How important is the WR position?

[Upnorth]

Just ask Tom Brady...

Exactly. The only positions which may have less value gain by having one elite player would be long snapper and punter.
Keeping this in mind, why have two wr as the top nine players?

[sharpe1027]

But a good qb without a stud wr can still produce. look at mr Brady in the past. poor wr but great qb still great numbers and game.
Elite wr without a second option to draw coverage away and you have a pedestrian wr.

A good WR without a stud QB can still produce decent numbers. An elite WR makes a pedestrian second and third option look better much better than pedestrian. While a defense can roll their overages to a single WR, it is not without a cost in other areas. If you make your teammates look better than they really are, that has to be worth something. Individual numbers don't tell the whole story.

[Upnorth]

A good WR without a stud QB can still produce decent numbers. An elite WR makes a pedestrian second and third option look better much better than pedestrian. While a defense can roll their overages to a single WR, it is not without a cost in other areas. If you make your teammates look better than they really are, that has to be worth something. Individual numbers don't tell the whole story.

An elite wr still has value, but i would take an elite QB, RB, TE, DE, DT, CB or S over an elite wr any day of the week. Due to this how can you justify having 2 in the top 9 players?

[sharpe1027]

Exactly. The only positions which may have less value gain by having one elite player would be long snapper and punter.
Keeping this in mind, why have two wr as the top nine players?

Having one elite player at many different positions is arguably just as unclear of a benefit. In reality it is often very scheme and team specific which areas are critical.

Center - how many times have you thought of a center - wow he's so much better than other centers, that's why we won the game?
Offensive Guard - how many times have you thought of a guard - wow he's so much better than other guards, that's why we won the game?
Safety - An elite safety can make plays at take certain things away, but any DB is only as good as the pass rush.
LBer - An elite LBer can change the game, but any LBer will struggle of the DL can't do their job.
DL - especially for 3-4 teams looking for their DL to eat up blockers and not necessarily make huge plays in the backfield, average DL can certainly get the job done.
TE - hell, some teams barely use their TEs, and more importantly, a defense can shift its coverage to slow down a TE similar to a WR.

I'd even go so far as to say that under the analysis of the WR value that has been argued in this thread, I could argue that RBs are not that important. Let's be honest, the days of an elite RB carrying the team are behind us. Look at how many playoff teams have average RBs. How well did the Vikqueens do with Peterson last year? How far did MJD take his team? Michael Turner? Jamaal Charles? Chris Johnson? LeSean McCoy?

My man point is that an elite player and any position is only as good as the rest of the team. Trying to single out WRs because they rely on other players doesn't seem like a solid argument to me.

[sharpe1027]

An elite wr still has value, but i would take an elite QB, RB, TE, DE, DT, CB or S over an elite wr any day of the week. Due to this how can you justify having 2 in the top 9 players?

Ranking players at different positions is so subjective that I'd bet that the same person doing their ranking twice would come up with a different ranking for no good reason.

I'm not going to try to justify any ranking, but I don't agree that it is categorically incorrect to put a WR in the top ten.

[woodbuck27]

Cold Hard Football Facts is a good site, in my opinion, and they have opined that paying a wide receiver top, top dollar is akin to spending all your money for your car on the hood ornament.

Hi Fritz:

This site is also useful whenever considering anaysis.

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/

Have a great weekend.

[Smidgeon]

I thought the list wasn't a list of the "best value" or "most important" but simply "the most talented players who live up to their talent". Did I miss a nuance?

[sharpe1027]

I thought the list wasn't a list of the "best value" or "most important" but simply "the most talented players who live up to their talent". Did I miss a nuance?

No, but clearly I did: "It was based on an ethos of all positions created equal. This isn’t about the most valuable players, otherwise there would be a lot more quarterbacks. This is about looking what is expected from a position and who most exceeded that."

[Upnorth]

Ranking players at different positions is so subjective that I'd bet that the same person doing their ranking twice would come up with a different ranking for no good reason.

I'm not going to try to justify any ranking, but I don't agree that it is categorically incorrect to put a WR in the top ten.

I can understand putting a wr in the top ten sometimes like the year steve smith dominated with no one around, but dedicating 20% of the top ten to wr???

[Deputy Nutz]

Sterling Sharpe was an absolute monster with no other option opposite of him. I consider him a better receiver than Jerry Rice for this reason alone. 4 out of 7 seasons with over 90 catches, two of those record breaking seasons with over a hundred catches.

If he never got hurt and he had a viable QB prior to Favre he would have been considered the best receiver ever in the NFL.

It can be done, especially now in a league that favors the passing game, and flags tackling.

[woodbuck27]

Sterling Sharpe was an absolute monster with no other option opposite of him. I consider him a better receiver than Jerry Rice for this reason alone. 4 out of 7 seasons with over 90 catches, two of those record breaking seasons with over a hundred catches.

If he never got hurt and he had a viable QB prior to Favre he would have been considered the best receiver ever in the NFL.

It can be done, especially now in a league that favors the passing game, and flags tackling.

Yes Sterling Sharpe was then OUR Calvin Johnson.

The game that we saw him go down with that freaky sideline tackle and injury was the day any hope for us and a Super Bowl was washed away.

Stering Sharpe and Brett Favre . That was 'domination'.

GO PACKERS !

[pbmax]

If you have a good TE and pass catching RB having average WR's will still get you a good passing game.

Tell that to the Bears.

[pbmax]

Just ask Tom Brady...

Brady wasn't Brady until Moss and Welker. Before that he was a "winner" no matter how pedestrian the stats.