Do we upgrade our WRs this offseason?

You watched the game on Sunday and came away with the idea that the WR is the position that needs to be upgraded first and foremost?

If the Oline gets fixed, Brady gets back to being able to shred any and every defense with his current supporting cast on offense.

Oline is by far the #1 priority.

danmateus said:

Both are a concern. They are not mutually exclusive.

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But one is a bigger priority than the other. Much bigger. I'd put WR pretty low on the priority list, while OLine has been clear most of the season we didn't have the depth to absorb those injuries.

Not a WR, but Antonio Gates is set to be a UFA. Injury issues and age are a factor (35 yrs old), but I think Gates and Gronk would be a sick TE tandem.

Alshon Jeffery would be nice - slim chance
Anquan Boldin - as an end of career rental or 2 yr deal
Andre Holmes -
Travis Benjamin - not sure if he works primarily out of the slot
Oh yea, I almost forgot - Calvin Johnson...just because no one else has mentioned it

neuronet said:

But one is a bigger priority than the other. Much bigger. I'd put WR pretty low on the priority list, while OLine has been clear most of the season we didn't have the depth to absorb those injuries.

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We can do both.

KoolAid said:

Not a WR, but Antonio Gates is set to be a UFA. Injury issues and age are a factor (35 yrs old), but I think Gates and Gronk would be a sick TE tandem.

Alshon Jeffery would be nice - slim chance
Anquan Boldin - as an end of career rental or 2 yr deal
Andre Holmes -
Travis Benjamin - not sure if he works primarily out of the slot
Oh yea, I almost forgot - Calvin Johnson...just because no one else has mentioned it

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I mentioned Calvin. He wants out of Detroit.

FourierSeries said:

You watched the game on Sunday and came away with the idea that the WR is the position that needs to be upgraded first and foremost?

If the Oline gets fixed, Brady gets back to being able to shred any and every defense with his current supporting cast on offense.

Oline is by far the #1 priority.

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Absolutely! And add a deep threat to the mix and watch excellent defenses get confused. Gronk, Jules, Lewis and deep threat WR...what do you do?

I have a feeling that this loss will motivate Bill like losing to Manning in 06 AFC game did. Like that one ,this was an especially hard loss to take. It already started with the OL coach getting fired. The clock is ticking for he and Brady and I suspect he's going to shock a lot people this offseason.

PittPatriot said:

"Braxton Miller - quarterback...er...wide receiver, from THE Ohio State University"

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Cousins, A good WR from the Draft is not in BB's DNA. The real fact is a $10-$12mm for a decent WR is now a fair price to pay. To get full measure of a rookie takes 3 years in the league. Look at Gronk and Edleman. They had sparks in the first couple years (Gronk in year two!) but at year three you know what you have for sure. There are exceptions like Julio Jones, Beckham and Cooper, but Cousins we are never going to Draft that high while BB is here. Besides BB was also the advice that Thomas Dimitroff, of the Falcons received to go with Dwayne Bowe instead of trading up for Jones.........yikes! BB is not a WR Draft guru. But where we always Draft, that is a good thing and we are spoiled, so FA or Trades have brought us the best WR.

Chances are there will be a better value at #60 in this Draft than a WR that BB will look at. Perhaps OL. This is not a great WR class.

I think the Chad Jackson pick really hurt BB and poisoned the well on Drafting WR.

Let's ask an opinion? Would you take Alshon Jeffries for just about what you are paying Lafell and Amendola combined?

DW Toys

danmateus said:

Calvin is threatening to retire because he's is so sick of playing in Detroit just like Sanders was. I think Bill will give the Lions a call and feel that situation out.

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If we ever had Calvin on this roster with Gronk, JE and Dion Lewis, teams would be laying down before the coin flip.

danmateus said:

Absolutely! And add a deep threat to the mix and watch excellent defenses get confused. Gronk, Jules, Lewis and deep threat WR...what do you do?

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It doesn't work like that. If there's a "deep threat WR" that we can get that doesn't force us to break the bank, then I am sure Bill will go for it. But remember, Collins, Hightower, and Jones, among others, will need to get paid soon. Although personally, I would let Jones walk.

Deep WR threat is not a priority. We won just last year without one. Get the Oline fixed and make sure it's among the very best in the league. That should be the priority.

FourierSeries said:

It doesn't work like that. If there's a "deep threat WR" that we can get that doesn't force us to break the bank, then I am sure Bill will go for it. But remember, Collins, Hightower, and Jones, among others, will need to get paid soon.

Deep WR threat is not a priority. We won just last year without one. Get the Oline fixed and make sure it's among the very best in the league. That should be the priority.

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Doesn't have to be a break the bank WR. They just need a guy that can make the defense cover them. When you're sending James White downfield on many plays out of nessesity then that is a failure of the WR position.

Bradyking12 said:

We need a Moss type of signing this offseason once the o lone issues are taking care of

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That's kind of a "once in a generation" type of phenomenon. Probably not something to make a solid plan to achieve. I'm not sure there is even a prime-Moss type of player in the league right now.

IMO.

OL is obviously the #1 concern.

WR might not be "the" top need, but after Gronk, Jules and Amendola they basically got nothing. Martin and LaFell are JAGs at this point. Need more talent at the #2 - 3 spots.

The running game was on life-support due to injuries. Need more horses in the RB stable. Dion Lewis may never make it through 16 games, White is a nice pass-catching back but that is it and Blount was less effective. Sign Forte or Doug Martin and maybe try to trade White for whatever they can get.

Use the entire draft on offense.

The only way to go is up at this point, no?

mosi said:

I still say if you go back and watch the early games, the O-line was terrible. Dion and Blount made them look better than they were.

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Brady, Dion and Blount made them look better than they were.

varjao said:

Use the entire draft on offense.

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Sure, we need a LT and a RB. Oh yeah. We have Solder and Lewis coming back.

This is my plan for WR.

1. Sign Calvin Johnson Jr. to a deal with the same framework as Revis deal in 2014, essentially a 1 year deal with a team option for year 2.
2. Draft an outside WR with a high ceiling to groom behind Johnson.
3. Restructure Amendola.
4. Trade/release LaFell.
5. Keep Dobson, he is still only 24 years old. He has upside, everyone expected to much from him too soon.

1. Edelman
2. Johnson Jr.
3. Amendola
4. Martin
5. Dobson
6. "Rookie"
7. Slater

Of course this hinges on Johnson Jr. being released and accepting the low first year money with a big option. Even if Johnson Jr. walks after a year we will likely receive a 3rd round compensation pick.

Every year posters want a top level wide receiver. And every year, we have one of the top offenses in the NFL without a top level wide receiver.

Our offense was just fine before the injuries to Solder, Wendell, Lewis and Blount.

SOME THOUGHTS ON WIDE RECEIVERS

1) AMENDOLA will play for us. It would be somewhat crazy to take him away from Brady at this point. He will restructure to save a bit of cap room, likely taking a minor cut in compensation. He is our #2 WR, and #3 receiving target.

2) EDELMAN is our #1 WR. Brady is fine with that.

3) MARTIN has been extended for a reason. He is now our #3 WR.

4) We would be paying Lafell $2M of new money to compete to be our #4 WR. He could be cut, or not. He probably will be. For $2M, we can probably get a better #4, or not. Also, we have Gibson, Harper, Tyms, Dobson and Boyce all coming back to camp.

BOTTOM LINE
We have one the very best passing games in the NFL with Gronk, Lewis, Edelman, Amendola and Amendola. We need a bit more to go into the season. Perhaps, we'll draft a competitor or pick up a FA or two. But I don't think that Belichick would be unhappy with Gibson as our #4, or whoever might beat him out from what we have or we might pick up as a low level free agent.

The best way to improve our passing game is to have a healthy Solder, a healthy Lewis, a healthy big RB (likely Blount again), and an improvement at OG. Perhaps Mason, Jackson and Kline will improve enough to be that answer. Even getting Develin back will be helpful.

What we need is a better #2 tight end.

The Brandon Five said:

The only way to go is up at this point, no?

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You missed the first part of the season when our passing game was the best in the NFL. Of course, that was before we lost Solder and Lewis.