TBayXXXVII

I'll still take him #2. Championships aren't won or lost in the first 2 games of any fantasy season. If you need 13 games out of Elliott to make it to the playoffs, then you're going to hoping to be lucky in order to win. Last year, because people were all WR happy and down on Bell, I was able to draft Elliott #6 (Brown, Jones, Beckham, Johnson, and Hopkins were 1-5), I was able to get Bell in the second round... all because he was going to miss the first couple games. I was able to get my #3 ranked RB as the 8th RB off the board!!

Looks like he's already on that path. In 2015, he dropped 11 balls on 143 targets. Last year, he dropped 7 in 173 targets. I hope everyone in my leagues think like bjsteel. I might be able to get a top 5 WR in the 3rd round and a top 5 QB in 15th!! LOL... Winston needing to grow up. With a mediocre OLine, injured RB's and only Evans and Brate to throw to, he finished 11th in QB's. Adding Howard and Jackson to the mix plus an improved OLine, he should be well in the top 10 and possibly top 5. Yeah, he needs to up.

Recently.... Vincent Jackson had a good year in Tampa Maclin was good in Kansas City. Garcon got hurt in his first year in Washington, but he was on pace to at least replicate his prior years numbers. DeSean Jackson had a good year in his first year in Washington as well. Crabtree was better in Oakland than in SF. Just going to add this in here. The following is what I think, not what I know. The current game that the NFL has become leads me to believe that QB's and WR's now have a much easier time transitioning into the league and being more productive more quickly.

I wasn't comparing them.

I don't target any handcuffs... ever. If I get one, fine, but I never reach for him.

If you remember, he was bust in Oakland before he went to New England.

He was a QB at Kent St, but the Patriots drafted him as a WR. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/nwe/2009_draft.htm According to Edleman, Belichick didn't even know what position he'll play him in. http://blog.masslive.com/patriots/2015/04/julian_edelman_says_bill_belic.html "Eeeeeeedelman, I don't know what we're going to do with you, but you're a hell of a football player."

Two separate arguments really. One is what the Redskins are telling me about Doctson, the other is my opinion on Pryor. I think the guy will be fine, but I don't agree with giraldi when he says that Pryor "has proven" what he could do. No one proves anything by doing it once... to me, you prove it by doing it twice. In general, we've all seen tons players do things once and never do it again. I mean, just look at my Buccaneers... Josh Freeman's 2010 season, Michael Clayton's 2004 season, Cadillac Williams' 2005 season. All one-year wonders that never panned out. While the actions with the Bears were somewhat similar, I'm confused on what the Bears expect to happen this year. With the Redskins, I think they believe they can be a playoff team (and I agree... they could be), I don't think the Bears see themselves that way. By signing Glennon and drafting Trubisky, it looks to me like they're trying to just be competent this year to buy time for Trubisky. They brought in Wright, Cruz, and Wheaton, so my guess is that they're thinking that either Meredith or White will take a step forward but are building depth in case White gets hurt again. I think they're less confident in White than the Redskins are in Doctson.

I don't think that's true at all. He has some flaws and some issues he needs to work on, so he's not perfect or a finished product, but he's playing pretty well. This year is a pivotal year for him. If he cleans up some of these issues, he could be really good... if he doesn't, he'll only be decent. Even at that, to say he "isn't very good" is a big overly negative. At the level he played at last year, he was a top 15 QB.

I never once hinted at any of the sort. When I said a #1 WR, I mean for the Redskins, not fantasy, and I said as much. Also, I don't think anyone who has done something only 1 time in 4 seasons has "proven" anything. To me, I need to see you do it twice. That though, isn't the argument I'm making. I've stated numerous times that my point is, the Redskins actions have told me that they believe in Doctson will have a big role this season.

I'm not saying anything about either of them. I saying how I read the actions made by the Redskins. They let Garcon and Jackson go without batting an eye not knowing who they could get in free agency. They went into free agency and only signed 1 WR to a one-year prove-it contract... all with knowing that they only had Doctson and Crowder. Then, they went into the draft and took only 1 WR in the 6th round (I believe... might be 5th), who was considered a long term project. Those actions tell me that the Redskins believe in Doctson.

Oh, I fully expect them all to be front loaded... just like I would have expected Pryor's to have been had he gotten one. A multi-year contract gives teams much more flexibility if they're right about a player and could extend them easier. A one-year contract gives the player all chips. Now, if Pryor goes off, the Redskins will now be forced to pay him a big deal or franchise him. Had they given him a 2 or 3 year deal, they could most likely would have been able to get him cheaper on an extension. Yes, I agree. Pryor could have preferred the one year deal. The question is, "Why?" It would be because no one was willing to "believe" in him and pay him.

"Thinking" he could do it again isn't the same as "believing" he can do it again. If they (and by "they", I mean all 32 teams), "believed" he could do it again, he would have gotten a deal better than a one-year prove-it deal. This was a very weak class for free agent WR's. With guys like Torrey Smith, Kenny Britt, Cordarrelle Patterson, Robert Woods all getting multi-year contracts (all of who stink), I'd think there would have been someone to offer Pryor a multi-year deal if they "believed" he could do it again. Now, do they "think" he could do it again? Yes, that's why - as you said - "was willing to take the chance on him", and that's why they gave him the prove-it deal. You take chances on players you "think" can play... not the one's you "believe" can play.

I dove into Brees' numbers a bit more. While he was still generally good, aside from like 1 or 2 seasons, Brees has definitely been a lot worse on the road compared to home games. That said, I don't think many QB's (ever), are much different.

That's right... they "hope" he can. They're not banking on it, which is why they didn't give him a long term deal.

Then I'm silly. Actions speak louder than words. Just like I think the Patriots are going to use Cooks a lot more than what some think. You don't give a first and a third, plus pick up an $8M option on a guy you just plan on throwing into a mixed bag. The Redskins basically did the same thing. They let 2 quality receivers just walk while only having a slot receiver and a 1st round draft pick as viable pass catching options. They apparently believe in his potential and I believe they will give him every chance to play. A one year contract is a "prove-it" contract. Meaning, they don't really believe he can do it again. Not only that, there were 31 other teams in the NFL that didn't even think Pryor was worth a one year prove-it deal. Like I said, actions (or lack there of), speak louder than words.

Not really. In each of the last 3 games, Winston threw the ball 35 times. He had a 2 games where he threw less than 30 and 2 over 50, outside of that, he was in the 30's the other 12 games. I expect the same thing. A couple where the attempts are low... a couple where the attempts are high, but the significant majority in the mid 30's.

I don't think that was his point. I said that Thomas was the only one who was consistent. He showed me someone else who was. He didn't make any statements, just posted the numbers.

I'm basing my opinion on what the 32 NFL teams told me via their actions. The Redskins told me that they believe in Doctson because they were perfectly willing to let Garcon and Jackson just walk without knowing what WR's they would be able to bring in. Then the league as a whole told me that because no one was willing to give Pryor more than 1 for $6, that none of them thought he could develop into a #1 WR. The Redskins confirmed their faith in Doctson because they only signed 1 WR to a 1-year deal and didn't draft any WR's that could be immediate help. It may be a bold prediction, but it's the prediction that the Redskins are putting out there.

Really? I didn't know that. I never really paid attention to Snead. Interesting....

I don't see either of Pryor or Crowder being a #1. If the Browns, Redskins, or anyone else really believed in Pryor being able to be a #1 WR, Pryor would have gotten better than a 1-yr / $6M deal. I think Crowder is a "nice" player. He'll be productive as long as others can take the coverage away from him. He's not a play maker that teams have to target as someone they "need" to stop. Doctson is that "type" of player. If he progresses, then he'll become the go-to guy at some point during the season. Of course, there is that chance that he's a bust and never lives up to his potential. I'm speaking more in the sense that Doctson has the greatest potential to be a #1 WR than the other two.

As long as the situations in Cleveland and Minnesota are awful, Coleman and Treadwell will have trouble reaching their potential. Doctson should be a big time player this year now that he's going to have to step into the #1WR role in Washington. Not sure what to make of Fuller. He had a good start, but the last 10+ games or so, he was rather non-existent. I think it's because of Osweiller being so awful, but we'll see. I don't see Shepard doing much of anything this year. I don't know why the Giants felt that they needed Marshall, makes no sense to me. It this point in time, and we'll see what happens in pre-season... but if Andy Jones has 10 catches this season, I'll be surprised.

That's the only consistent stat line the Saints have in their splits.

I'm not sure what this means? Are you saying that Evans isn't all that good, but because Winston throws to him all the time, he's getting volume? Volume that could change if Winston gets better? Or are you saying that he's really good and because of that, Winston throws to him all the time?

While I don't think your rationale is incorrect, I don't think things will happen that way. The Saints wanted to move on from Cooks... why, I don't, but I know they did. The Patriots most likely didn't have to give up a first and third to get him. You don't give up those two picks... plus exercise his ($8M), option (before he even reported to OTA's), just to make him a generic piece in the puzzle. I think Cooks gets 8+ targets per game.