Wide receiver
Top 10 UFA WRs:
1 – Vincent Jackson: elite big man
and field-stretcher the Rams desperately need, but his price could be
way out of their range. And is still one misstep away from a one-year suspension by the league. (signed by Buccaneers 3/14)
2 - Pierre Garcon: just 25, his career
is still peaking, and he knows he can get paid for it. Wants the 5
years, $35 million Stevie Johnson just got, at least. (signed by Redskins 3/14)
3 – Marques Colston: big target up
for big bucks, but lacks elite speed and elite hands, and has had a
lot of injuries. (re-signed by Saints)
4 - Brandon Lloyd: top-15 quality wide
receiver with a flair for making tough catches. (signed by Patriots 3/20)
5 - Reggie Wayne: future Hall-of-Famer
had 75 catches last year for a very bad team. Is likely to follow
Peyton Manning to his next stop. (re-signed by Colts 3/14)
6 - Plaxico Burress: from prison to
difficult-to-stop red zone target.
7 - Early Doucet: young, effective
possession receiver with upside. (re-signed by Big Dead 3/21)
8 - Mario Manningham: Super Bowl hero
definitely wants teams to pay him a Super Bowl premium. Is he worth
it? (signed by 49ers)
9 - Robert Meachem: great speed and
size, a big play waiting to happen. Also a dropped pass waiting to
happen. (signed by Chargers 3/15)
10 – Laurent Freaking Robinson: 47
catches, 511 yards, 3 TDs in two years as a Ram; 54 catches, 858
yards, 11 TDs last year for
Dallas. Maybe his broken leg from '09 really did take that long to
heal. (signed by Jagwires 3/15)
Sleepers: Meachem
doesn't have the world's greatest hands, but is a legitimate
field-stretcher whom many scouts reportedly prefer to Colston. You'll
get him a lot cheaper. Jackie Slater's son Matt is a lightly-used
wide receiver but also a Pro Bowl special teams player. Of the many
young third-WR types on this list, Harry Douglas was drafted by Les
Snead and mainly lost his shot to be Atlanta's #2 (pre-Julio Jones)
because he couldn't stay healthy. (all three were signed by 3/15)
Wild card:
No wide receiver discussion is ever complete without mentioning Randy
Moss. Moss reportedly had a super workout with the Saints last week.
And though he stunk up the joint with the Titans two years ago, Jeff
Fisher doesn't have a bad thing to say about him. That may not be
rolling out the welcome mat, but it's not bolting the door shut,
either.
Tag you're it: Dwayne
Bowe, DeSean Jackson, Wes Welker. Mike Wallace is prominently
mentioned as a target of the 49ers, but he is a restricted free
agent. RFAs move so rarely I don't list them unless their team has
already announced they're not going to be tendered, such as Kevin
Ogletree.
Out of the running: Domenik
Hixon (re-signed by Giants); Stevie Johnson (re-signed by Bills);
Ruvell Freaking Martin (re-signed by Bills), Hines Ward (retired)
Voting present: Jacoby Jones (cut by Texans 5/2, signed by Ravens 5/9), Matt
Slater (re-signed by Patriots 3/15), Ted Ginn Jr. (re-signed by 49ers 3/22), Harry Douglas (re-signed by Falcons), Andre Caldwell (signed by Broncos 3/21), Jabar Gaffney (cut by Redskins 5/1), Deion Branch (re-signed by Patriots 3/22),
Patrick Crayton, Devin Thomas (signed by Bears 3/29), Eric Weems (signed by Bears 3/15), Eddie Royal (signed by Chargers 3/16), Chaz
Schilens (signed by Jets 3/17), Josh Morgan, Donte Stallworth (signed by Patriots 3/20), Jerricho Cotchery (signed by Steelers 4/11), Courtney
Roby (re-signed with Saints 4/16), Micheal Spurlock (signed by Chargers 4/7), Derek Hagan (re-signed by Bills 3/19), Kevin Ogletree (re-signed by Cowboys 3/21), Roy Williams,
Bryant Johnson, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Rashied Davis, Lee Evans (signing with Jagwires 4/16), Kassim Osgood (cut by Jagwires 3/13), Donnie
Avery (signed by Colts 3/23), Greg Camarillo, Chansi Stuckey (cut 3/17); Maurice Stovall, Brett Swain (re-signed by 49ers 4/6), Jerheme Urban,
David Anderson
The doctor will see you now:
Mark Clayton, Michael Clayton, Anthony Gonzalez (signed by Patriots 3/17, cut by Patriots 5/29), Roscoe Parrish (signed by Chargers 4/3),
Steve Smith (not the Carolina one, signed by Rams 3/26), Blair White (knee, cut by Colts 4/14)
Gawd no: Devin
Aromashodu (re-signed by Vikings 3/24), Legedu Naanee (signed by Dolphins 4/17), Jerome Simpson (signed by Vikings 4/24). The first two are terrible
pass-catchers; Aromashodu's catch rate last season was 33.3%. Simpson
is getting two months in jail (cut back to 15 days) and at least four weeks from the league
for marijuana possession. It just dawned on me that Mike Sims-Walker
is also a free agent. It'd be a crime not to list him here as well.
RamView’s moves: The Ram
receiving corps has been a disaster ever since the brilliant Linehan
plan to replace Isaac Bruce with Drew Bennett. Even with Brandon
Lloyd, last year's group was one of the worst in the league and needs
drastic improvement in free agency, and the draft, this year. Period.
They are not getting by with what they have.
Justin Blackmon is almost certainly
going to be their first-round pick. They traded their 5th-round pick
this year to get Brandon Lloyd, who stepped right in and was mostly
effective. He would certainly thrive with Blackmon present to draw
coverage away from him. But Lloyd could be a difficult sign. He'll
want big money, but he's 31, and he'd probably rather go to New
England and play for Josh McDaniels. If the Rams can get him for 3
years in the $12-15 million range, they'll have made a good deal. If
they can't get him, they need to turn their focus quickly to someone
like Meachem, with the inherent threat that he turns out to be Alvin
Harper.
Healthy again, Danny Amendola, who lost
all of last season to a dislocated elbow, should continue to thrive
in the slot, especially with capable receivers around to leave him
single-covered most of the time. Greg Salas, who should be back from
a broken leg, looked like he was really catching on to that role last
year. My preference is to keep him, though he has not been much of a
special teams contributor.
Then there's Danario Alexander. I wish
I could quit Danario Alexander. He's had major knee issues. He can't
stay on the field consistently, drops too many passes, can't get open
in the short area of the field. There's no way you can go into the
season relying on him as the #2. But his ability to get deep and make
the big play is still tantalizing. He should at least be in the mix
for #2. I keep thinking the Rams should make him a tight end; he's a
better blocker than any TE they had last year. But I doubt he could
stand that pounding. He'll be risky enough to put on special teams,
but he can contribute there.
Trying to keep several of last year's
wideouts doesn't mean the Rams' turnover at the position won't be
fierce. My assumption on Mark Clayton is that he is done. He'll be 30
and coming off two seasons lost to injury. Brandon Gibson's a
try-hard guy but has had plenty of opportunity to prove he's more
than just a guy. With Amendola back to return punts, I see little
need to keep either of the league substance-rule violators. Certainly
not Nick Miller. The funny thing, though, is that this year, there
should be little risk in the Rams dropping Austin Pettis to the
practice squad. Who'll want him? Except I don't think they can, so good-bye to one of Billy Devaney's
bigger draft misses. Dominique Curry will be one of the trickier
decisions in training camp. To me, he really needs to show progress
as a receiver if he's going to tie up a roster spot. He will be cheap
to keep, which is a consideration. For now, I'm going after a veteran
like Michael Spurlock, with more receiving ability, and also
kickoff-return ability, with Jerious Norwood not likely at all to be
back.
Here's what I come up with:
WR1 - Blackmon
WR2 - free agent (Lloyd/Meachem)
WR3 - Amendola
WR4 - Salas
WR5 - Alexander
WR6 - free agent (Spurlock)
Shoot the moon: The
only receivers I can justify spending big money on are Vincent
Jackson and Pierre Garcon. Either would be incredible lined up with
Blackmon on the other side and Amendola working the slot. Fisher
should certainly be familiar with Garcon's ability. To make the
offense exciting enough again to put a charge in the fan base, they
almost have to make that kind of move. It's just an idea that'll
never get off the drawing board, though.
Prediction: I
don't fault him, but I don't think Lloyd's staying, and my guess is
the Rams end up with Blackmon and a bunch of slot receivers. My gut
feeling is also that Alexander's a coin flip at best. They'll expect
a lot from Blackmon early, sign someone like Harry Douglas or Early
Doucet to compete with Salas for #2, and use WR5 and WR6 on special
teams, which could preserve spots for Pettis and Curry.
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