Sports

Top WR nearly as valuable as top QB


AJ Brown (left)

AJ Brown (left)
image: beautiful pictures

Remember the wide collection carousel of the season? Remember when the expansion stars moved in like they were 30-year-old NBA players with a salary commensurate contract (look at you Trevor Ariza)? Remember when teams were elected not to pay their best catchers because they didn’t think they were worth the money?

Well, with the end of Week 1, a clear message was sent to the NFL: Pay your all-star receiver. Of the many expansion funds traded this season, four include those who have received (or have had) contracts of $20 million or more annually: Davante Adams, Tyreek Hill, AJ Brown and Amari Cooper.

Adams, Hill and Brown are looking for major off-season deals, while Cooper has locked the door. But they were all in a similar situation – their team didn’t think they were worth the money. It’s only been a week, but these all-star receivers have proven they’re not easy to replace (with the exception of Hill but Patrick Mahomes who may have made high school receivers look good on Sunday).

The first post-Adams game in Green Bay didn’t go as planned. When they brought in Aaron Rodgers, they assumed all would be well. They figured out if they had 4 MVPs in center, it didn’t matter who he threw to.

Spoiler alert: It matters.

In the first play of the Packers race, runner-up Christian Watson dropped what should have been a 75-yard touchdown that I’m sure many in their seats thought they could catch. That turned out to be a perfect representation of how the rest of the game will play out. Green Bay’s five receivers totaled 12 captures in 120 yards and failed to hit 16 targets. Adams, on his Raiders debut, had 10 catches from 141 yards and hit 17 targets.

It’s a similar story for the Cowboys as their offense leaves Dak Prescott dumb and unarmed. Without Cooper, and with Michael Gallup yet to return from his torn ACL, the Cowboys are guilty of being unable to move the ball. With CeeDee Lamb getting all the attention, everyone else can open up and make plays. And “others” cannot do that.

The Cowboys receivers had a total of 11 catches for 125 yards – and with Prescott below center, they had just 7 catches for 89 yards. While Cooper doesn’t exactly appear in the Browns’ first attack with Jacoby Brissett at the center, you have to imagine the Cowboys would love to have him back to spread their offense. Cooper has had nearly 4,000 yards received in his past four years with Dallas.

Then there’s Brown and Hill. While their previous teams had no trouble without them (at least both tried to replace them with viable picks), their new teams certainly enjoyed having them.

Brown looked at every bit of WR1 in the Eagles’ win over Detroit. Brown had 10 catches in 155 yards on 13 goals, and looked like one of the most unchallenging players in the entire league. His dominance and threat in the passing game opened up the Eagles’ running game even more, allowing them to dash for 216 yards and four points in the game.

As for Hill, he quickly proved that he was more than just the product of the Sheriff’s offense. He made eight catches for 94 yards on 12 goals, and had a six-yard run that got him a 100-yard debut. He repeatedly opened the door for his young midfielder, and made an incredible catch to save him from an interception.

Overall, it’s been a good day for broad receivers across the league and an eye-opening day for some of the teams that have let their stars go.

In an age of the NFL where generous collectors are already among the highest paying positions in football, they may be poised to reset the market once again.



Source link

news7f

News7F: Update the world's latest breaking news online of the day, breaking news, politics, society today, international mainstream news .Updated news 24/7: Entertainment, Sports...at the World everyday world. Hot news, images, video clips that are updated quickly and reliably

Related Articles

Back to top button