Who should I play at WR?

[MrBigglesworth]

It's the beginning of the Imperial season, and I can't decide who I should have start for me at the 2nd WR spot. I wanted to sort out my thoughts here, and hopefully get some feedback. My WR scout is excellent, and both my 1st WR and TE have very high route running, so I expect them to get most of the targets.

Here are the potential players:

Last season stats: 62 targets, 31 catches, 430 yards, 13.8 avg, 121 YAC, 3 TD, 3 drops, 6.9 yards per target.
Preseason: 14 targets, 5 catches, 49 yards, 9.8 avg, 4 YAC, 0 TD, 1 drops, 3.5 yards per target

He started last year, but wasn't overly impressive. He went down 2 points over last year. He also handles the PR and KR duties.


Last season stats (w/ another team): 89 targets, 51 catches, 804 yards, 15.7 avg, 124 YAC, 2 TD, 4 drops, 9.0 yards per target.
Preseason: 23 targets, 16 catches, 225 yards, 14.1 avg, 54 YAC, 1 TD, 0 drops, 9.8 yards per target

Jones is interesting. He used to be one of the best receivers in the IFL two season ago, catching 108 balls one season. Then he got hurt I believe in the last game, took a ratings hit, and only started 11 games last year but played all 16. He then looked really good in preseason for us.


Last season stats: rookie
Preseason: 21 targets, 13 catches, 117 yards, 9.0 avg, 24 YAC, 0 TD, 3 drops, 5.6 yards per target

Blackwell is a 2nd round pick that had a natural boom. He went from something like 29/52 at the draft to his current 35/64. He is the obvious receiver of the future, but most of his current is in big play and special teams areas, though.


Last season stats: 40 targets, 21 catches, 392 yards, 18.6 avg, 110 YAC, 4 TD, 2 drops, 9.8 yards per target.
Preseason: 10 targets, 7 catches, 63 yards, 9.0 avg, 21 YAC, 0 TD, 2 drops, 6.3 yards per target

Richard was a first round pick that busted. He will probably be my 5th receiver, but he showed some good flashes last year. The three games he started he had 7 catches in 8 targets, and was also Player of the Game once.

I need to figure out a starting FL and who I should play as my 3rd WR. Any advice?

[bulletsponge]

start the first 2 and have the rookie 3rd reciever. if you fall out of playoff contention start the rookie then. my bet is the rookie will improve his PA even more next season

[bulletsponge]

btw i would be tempted to cut Ken richard, thats a lot of money for a bust. is there a decent wr still out there you can get for less?

[NickSaban]

I pretty much agree with abovve.. I would make Blackwell my #3, and possibly bump him up to #2 as the season progressed. I would definitely use him as KR and PR to get him more time on the field.

[AlexB]

Originally Posted by bulletsponge

start the first 2 and have the rookie 3rd reciever. if you fall out of playoff contention start the rookie then. my bet is the rookie will improve his PA even more next season

^^^^^^^

[MrBigglesworth]

Pretty much along the lines of what I was thinking, thanks, except I already have a SE that I am starting that is not pictured here. So I just need a flanker and a 3rd WR. That makes it more difficult to decide between Jones/Bailey/Blackwell. Do I go with the former star who still might have good masked ratings? The guy with the good ratings that always comes up with the poor stats? If I play the first two, does the rookie never get to see the field?

[Franklinnoble]

I'd start Blackwell. His high "Big Play Receiving" rating tells me he has massive untapped potential.

[stevew]

Will Blackwell started the fine tradition of shitty Steelers WR wearing #89. It has since been continued by Lee Mays.

[Warhammer]

I know I'm in the league and all, but my advice is to play Blackwell now, since you've got the quality SE and TE. The fact that he has huge Big Play Ability now means that you can go downfield a bit with him and score some big plays now while also maximizing his development by playing him a lot. Bailey is a damn good #3 WR. That will cause a lot of matchup problems when he moves into the slot on 3rd down, plus he has great 3rd down catching as well.

[MrBigglesworth]

Originally Posted by Warhammer

I know I'm in the league and all, but my advice is to play Blackwell now, since you've got the quality SE and TE. The fact that he has huge Big Play Ability now means that you can go downfield a bit with him and score some big plays now while also maximizing his development by playing him a lot. Bailey is a damn good #3 WR. That will cause a lot of matchup problems when he moves into the slot on 3rd down, plus he has great 3rd down catching as well.

I'm worried about teams overplaying my other WR if I start Blackwell. Blackwell doesn't have enough good current bars to be much of a threat. I'm ping-ponging back and forth about what I want to do, and starting Blackwell is one of the things I am considering. Right now I am leaning towards starting Bailey but having PT set to 1 with Blackwell backing him up, and then putting Jones in the slot on 3 WR sets.

[MrBigglesworth]

Originally Posted by Franklinnoble

I'd start Blackwell. His high "Big Play Receiving" rating tells me he has massive untapped potential.

I agree, I think he is going to shoot up. But like I said before, I am worried that his current bars are not high enough to be much of a threat. Decisions, decisions...

[Warhammer]

Originally Posted by MrBigglesworth

I agree, I think he is going to shoot up. But like I said before, I am worried that his current bars are not high enough to be much of a threat. Decisions, decisions...

You are right that his current bars are low, but it seems to me that players play somewhere between their current and their potential. Maybe a better way to say it, it that they typically play at their current, while occasionally making a play above their current.

At worst, I would play Blackwell as your #3 WR. He needs reps to develop. You have enough other weapons that playing him as your WR2 should not hurt the offense much.

[MrBigglesworth]

Originally Posted by MrBigglesworth

Right now I am leaning towards starting Bailey but having PT set to 1 with Blackwell backing him up, and then putting Jones in the slot on 3 WR sets.

I went with this approach for game one, here is the breakdown:

   Receiving		Target	Caught	Dropd	Yards	PassPlay
   85 Little		10	8	0	130	26
   80 Edelstein		5	2	1	11	24
   89 Jones		4	2	0	26	15
   86 Bailey		3	3	0	104	15
   41 Hepburn		3	3	0	19	19
   23 Rodrigez		2	2	0	17	25
   83 Blackwell		2	0	1	0	17

Blackwell did not perform well on offense, pretty much what I expected from a rookie, but overall the receivers did pretty well, so I will probably keep this arrangement for next week.