Where the Top WRs Come From

[Brown Warrior]

Recently found out that more WRs have been picked in round one than any other position (40) in the last decade. It shows up in this year's top 10 in receiving yardage (name and round):

1. B. Lloyd (4)
2. R. White (1)
3. R. Wayne (1)
4. G. Jennings (2)
5. M. Wallace (3)
6. A. Johnson (1, 3rd overall)
7. D. Bowe (1)
8. L. Fitzgerald (1, 3rd overall)
9. C. Johnson (1, 2nd overall)
10. S. Moss (1)

So 7 of the 10 top WRs (by yardage) were picked in round one. Jennings was round 2 and Wallace was round 3. Lloyd, frankly, is a huge anomaly who has never been mentioned in this company throughout his solid but not spectacular journeyman career.

I'd almost leave him out of the discussion here. He goes more in the "Huh?" or "Shit Happens" category (!). Pretty solid evidence that productive #1 type WRs are a first round endeavor with few exceptions (the legit ones being Jennings in two and Wallace in three).

[Vegasdogg]

WR's, like ANY SKILL POSITION, have a large population of first rounders, and a splattering of other rounds represented. I can make a thread about CB's, S, WR, TE, QB, RB, DE, LB and LT.

This team needs a #1 WR. If you want to see what McCoy has, sign him one in FA. The top of the draft has teams above us who will take Green. My bet is we are going pass rusher @ 6.

[YtownBacker]

I think you forgot to add the first round failures along with those guys. When you spin it, spin it both ways. Like Vegas said, you can do that for any position using round one. Not just WR.

As much as I would like to see them draft Green, he may very well be gone and Julio Jones, at this point, isn't close to being the next BPA on the board. Things could change but makes teams consistent bottom of the division teams passing on too many future pro bowlers to fill a need.

[Brown Warrior]

I actually think the reverse is true, Y: None of our skill players on offense were elite prospects coming out of college. McCoy was a third round pick, Hillis was late round, and Robiskie/Massoquoi were 2nd rounders.

We've been shopping for playmakers in the bargain aisle while drafting LT, C, and CB in round one. That's going to have to change at some point.

BPA has to be put in the blender with need every time. A 10th rated player of need can be more valuable than a 6th rated player NOT of need. I think Jones would mean more to this team than Patrick Peterson, for instance. A lot more.

[Vegasdogg]

Originally Posted by Brown Warrior

We've been shopping for playmakers in the bargain aisle while drafting LT, C, and CB in round one

I know where you're going with this and I empathize. But we have chosen 1st round O players:

Tim Couch
Braylon Edwards
Brady Quinn
William Green
Kellen Winslow

It's not like our team doesn't need first round talent, but lets try not to get so locked into one position for the next 2 months prior to the draft. You'll only end up with a case of heartburn - or giving someone else a case of it.

We need some help no question. If Green is there I see us either taking him or trading down for his pick. But if he is gone don't be surprised with a pick for the D, which if you've studied Heckert, it is his MO.

[Greythan]

Not at number 6 Shep.

If Peterson is viewed as a can't miss all-pro talent and a corresponding receiver is viewed as a could miss mid first round talent then its not cut and dried.

Look, I want a playmaker at WR. I just want you to be prepared for whomever we draft at #6 after your quasi-meltdown last year when we took Haden.

[Sez.EJ]

There is really only 1 WR worthy of the 6 spot.. There are a handful of defensive players worthy of that #6 spot and a handful of holes for us to fill.. Just gotta see who is there and what direction H3 wants to go...

* If Green is gone it would be a MASSIVE mistake to NOT take the best fit for us defensively at #6. We must have a playmaker regardless of position with that pick. I think trading down for a lower tiered WR would be a major error that would echo for years to come.

[PlaygroundLegend]

The problem is, at 6, with Green gone, there are no WR's worth pick number 6.

Julio Definitely doesnt... Neither does young or Baldwin......

We have to take BPA with 1st pick (or trade down with a team that wants Camera Newton) and BWRA with the 2nd pick

[Flugel]

Originally Posted by Vegasdogg

I know where you're going with this and I empathize. But we have chosen 1st round O players:

Tim Couch
Braylon Edwards
Brady Quinn
William Green
Kellen Winslow

It's not like our team doesn't need first round talent, but lets try not to get so locked into one position for the next 2 months prior to the draft. You'll only end up with a case of heartburn - or giving someone else a case of it.

We need some help no question. If Green is there I see us either taking him or trading down for his pick. But if he is gone don't be surprised with a pick for the D, which if you've studied Heckert, it is his MO.

I hear what you're saying Vegas. That said, Heckert hit the ball outta the park on DeSean Jackson AND Jeremy Maclin at WR in round 1. Philly's best pass rusher today is Trent Cole, who was a 5th round draft pick. In comparison, Philly's 1st round draft pick Brandon Graham (#13 overall) finished 2010 with 3 sacks and 13 total tackles. Want to take a guess where Phil Savage is working today? I'll give you a hint - the young DC there already got fired. When incompetance invades a front office - coaches start going down like dominoes.

Not to make this any more depressing but here's our defensive version of tickling our gag reflexes in upper round 1 previously:

Courtney Brown #1 overall
Gerrard Warren #3 overall
Kam Wimbley upperhalf of round 1 (13th overall?)

Easily our best pass rusher of the Lerner ownership was Jamir Miller unless I'm missing any other Pro Bowl performers we had chasing QBs.

Again, if we SUCK against the run - are we putting out the most dangerous fire with a round 1 pass rusher that has holes in his game against the run? SOME of the stockup (guys projecting better workouts) aren't necessarily going to be better than some players getting passed up at their expense. Last time this happened, the Washington Redskins found themselves Brian Orakpo over Clay Matthews because white men can't jump. Let me know when Clay Matthews needs to jump the way he's playing football today. Orakpo had 8.5 sacks in 2010 while Clay Matthews lost an MVP election to Pollyneedsahaircutandanotherachilles.

[BernietheKid]

Originally Posted by Flugel

I hear what you're saying Vegas. That said, Heckert hit the ball outta the park on DeSean Jackson AND Jeremy Maclin at WR in round 1. Philly's best pass rusher today is Trent Cole, who was a 5th round draft pick. In comparison, Philly's 1st round draft pick Brandon Graham (#13 overall) finished 2010 with 3 sacks and 13 total tackles. Want to take a guess where Phil Savage is working today? I'll give you a hint - the young DC there already got fired. When incompetance invades a front office - coaches start going down like dominoes.

Not to make this any more depressing but here's our defensive version of tickling our gag reflexes in upper round 1 previously:

Courtney Brown #1 overall
Gerrard Warren #3 overall
Kam Wimbley upperhalf of round 1 (13th overall?)

Easily our best pass rusher of the Lerner ownership was Jamir Miller unless I'm missing any other Pro Bowl performers we had chasing QBs.

Again, if we SUCK against the run - are we putting out the most dangerous fire with a round 1 pass rusher that has holes in his game against the run? SOME of the stockup (guys projecting better workouts) aren't necessarily going to be better than some players getting passed up at their expense. Last time this happened, the Washington Redskins found themselves Brian Orakpo over Clay Matthews because white men can't jump. Let me know when Clay Matthews needs to jump the way he's playing football today. Orakpo had 8.5 sacks in 2010 while Clay Matthews lost an MVP election to Pollyneedsahaircutandanotherachilles.

Just wanting to clear the air Fluges, Jackson was a second round pick.


DeSean Jackson
Height: 5-10
Weight: 175
Born: Dec 1, 1986 - Long Beach, CA
College: California
Draft: 2008 - 2nd round (18th pick) by the Philadelphia Eagles

DeSean Jackson - Philadelphia Eagles - NFL - Yahoo! Sports

[Brown Warrior]

I'm not getting down to the tactical level yet. But I AM saying that this team is among the worst at passing... in a passing league. And we've been bad for three seasons while shedding talents like Edwards and Winslow and replacing them with Robiskie and Massoquoi.

We're going to need a serious talent at WR to make our offense go. Serious top of the unit talent. I can't think of anybody who searched for their #1 WR after round one. Jennings was chosen when the team already had Donald Driver who was chosen when the team already had Javon Walker who was chosen when the team already had Favre's favorite target for a few years whose name escapes me. Wallace was selected when the team already had Holmes (round one).

The Browns are in desperate need of a go-to WR. Now I'm not denying that we have multiple "desperate needs," but that's a little further down the line, at least for me. I'm not even denying that the Browns might choose to select Robert Quinn over Julio Jones, or even that it would be a reasonable choice.

My point is that it's a lot to expect the Browns to find a #1 WR after round one. Jennings was often slated for round one but "fell" to round two at least partially because of his unremarkable team and competition level. Wallace, like Colston, was a matter of fishing for trout and catching lobster. It happens.

But you don't count on it happening. You don't find a #1 draft pick in round #3 simply because you want to... or everybody would. Players fall to later rounds because they aren't deemed good enough for round one... for any of a number of reasons. Then some of them "surprise." Which means it wasn't expected.

Maybe the Browns don't get it done this year. I think it'd be a shame given the nature of the league, the massive hole we have at the position, and its importance to two of our marquee players (McCoy and Hillis).

But we won't be a very good passing team until we get WAY better at WR. Which means we won't be a very good team. And that might have to be the case.

[Flugel]

Originally Posted by PlaygroundLegend

The problem is, at 6, with Green gone, there are no WR's worth pick number 6.

Julio Definitely doesnt... Neither does young or Baldwin......

We have to take BPA with 1st pick (or trade down with a team that wants Camera Newton) and BWRA with the 2nd pick

Don't sell Julio short if we trade down PGL. He's not facing the corners that got you excited about Titus Adams. Julio has gone against studs like Joe Haden, Patrick Peterson and Javier Arenas every day in practice so the NFL won't be as overwhelming to him. Arenas and Haden started and performed well for their teams as rookies to get an idea of the caliber of competition Jones faced.

Don't get yourself caught up in who has the sexiest highlights vrs inferior competition because it can be a false positive. Keep in mind, Jones is ONLY a junior and the BEST highlights of him are outumping people for the football in traffic. Anytime they went deep to him, he had so much seperation that when he came BACK to underthrown footballs he would catch them and re-establish his seperation again.

He's a 6'4" target like Brandon Marshall without the character flaws. And again, if he returned for a senior year - he'd most likely be a top 5 pick in 2012. I didn't have the greatest impression of him heading into 2010. When I say WOW in 3 different games, a very stubborn mind has been changed the only way it could be.