Day 327

Fresh Start_327: Pay the Wide outs!
The value of wide receivers is drastically undervalued in the NFL. With the importance on finding and keeping a franchise quarterback in the league, you would think that receivers would be a hot commodity as well. With the league moving more and more toward a passing league, wide outs should be no further than the third most important position on your team.

If you go by the logic that the quarterback is the most important position on the football field (that is some good logic), then why not surround him with great wide-receivers? I think offensive lineman are just that much more important to a team than wide receivers for the simple fact that you need time to get completions in the NFL. But, then again you will always be able to get good offensive lineman in the NFL. Why else would they be called “the forgotten hero’s?”

Receivers should be the second highest paid position on a football team. If you look at the Top 10 receivers in the NFL last year according to Pro Football Focus you would have the following:
1.      Julio Jones (96.5 grade)
2.      Mike Evans (93.7 grade)
3.      Antonio Brown (89.6 grade)
4.      A.J. Green (86.4 grade)
5.      Michael Thomas (89.0 grade)
6.      T.Y. Hilton (88.5 grade)
7.      Doug Baldwin (88.2 grade)
8.      Pierre Garcon (87.2 grade)
9.      Larry Fitzgerald (86.8)
10.  Dez Bryant (86.3 grade)
Then if you look at the highest total salary getters for receivers you would have:
1.      Julio Jones ($71 Million {$35.5 guaranteed} from 2015-2020)
2.      Dez Bryant ($70 Million {$32 Million guaranteed} from 2015-2019)
3.      Demaryius Thomas ($70 Million {$35 Million guaranteed} from 2015-2019)
4.      Antonio Brown ($68 Million {$19 Million guaranteed} from 2017-2021)
5.      T.Y. Hilton ($65 Million {$11 Million guaranteed} from 2015-2020)
6.      A.J. Green ($60 Million {$26.75 Million guaranteed} from 2015-2019
7.      Pierre Garcon ($47.5 Million {$17 Million guaranteed} from 2017-2021)
8.      Doug Baldwin ($46 Million {$12 Million guaranteed} from 2016-2020)
9.      Keenan Allen ($45 Million {$20.656 Million guaranteed} from 2016-2020
10.  Tavon Austin ($42 Million {$17 Million guaranteed} from 2016-2021)
If you go simply from production Demaryius Thomas is 25th in PFF, Allen didn’t qualify due to his season ending injury, and Austin was 100th with a 48.7 grade. The guys who are in the Top 10 aren’t getting the right amount of recognition with the exception being Michael Thomas because 2016-17 was his rookie season. Fitzgerald has always been one of the league’s best, what more can Mike Evans do, and Baldwin along with Hilton should be getting more guaranteed money than $12 and $11 Million respectively. It just doesn’t make any sense because of what these guys are doing for their quarterbacks and how much value that actually bring to their teams.

Taking a look at the Top 10 quarterbacks according to Pro Football Focus from last season, they are:
1.      Tom Brady (98.0 grade)
2.      Matt Ryan (92.8 grade)
3.      Aaron Rodgers (92.1 grade)
4.      Andrew Luck (91.6 grade)
5.      Russell Wilson (88.9 grade)
6.      Derek Carr (87.3 grade)
7.      Drew Brees (86.6 grade)
8.      Matthew Stafford (85.9 grade)
9.      Kirk Cousins (85.4 grade)
10.  Dak Prescott (84.4 grade)
With the exclusions of Brady, Rodgers, Carr, and Stafford is it a coincidence that the majority of the quarterbacks had a receiver in the Top 10 on the receiving PFF list? With Brady and Rodgers being the best two quarterbacks on planet earth (and two of the greatest ever) they automatically get a pass, but Stafford and Carr took their teams to the next level with their play in 2016, and wouldn’t have been that good without them. Hence the most important position on the field, but you cannot disregard that the receivers that most of these quarterbacks have in a way make them the quarterback that they are.

Take this into account; there was 12 quarterbacks over 4,000 yards last year, and 5 QB’s with over 30 touchdown passes. With 13 receivers having more than 1,000 yards receiving, and 12 receivers with over 90 receptions—three of which had more than 100 receptions (Fitzgerald {107}, Brown {106}, and Beckham Jr. {101). The 2016-17 group of receivers also only had 5 receivers with over 10 touchdowns (with Nelson and Adams) being on the same team.  Why do the receivers get the short end of the stick if they hold their collective own against the league’s best quarterbacks. The most highly anticipated and best play of the game on Sunday’s are touchdowns. And, well receivers score touchdowns, and get field goal kickers into field goal range. Can they get paid like it, please?
Sources:(spotrac.com, profootballfocus.com)
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