I know you didn't say it, because it hurts your narrative that Williams wouldn't have gotten close to $15.4 mil on the open market. That's kind of the point- it's fine if you don't think Golladay is worth the contract he got but an NFL team did and obviously they set the market, not you or I. Their numbers are really close, you're fooling yourself if you think Williams wouldn't get anything close to what he did- they're pretty similar players.I'm happy to agree to disagree on this.
First off, I never said I think Golladay is worth it. Just because one team is willing to commit to a bad WR contract doesn't mean another team should be willing to do the same.
Also, Golladay has been better than Williams in their careers to date:
Completely disagree. I understand and agree those are sunk costs. Never said otherwise. Pointing out that they overdrafted him is not "caught up in the past," it is an explanation for why his 5th year salary is inflated to a level that isn't worth it.
- More targets, receptions, yards, TDs, and first downs, despite playing in 9 fewer games with 7 fewer starts.
- Higher catch percentage, YPR, and YPT, though they are close, and has averaged 45% more receiving yards per game.
- Higher PFF grades overall, receiving, and run blocking in every season
Possible alternatives that were available until his 2021 contract became guaranteed:
Keep in mind - again - this tangent started when you replied to my comment that IMO the combination of Henry + a Williams replacement would have been cheaper and likely better than Cook + Williams. Henry is better than Cook, so the Williams replacement doesn't have to be better than Williams to make that a net positive exchange.
- Trade for a comparable vet at a lower price
- Release Williams and sign a comparable vet at a lower price
- Release Williams and draft a promising rookie
- Sign Williams to a multi-year extension.
I think I have made it pretty clear, that I would prefer they had chosen one of the four options above instead of the path they chose.
Look, it's pretty clear that you and I will not agree on this. I'm fine moving on.
They had the 7th pick and Williams was one of if not the top WR prospect in the draft. Davis went ahead of him and Ross right behind, it's not like it was a huge reach. I'm guessing you'll say they should have traded down first, but that's easier said than done and comes with a plenty of risk as well (they could have ended up with Ross instead). It's not like the $4.5 mil difference in the 5th year option (if he was drafted later) is going to make or break their season anyway.
As for your alternatives, you once again don't give any specifics- not a single name or their cost in terms of contracts or draft picks. It's very easy to throw out a generic "they screwed up", it's much more difficult to actually come up with better realistic, specific alternatives. Seems strange to me that you would have preferred they signed Williams to a multi-year extension since you don't seem to like him much, although that's probably because you're underestimating what that contract would likely look like. Also, keeping Williams for 1 year doesn't preclude them from drafting a promising rookie, I've seen a couple of mocks with them doing so. And again, you're only looking at 2021 cap hit when making the TE/WR comparison. The fact that Henry balloons to $15 mil plus for 2022 and 2023 makes a pretty big difference in the equation (yes, NFL teams look beyond one year so that's a factor).
Of course things could always be better, but it isn't realistic to expect everything to be perfect. I think it's been a very good off season so far, to me it seems silly to nitpick over Williams and his salary when it really isn't going to negatively impact them this year. Calling it GM malpractice is way over the top IMO. In any event, happy to agree to disagree and move on.
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