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The best WR in the NFL, going forward (1 Viewer)

Did this year's injuries (e.g., A.Johnson, Boldin) change your answers?

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    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • No

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Mungo Burrows

Mungo Burrows

Footballguy
I was wondering over the weekend, who's really the best Wide Receiver in the game going forward (from an NFL perspective, not fantasy) While all these "who's the best" questions are extremely subjective, I thought I would at least try to frame it with my own criteria. It has to be a value that considers Youth as well as production and Potential.

So here's the deal - You have to be willing to give this player an above-Franchise-level contract for 6 years with at least 2/3 of the contract in guaranteed money. That means from a cap persepctive you are probably joined at the hip on this player for at least 4 years, but have the possibility of keeping him for 6 at say ~$8m/year average. Please do not assume this a "building a new team from scratch" or that it's a young team or a veteran team, or your team. Should a generic, mythical NFL team give this player this type of contract?

Also, I have included this as two questions - the first you pick the one player you think is the best choice under those criteria. The second is a multi-selection question where you pick All players you think are worthy of that type of contract - i.e., who is in the conversation. This gives a better perspective of all the truly top players. A third question is just whether you would have chosen differently if it were not for injuries that have happened this year (e.g., Andre Johnson, Boldin, etc.)

I figure the candidates are mostly players who have been either very high draft picks with at least signs of star potential, or veteran, multi-year top-of-the-line WRs. The criteria certainly favors youth, but not to the point where at least some of the veteran players aren't still an option because you might be reluctant to give that type of money to someone unproven. Feel free to choose "Other" if I missed someone and list them here. I probably missed someone but here are the candidates in alphabetical order:

Anquan Boldin - Beast with the ball, injury prone?

Braylon Edwards - Emerging talent, held back by team?

Larry Fitzgerald - Is he the best on his own team?

Ted Ginn -just seeing if you're paying attention

Marvin Harrison - Probably too old, but I have to include him out of respect.

Torry Holt - How much longer can he hold it together?

Andre Johnson - Finally got to see him with a QB, but are injuries becoming a concern?

Calvin Johnson - Hasn't proven anything... yet.

Chad Johnson - Are his celebrations detracting from his game?

Randy Moss - Head Case waiting to happen?

Terrell Owens - See Moss, Randy.

Steve Smith - Too small? Disappears periodically

Reggie Wayne - Is it the QB?

Roy Williams - Not many flaws, but will his new teammate prove to be better in the long run?

Other - please name in your reply below

None - No WR is worth that kind of deal!

I'm sure I missed someone important, but I think that's a pretty good starter set.

Please discuss your reasoning along with your picks to keep the discussion going.

 
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I think the best two receivers in the are Terell Owens and Randy Moss. They are unstoppable.

I remember when NE played in the SB vs. Philly and although NE won the game, I remember thinking the entire game that TO was a man amongst boys. The best team in the NFL couldn't stop him, they just did their best to contain him. He's a one man wrecking crew.

Randy Moss is similar. He has blazing speed and has great length with his arms. Both of these receivers when they catch a ball in stride are beyond dangerous.

I like Randy's deep ball ability slightly more and I like TO's underneath stuff and slants. He is a VERY strong receiver and it's hard to move him off his route.

There are obviously others for different reasons who are great........but those two to me are the best in the league.

 
You have to be willing to give this player an above-Franchise-level contract for 6 years with at least 2/3 of the contract in guaranteed money.
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There are no NFL contracts like this, so it seems pretty silly to put this requirement in your post. Because, if this is the requirement then the only answer is that no NFL GM would ever give such a contract.
 
Though the last couple of weeks haven't shown as such I still have to go with Steve Smith. He's at the perfect age (28) where the knowledge and the skills are at the optimum level. He's a monster when he has decent quarterback play.

Even if he loses a little speed in a couple of years he'll still be among the fastest players in the league. Steve Smith and Randy Moss are probably the best receivers in the NFL but since Smith is younger I choose him.

 
Housh needs to be an option

edited to add that after reading the criteria, I wouldnt consider him. I wouldnt give any wr a huge contract though

 
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Problem is that the top WRs are flakes and getting old. No way in hell would I give a guy liek Randy Moss a 6yr cobtract with 2/3 guaranteed. He's lazy and he'll stop earning it.

Simply not good enough or proven enough to even be in the conversation

Braylon

Ginn

Calvin Johnson

Not enough upside to be special (very good but probably never be great)

Wayne

Roy

Boldin

Too old for a 6yr guaranteed deal

Marvin

Holt

Too flaky. No way I give these personalities that kind of guaranteed money

TO

Chad

Moss

That leaves...

Larry Fitzgerald

Andre Johnson

Steve Smith

I see Andre Johnson as the most physically talented and most liekley to continue to produce.

 
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Based on age & production, I have a list of

Fitz

Andre Johnson

Steve Smith

Chad Johnson

Roy Williams

Reggie Wayne

TO, Moss, Harrison are getting a bit old for a 4-6 year window

Holt is showing signs of wear & tear.

Its a year too early for Calvin ( I'd need to see a bit more before I put that kind of contract out there )

Ginn? How did he make the list... is the OP from THE Ohio State University?

On the bubble for me are Boldin and Edwards. I'll admit I haven't seen much of Boldin's play, but my feeling is he will never the the main TD/deep threat, but will continue to catch a lot of balls underneath & break some long ones. That type of WR doesn't get the top of the league money contracts.

Edwards might be that type of player, and he's shown some flashes of it already, but I'm just not sure he's at that elite level.

 
anguskahn said:
Not enough upside to be special (very good but probably never be great)WayneRoyBoldin That leaves...Larry FitzgeraldAndre JohnsonSteve Smith
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I don't really see enough difference between Roy Williams and Fitzgerald to put Roy in the "not enough upside" category. He's big, makes acrobatic catches, goes over the middle, and isn't a burner, but is plenty fast enough. Roy's a little older, but, they would both be in their prime through this little experiment.
 
mrspree15 said:
anguskahn said:
Not enough upside to be special (very good but probably never be great)WayneRoyBoldin That leaves...Larry FitzgeraldAndre JohnsonSteve Smith
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I don't really see enough difference between Roy Williams and Fitzgerald to put Roy in the "not enough upside" category. He's big, makes acrobatic catches, goes over the middle, and isn't a burner, but is plenty fast enough. Roy's a little older, but, they would both be in their prime through this little experiment.
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Plaxico Burress. He's uncoverable.
 
For those listing others, I think you've hit the nail on the head: Burress, Driver and Housh were the next three on my list. But I was running out of poal options.

I actually considered Bowe (or removing Calvin Johnson) since he's outproducing Calvin right now, but Johnson gets in more for his "pedigree" than his production and Bowe just doesn't have that right now. I also didn't even consider a guy like Marques Colston because he's really only done well for one year and wasn't highly regarded before that.

I realize the contract is not very likely, but if the guy is the best at his position, I figured it might be worth "overpaying" him. Wayne got 40 mil over 6 years, and TO got 25 over 3yrs and those contracts were done a year and a half ago. I think Wayne's was before the CBA was redone to boost the cap, too. Neither got a ton guaranteed (I think $14m for wayne and $5m for TO) so maybe 2/3 was too high a figure but I figured 6 years, 48 mil, and ~30 guaranteed is not too far from happening one of these days. Mostly I wanted the guaranteed money to be enough to force the team to commit to the player for at least 4 years. (Forcing you to think long and hard before picking Moss, TO, and some of the older guys.) I realized my criteria was possibly unrealistic, which is why I included the "none" option. If that option received too many votes, I would have had to rethink the criteria.

Interesting - the Multi-choice option seems to be serving its purpose as for example Andre Johnson is getting much more love there than in the Pick One question. It seems almost nobody wants to call him number one, but almost everybody thinks he's really close, since he's the #2 vote getter in the 2nd question. I'm also surprised that people seem to think Torry Holt is close to done, as he's getting almost no votes, even in the 2nd question.

Keep the answers coming!

 
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I really looked at this and asked myself, in 2-3 years who is going to be at the top of the game, and in 5-6 years who is going to be near the top...

That rules out Harrison and Owens for sure, as I don't see them playing 3 years and out from here. Harrison will retire, Owens gets all these little dings, and I think he'll walk away if he can't go 100%.

Moss I think will be there in 2-3 years, but I wonder how his little injuries will add up as well.

Fitz is overrated, Boldin gets dinged. Steve Smith I think is too small to have a long career. GREAT WR, but short career IMO. Holt has his dings too. And I don't think Reggie Wayne is a #1 type WR. He reminds me of Peerless Price. Ginn simply doesn't belong on this list at all.

I voted Roy Williams. He's a man among boys even though he's been on a bad team. I think AJ, maybe CJ (both) would all be worth this contract... but Roy is just SO good, and still young...

Honestly... I could also add to this Bowe, as I see him really blossoming in KC.

 
anguskahn said:
Problem is that the top WRs are flakes and getting old. No way in hell would I give a guy liek Randy Moss a 6yr cobtract with 2/3 guaranteed. He's lazy and he'll stop earning it.Simply not good enough or proven enough to even be in the conversationBraylonGinnCalvin JohnsonNot enough upside to be special (very good but probably never be great)WayneRoyBoldin Too old for a 6yr guaranteed dealMarvinHoltToo flaky. No way I give these personalities that kind of guaranteed moneyTOChadMossThat leaves...Larry FitzgeraldAndre JohnsonSteve SmithI see Andre Johnson as the most physically talented and most liekley to continue to produce.
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I don't see how you leave Boldin or Roy off due to their not being "special." Have you watched either of them play? I've seen instances where both of them just TOOK OVER a game. Really rare at the WR position, but I've seen plays where it didn't matter if the D had 30 people on the field, NO ONE was going to tackle them. THAT IS SPECIAL. I left Boldin out due to his knee. But I selected Roy as the one WR I would do that for, and it wasn't a super difficult decision.
 
Mungo Burrows said:
For those listing others, I think you've hit the nail on the head: Burress, Driver and Housh were the next three on my list. But I was running out of poal options.
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None of them deserve to be on the list... are you kidding me?Burress hasn't shown himself to be special at all... Driver? Good QB making a mediocre WR look good. And Housh? Talk about benefitting from having CJ on the other side.
 
switz said:
anguskahn said:
Problem is that the top WRs are flakes and getting old. No way in hell would I give a guy liek Randy Moss a 6yr cobtract with 2/3 guaranteed. He's lazy and he'll stop earning it.Simply not good enough or proven enough to even be in the conversationBraylonGinnCalvin JohnsonNot enough upside to be special (very good but probably never be great)WayneRoyBoldin Too old for a 6yr guaranteed dealMarvinHoltToo flaky. No way I give these personalities that kind of guaranteed moneyTOChadMossThat leaves...Larry FitzgeraldAndre JohnsonSteve SmithI see Andre Johnson as the most physically talented and most liekley to continue to produce.
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I don't see how you leave Boldin or Roy off due to their not being "special." Have you watched either of them play? I've seen instances where both of them just TOOK OVER a game. Really rare at the WR position, but I've seen plays where it didn't matter if the D had 30 people on the field, NO ONE was going to tackle them. THAT IS SPECIAL. I left Boldin out due to his knee. But I selected Roy as the one WR I would do that for, and it wasn't a super difficult decision.
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I dont think Roy and Boldin have the speed to necessary to be special. I think both are great but they dont put fear into a DB. They both catch short passes and need to break a tackle to score deep.
 
I would go with either Andre, Calvin or Roy. All three are still young. Everyone who mentions TO or Moss isn't thinking strait. Not many play past 35 at a high level.

 
switz said:
Mungo Burrows said:
For those listing others, I think you've hit the nail on the head: Burress, Driver and Housh were the next three on my list. But I was running out of poal options.
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None of them deserve to be on the list... are you kidding me?Burress hasn't shown himself to be special at all... Driver? Good QB making a mediocre WR look good. And Housh? Talk about benefitting from having CJ on the other side.
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I said they would have been next. Notice they didn't actually make my top 13. Burress was the only one of the three I seriously considered adding, and he still didn't make the cut.
 
I can't see why Moss is getting the 2nd most votes.

3 games erases 4 years of history. Plus he is ageing?

The plays when he wants to play? Maybe he should get paid when the owner wants to?

 
Ron_Mexico said:
notapplicable said:
I would go with either Andre, Calvin or Roy. All three are still young. Everyone who mentions TO or Moss isn't thinking strait. Not many play past 35 at a high level.
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:fishing:
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While I would normally agree with you about WR's over 35, TO is not just anyone. He doesnt drink or smoke and in the offseason works harder then any other NFL player. I could envision TO playing another 6 years at the same level of current production.
 
It should be Moss, Owens and Smith but Carolina is going to have issues all year I'm afraid.

Moss = 1A

TO= 1B

They will outshine Chad, Marvin, et. al. by 20-30% this year.

Mark it down!

 
anguskahn said:
Problem is that the top WRs are flakes and getting old. No way in hell would I give a guy liek Randy Moss a 6yr cobtract with 2/3 guaranteed. He's lazy and he'll stop earning it.Simply not good enough or proven enough to even be in the conversationBraylonGinnCalvin JohnsonNot enough upside to be special (very good but probably never be great)WayneRoyBoldin Too old for a 6yr guaranteed dealMarvinHoltToo flaky. No way I give these personalities that kind of guaranteed moneyTOChadMossThat leaves...Larry FitzgeraldAndre JohnsonSteve SmithI see Andre Johnson as the most physically talented and most liekley to continue to produce.
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:confused:
 
I have to make a case for Lee Evans. He is a talented WR who is stuck on a horrible, horrible offense. Put him on the Colts offense, and you have the best WR in the league, better than Harrison or Wayne.

 
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