#1 WR? Brandon Aiyuk or Deebo anyone?

[Real fan 02]

Indeed it is. Them signing him after the tender is another matter entirely. They can always FT him next year, but that might go over like a fart in an elevator with Higgins.

Agree. That's why I asked @Zuma was that his tender to be sure. Typically teams work out a long-term deal while under franchise control. It's excellent Money! However the owners are so cheap I'm suprised they paid burrow.

 

[Wozzy]

Looks like a lot of playoff teams, 3 recent SBs with a couple of rings. Not sure this post makes the case you're trying to make.

I mean Kupp has a ring, his team had to trade seven years worth of first round picks to make that happen.

Tyreek has a ring from his last team, they traded him away rather than make him the highest paid WR in the league.

None of those other guys have rings and their teams seemingly got worse a year removed from paying them.

Aiyuk is nowhere near the class of Jefferson or St Brown… I’d take Deebo if the 49ers simply wanted to shed payroll and gave him to us for nothing… but he’ll want a new deal sooner than later.

Probably best to wait and let this rebuild happen organically.

 

[TheRainMaker]

People are overrating Aiyuk entirely….

Best Season Of Career:
Juju - 111 catches, 1426 yards, 7 TD's
Aiyuk - 75 catches, 1342 yards, 7 TD's

He’s not a top tier WR and wants to be paid like one… plus you have to trade for him, no thanks.

I'm no that sold on Aiyuk either. Yes, his production has gone up every season, but Shanahan has been known to make things easy for players. A lot of his catches are finding wide open zones from play design. He's not the greatest when bodied up.

Aiyuk is nowhere near the class of Jefferson or St Brown… I’d take Deebo if the 49ers simply wanted to shed payroll and gave him to us for nothing… but he’ll want a new deal sooner than later.

I'm not much of a fan of Deebo either. He's a glorified RB who is injury prone because of his kamikaze playing style

 

[Real fan 02]

I mean Kupp has a ring, his team had to trade seven years worth of first round picks to make that happen.

Tyreek has a ring from his last team, they traded him away rather than make him the highest paid WR in the league.

None of those other guys have rings and their teams seemingly got a worse a year removed from paying them.

Aiyuk is nowhere near the class of Jefferson or St Brown… I’d take Deebo if the 49ers simply wanted to shed payroll and gave him to us for nothing… but he’ll want a new deal sooner than later.

Probably best to wait and let this rebuild happen organically.

While I too like the idea of trading for a true #1.. I've also mentioned I'd also like to see the development of polk and baker.. I love when teams develop thier own draft picks. With the available cap space left.. we are still going to have to spend to get to the NFL requirements. What I believe will happen is:

Rham getting extended
Peppers getting extended
Judon getting a bump
Godchaux also getting a bump.

 

[Real fan 02]

How many more wins would a star WR being signed to the Patriots 2, 3 more wins? The team is not constructed for a SB run this year. The GM needs more time. Save the money for a trade for a backup Left tackle this summer. See if this draft class can help this team. Evaluate the offense.

I say extend peppers, judon and rham.. this season has to be about self investment in the team. As the FA market was undesirable this year. I want to see the young guys developing polk and baker as well as the future in drake!

 

[TheRainMaker]

Looks like a lot of playoff teams, 3 recent SBs with a couple of rings. Not sure this post makes the case you're trying to make.

None of them have won anything since signing big deals, most have had early playoff exits or no playoffs at all.

It's actually pretty clear signing WR's to mega deals are not a good value to the overall team.

 

[TheRainMaker]

Rham getting extended

I say extend peppers, judon and rham..

I wouldn't extend Rham until we see how he plays this season first.

 

[Real fan 02]

I wouldn't extend Rham until we see how he plays this season first.

Rham is already in contracts to be extended. That's going to happen.. the rb market is kibbles n bits compared to anything else.. rham was worn down last 2 seasons he was the positive in a terrible offense.. I say he deserves it.

 

[Real fan 02]

None of them have won anything since signing big deals, most have had early playoff exits or no playoffs at all.

It's actually pretty clear signing WR's to mega deals are not a good value to the overall team.

While I agree! The WR and QB market is bonkers.

 

[TheRainMaker]

Rham is already in contracts to be extended. That's going to happen.. the rb market is kibbles n bits compared to anything else.. rham was worn down last 2 seasons he was the positive in a terrible offense.. I say he deserves it.

I hope talks stall and they wait it out. I don't think he's a good fit for the zone blocking scheme. He's a slow lumbering runner unlike Damien Harris who was a very decisive runner making quick cuts which the offense calls for. We'll see.

 

[jmt57]

I wouldn't extend Rham until we see how he plays this season first.

Yeah, running backs are completely different - unfortunately for them.
They're often toast by age 28, so it's tricky giving them a decent second contract.

I appreciate Stevenson's efforts, I really do. For that alone he deserves a nice payday.

But I fear he has already been overused. 620 touches already in three seasons. Most NFL running backs decline quickly, without much of any warning.

I know this sounds ridiculous since he is only 26, but since he is a RB you have to ask how much tread is left on the tires? He's not going to accept a short term/lower $ deal - but the opposite could turn out to be a waste.

 

[Real fan 02]

I hope talks stall and they wait it out. I don't think he's a good fit for the zone blocking scheme. He's a slow lumbering runner unlike Damien Harris who was a very decisive runner making quick cuts which the offense calls for. We'll see.

Yeah.. I mean we'll definitely see how this plays out... meanwhile he's got the endorsement of his HC...

 

[Real fan 02]

Yeah, running backs are completely different - unfortunately for them.
They're often toast by age 28, so it's tricky giving them a decent second contract.

I appreciate Stevenson's efforts, I really do. For that alone he deserves a nice payday.

But I fear he has already been overused. 620 touches already in three seasons. Most NFL running backs decline quickly, without much of any warning.

I know this sounds ridiculous since he is only 26, but since he is a RB you have to ask how much tread is left on the tires? He's not going to accept a short term/lower $ deal - but the opposite could turn out to be a waste.

While I tend to agree. He was hurt last season, and dealt with an ankle issue in 22 that he played through. I'd like to see him function in a real offense. He has that now, he has help, he won't need to shoulder all the carries. I personally love rham, his game, his mentality and his attitude. He needs to get his money now becuase RB are toast by age 30..

 

[TheRainMaker]

Yeah, running backs are completely different - unfortunately for them.
They're often toast by age 28, so it's tricky giving them a decent second contract.

I appreciate Stevenson's efforts, I really do. For that alone he deserves a nice payday.

But I fear he has already been overused. 620 touches already in three seasons. Most NFL running backs decline quickly, without much of any warning.

I know this sounds ridiculous since he is only 26, but since he is a RB you have to ask how much tread is left on the tires? He's not going to accept a short term/lower $ deal - but the opposite could turn out to be a waste.

It's not so much of the mileage with me, it's more his running style and how it fits with the offense. Averaging 206 touches per year is not bad at all. I'm more concerned with his running style as someone on the board said Rham said he models his game after Le'Veon Bell - the least decisive RB I've seen play. This offense will demand quick decisions and cuts. Bell relied on his OL to clear guys out and giving him time to take the best gap. When he didn't have the red carpet of blocks rolled out for him, he struggled badly. Rham is also a slow lumbering guy who isn't very quick off the initial attack.

Blount is the best example of current Pats that resemble Rham's game. Both Blount and Rham are difficult to stop once they get going and run past the LOS into the 2nd and 3rd levels. But if you can meet him at the LOS or even blow up a play behind the LOS, they were dead to rights. This is why I believe Bill let Blount walk in FA and they drafted Sony Michel (supposed to be quicker/receiving ability) as Blount had his playoff issues in the past being easily taken out of games early.

 

[TheRainMaker]

Also wanted to point out if we're looking for comps in the Shanahan offense, Mike Anderson, Alfred Morris, Jeff Wilson and Carlos Hyde were the biggest backs and most comparable to Rham.

 

[Wozzy]

The Pats should bring in Hakeem Butler from the UFL.

I'd also take a look at free agent Joe Reed who is sitting out there and has floated on practice squads the last couple years. He was on a bad passing team with Justin Fields and has kick return ability. These guys would be cheap and worth a look.

Aiyuk will be a free agent next offseason, he still isn't worth top dollar, but if you want him he'll likely be there. Chris Godwin will be there and he's a much better WR, so will some older guys like Amari Cooper.

 

[Love The Drake]

The Pats should bring in Hakeem Butler from the UFL.

I'd also take a look at free agent Joe Reed who is sitting out there and has floated on practice squads the last couple years. He was on a bad passing team with Justin Fields and has kick return ability. These guys would be cheap and worth a look.

Aiyuk will be a free agent next offseason, he still isn't worth top dollar, but if you want him he'll likely be there. Chris Godwin will be there and he's a much better WR, so will some older guys like Amari Cooper.

Carolina signed him,
That ship sailed.

 

[Real fan 02]

Also wanted to point out if we're looking for comps in the Shanahan offense, Mike Anderson, Alfred Morris, Jeff Wilson and Carlos Hyde were the biggest backs and most comparable to Rham.

In this offense, it's the west coast, zone scheme as we know.. RBs thrive in this type of offense even big stronger backs like rham.. chubb exceled in it. what will help rham and even keep him fresh during the season is having Gibson. I cannot speak enough about him. He's just a phenomenal athlete. Glad we picked him up in FA.

 

[Wozzy]

Carolina signed him,
That ship sailed.

I read Butler visited Carolina, but as of yet it appears he hasn't signed yet.

Carolina signed Daewood Davis from the Memphis Showboats.

No google search says anything about Hakeem?

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

Aiyuk has turned himself into one of the leagues better rr through hard work. That's one him not the Shanny system. He was a project coming out of ASU. Limited route tree and rr. That's all completely changed and it's bc of that "system." He's a complete wr that is a very good blocker, underutilized down field and can win outside. Again he was a project coming out and Jimmy G couldn't really utilize BA's skill-set. He's never been fed huge targets, last year he had 105 targets for 75 1342 17.9 7. I believe he was top 2-3 for ypr.

Some of you guys are way off here. This guy has worked himself into a WR1. He's gotten better each season and is a beast on the field. You want him on your side. Especially at 26 in his prime.


Also its 2024 - 40 times aren't the end all, be all! Game speed is tracked for every single player/prospect coming out of college. That's part of why Kupp fell. Poorish 40 but hit 21mph on the field. Aiyuk can actually separate on his routes whereas Deebo is fed touches. And I love Deebo but it's not close who's the better wr.

I'm fine with seeing what we have this year bc I'm a big Baker fan. Love what Pop and Polk can bring. That said some of you find every way to say no to top tier wrs.