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CLICK HERE to Register for a free account and login for a smoother ad-free experience. It's easy, and only takes a few moments.Emmanuel Sanders will return to the slot receiver position once Mike Wallace reports.
Sanders had been practicing at both Wallace's "X" spot and the slot. He'll now resume his role as a backup outside receiver and slot man in three-wide sets. Sanders certainly has the talent for some big games, but lack of playing time will lead to week-to-week inconsistency.
I can recall scouting Sanders leading up to the 2010 draft while working for the Chiefs, and my impressions of him as a player were that he was an excellent change-of-direction athlete who was a productive slot player for a high-octane offense at SMU.
Pioli opined that landing Sanders in a fair-market-value deal would be a coup for the Patriots, as he views him as an underrated talent on the free agent market and superior to any receiver the Patriots could acquire in the third round of this year's draft.
Asked whether Sanders is exclusively a slot receiver, Pioli said he has the skills to play both inside and outside, something the Patriots could use as they rebuild their receiving core.
Sanders had a breakout season, if you can call it that, in 2012. He caught a career-high 44 passes and led the Steelers with 14.2 yards per reception. After missing five games with injuries in 2011, Sanders played in all 16 games for the first time in his three-year career.
As celebrated as the Young Money Crew was, the Steelers never won a Super Bowl with any of them. One of the reasons for that has been Sanders' problems staying healthy.
Another ailment that afflicted Sanders in 2012 was fumble-itis. He was one of the culprits in the Steelers' infamous eight-turnover game at Cleveland, fumbling twice and losing one of them in a maddening 20-14 loss.
The Steelers, who finished 8-8 last season, could use more draft picks. For a franchise that has a realistic chance of winning the Super Bowl every year, a .500 record is rock-bottom and calls for a rebuild. The way to do that is to stockpile draft picks. Sanders, who has just eight career starts, would be a fair price to pay for a third-round pick.
NFL Draft Scout ranks 13 wide receivers among the top-100 draft prospects. Getting the Patriots' third-round pick, the 91st overall, would give the Steelers an extra chance to tap into that pool.
The third round is a key round for the Steelers when it comes to drafting receivers. All three members of the Young Money Crew were taken in the third round or later. Wallace and Sanders both were third-rounders and Brown went in the sixth round.
Ramses Barden would be a nice addition. 6'6, and has played well in spot duty.
In my opinion, I'll say New England receives an incomplete at the wide receiver position. Without Sanders, I feel unsure about all of these names due to unfamiliarity or you simply don't know what to expect. They're just names so far. I mean, a lot of these names could be practice squad fodder.
One free agent wide receiver who's intriguing is Ramses Barden. Regardless, I've to believe that New England's selecting a wide receiver in the draft. If not, and this is the gist of the depth, there will be a lot of pressure on the tight ends, Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez and Jake Ballard, to be productive and remain healthy. However, nowhere among these names do you see a true deep threat outside wide receiver. Hence, you try to draft him. Markus Wheaton? Terrance Williams? Aaron Dobson?
Emmanuel Sanders (pending)
Danny Amendola
Brandon Lloyd (restructuring contract)
Matthew Slater (Special Teams)
Donald Jones
Jeremy Ebert
Kamar Aiken
Andre Holmes
Check out the calendar...? Plenty of time to go, they should have an "I" at this point.
I have:
TE: Gronk, Ballard, Hooman
SL: AH/DA
WR: DA/AH, Lloyd or Sanders or someone else nearly as good, Jones, body, Slater
RB: Vereen, Washington
Assuming a normal rate of injuries, that's a 500 point+ offense.
Fells at TE.
Fells will be cut.
This just in: The Pats take risks on injury prone players. Why? Because our medical staff and strength and conditioning coaches are badass.
Sanders reminds me of Deion Branch in his prime a lot. Whether he will have that telepathy with Brady is another question. There's only one way to find out though...
Ramses Barden would be a nice addition. 6'6, and has played well in spot duty.
I don't know about that. I think they really like his skill set fell out of favor because of some nagging injuries but I think he has a chance to stick as the 5 TE.
Check out the calendar...? Plenty of time to go, they should have an "I" at this point.
I have:
TE: Gronk, Ballard, Hooman
SL: AH/DA
WR: DA/AH, Lloyd or Sanders or someone else nearly as good, Jones, body, Slater
RB: Vereen, Washington
Assuming a normal rate of injuries, that's a 500 point+ offense.
I know it's still very early, but if need be i wouldn't be opposed to an incentive laden deal with Titus "the headcase" Young.
Wouldn't hurt to try...maybe playing for a winning team, with a HOF coach and QB would straighten him out.
If Lloyd were kept around I'd feel alot better to have a proven commodity here. 900 yards is alot of production to replace.
Right now it's a big question mark but lots of potential.
If you base this on who is on our present roster, we have the worst WR core in the NFL. Second isn't even close.
If you base this on who is on our present roster, we have the worst WR core in the NFL. Second isn't even close.