Shanahanigans
Footballguy
So I was put to the ultimate test about a month ago. In my 12 team dynasty start 3 WR PPR, I worked out a trade with another owner. I gave him Jordy, Best, and another team's 1st Pick in 2013, and he told me I could take any of his WRs. He had AJ, Julio, Mike Wallace, and Brandon Marshall to choose from. I quickly decided it had to be one of the rookies. I was terribly torn between them both, and just about all the experts told me to take AJ. But I couldn't bring myself to do it. I realized that despite what most people say I value Julio more than AJ. Here are the main reasons why I made the decision to go with Julio over AJ:
1 - Do I want Matt Ryan or Andy Dalton throwing to my new stud WR? It was clear to me that Ryan is the choice. He is more developed, has more than one productive season under his belt, and seems to be entering his prime. Dalton could easily regress next year, proving his rookie year a fluke.
2 - There is much less pressure on Julio, and he also has many more weapons around him. Julio is not going to be asked to be "the guy" for another 2-3 seasons. This gives him time to develop and hone his skills without the media, fans, or coaches breathing down his neck. Beyond that, he can learn from Roddy, Tony Gonzales and others. AJ on the other hand will be pretty much the only weapon in Cincy, and defenses will have a year of film to gameplan how to stop him. We somewhat saw it at the end of last year.
3 - To a certain extent the Bengals are the Clippers of the NFL. Occasionally they'll get a group of talented players, but the ownership will always find a way to mess things up. This worries me in regard to AJ's future situation. IMO the Falcons are a much better, competitive organization going forward.
4 - Julio is more physically talented. The measurables speak for themself. Although they are both immensely talented, only one can take a slant 80 yards to the house.
5 - Julio actually out produced AJ on a PPG basis last year. As AJ faded down the stretch Julio blew up. IMO this led to a misconception that AJ had a better year than Julio. In reality, they both had phenomenal rookie years, but Julio's was more impressive imo.
These players will be tied to each other their whole careers. I bet they both end up great, but right now I will take Julio.
1 - Do I want Matt Ryan or Andy Dalton throwing to my new stud WR? It was clear to me that Ryan is the choice. He is more developed, has more than one productive season under his belt, and seems to be entering his prime. Dalton could easily regress next year, proving his rookie year a fluke.
2 - There is much less pressure on Julio, and he also has many more weapons around him. Julio is not going to be asked to be "the guy" for another 2-3 seasons. This gives him time to develop and hone his skills without the media, fans, or coaches breathing down his neck. Beyond that, he can learn from Roddy, Tony Gonzales and others. AJ on the other hand will be pretty much the only weapon in Cincy, and defenses will have a year of film to gameplan how to stop him. We somewhat saw it at the end of last year.
3 - To a certain extent the Bengals are the Clippers of the NFL. Occasionally they'll get a group of talented players, but the ownership will always find a way to mess things up. This worries me in regard to AJ's future situation. IMO the Falcons are a much better, competitive organization going forward.
4 - Julio is more physically talented. The measurables speak for themself. Although they are both immensely talented, only one can take a slant 80 yards to the house.
5 - Julio actually out produced AJ on a PPG basis last year. As AJ faded down the stretch Julio blew up. IMO this led to a misconception that AJ had a better year than Julio. In reality, they both had phenomenal rookie years, but Julio's was more impressive imo.
These players will be tied to each other their whole careers. I bet they both end up great, but right now I will take Julio.
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