Da Schmoe's Approach To The WR Problem

[JoeDaSchmoe]

Alright, obviously we've got some tinkering to do now that Coles is out the door and Rod is trade bait. Assuming both have, in fact, cleaned out their Redskin lockers for the last time, we not only need to have a burner high on the depth chart to stretch the defense, we need a big man who can go up and get it, too. That being said, here are a few early observations:

- We may already have both of the necessary players on the roster, and simply by playing the odds, at least one of the two should be able to step up and produce. I'm talking, of course, about Taylor Jacobs and Darnerian McCants. Jacobs is a quick, shifty guy who hardly got any playing time last year, and DMC is big, deceptively quick (not necessarily deceptively fast, but deceptively quick), a great red zone target, and already has some nice chemistry with Ramsey. Also, despite the fact that nearly everyone has written James Thrash off as a special teams player, I refuse to do the same. Being stuck on a roster with Coles, Gardner, and Jacobs left little room for Thrash to get in on the offense. This guy has been going up against #1 corner for six years. If we put him against a nickel or dime back, I promise you there'll be some ankles broken.

- Free agency has come back to bite us in the arse far too many times on the offensive side of the ball. I, for one, am sick and tired of big-money free agents doing absolutely nothing to score us some points, then walking away with millions in cap room still left on the contract. Jeff George, Mark Brunell, Albert Connell, now even the beloved LC... all gone. All hurting our cap situation. No more.

What we need to do this go-around is take a look at some of the mid-level guys that will be coming out. David Patten. David Givens (if the Patriots tender him at the seventh-round level). Derrick Mason (more of an upper-mid level guy). Joe Jurevicius. And here's a name some of you should remember... Derrius Thompson. Hasn't been very good in Miami, but we could get him dirt cheap and pencil him in as a third or fourth receiver because of his size. Don't forget, when he was here a lot of people liked him better than Rod.

We need to sign guys like this, because I guarantee you that out of the three big-name wide receivers, two of them won't be worth nearly the amount of money they get signed for, and the third only has a 50/50 chance. Could be Porter, could be Burress, could be Muhammad. I don't know. But I do know that none of them are am odel on consistency, and we don't need anyone else like that around here, athleticism or not.

- The draft. Oh, here's where things get interesting. There are two main options when it comes to wide receivers. First, assuming Mike Williams falls to #9, we stay there and draft him. Big guy. Great hands. Concern about his speed. Could be Roy Williams, could be Keyshawn Johnson. Only time will tell. Secondly, we could trade down from #9 and try to pick up a second-rounder. With the later first-rounder, we go for either Troy Williamson or Mark Clayton. Clayton reminds me of Coles and Deion Branch. Fast, shifty little guys with great hands. There's some concern about his ability to get off the line in the big leagues, but as Branch and Coles have proven, it's not impossible. Williamson's not as developed as Clayton is, but he does have more size and perhaps just a bit more pure speed. Personally, I'd go with Clayton, as he seems to be a much more polished guy who could contribute right away from the slot.

So, from those three areas, we need to find outselves two starters and two or three reliable backups. I'd say that Taylor Jacobs starting as the #2 receiver should be pretty much automatic by this point. I don't think anyone wants to hand over the #1 spot to him just yet, so that means we have to solve that either in free agency or the draft. The following combos seem likely:

Corps 1

Mike Williams
Taylor Jacobs
David Patten
DMC/Joe Jurevicius
James Thrash

Corps 2

Derrick Mason
Taylor Jacobs
Mark Clayton/Troy Williamson
DMC
James Thrash

Corps 3

Derrick Mason
Mike Williams
Taylor Jacobs
James Thrash
Late Round Draftee/Scrub Free Agent

And, since we do still have Daniel Snyder as an owner....

Corps 4

Jerry Porter/Plaxico Burress/Mushin Muhammad
Taylor Jacobs
Mark Clayton/Troy Williamson
DMC
James Thrash

I'm not including Antonio Brown in the mix because I don't know whether or not Gibbs want to use a 5'6" guy in the offensive lineup.

Most of my projected corps assume we keep DMC because, frankly, we need him at this point. One of the things we really lack is a big man on the outside who has great hands and can make tough catches in the end zone. That is DMC. His unwillingness to play special teams may not keep him off the field if we only have one or two players above him on the depth chart after the draft, especially if those two happen to be, say, Jacobs and Clayton, who are both pretty small. But most of all, I think we need to keep DMC and use him more simply because we need to start solving problems with our own players. No more big free agents. No more casting aside of guys like Brad Johnson, Trent Green, Stephen Davis, N.D. Kalu, guys who wind up proving they can play at a high level in some other city. If we simply add some quality depth to the receiving corps, I'd make a promise directly to Joe Gibbs that both Jacobs and DMC can be solid contributors and make plays. We don't need an overhaul. We just need to fill in some cracks.

[SkinsASchamps]

i like what you write in this essay. I hope DMC stays and that we do get a big WR in FA and draft one (WILLIAMS OR WILLIAMSON I HOPE). Wasnt jacobs a 2nd round pick? Shouldnt he live up to that?

[whitskins]

Corp three would have me doing jumping jacks on the rooftop. Mason can hold down the fort as a #1 and would make less money while providing more plays than Coles. Mike Williams will be a man beast.

Taylor Jacobs MUST see the field. I think the coaches are ready to let him do that b/c they would not let Coles go if they were not prepared with another plan, Coles would not have hurt us badly in the cap this year, we could have made him stick around then booted him next year. Jacobs is the key, I have faith in this guy and he can get it done if we get a guy like Mason alongside him.

Then we bring along the rookie and by the time Mason starts to slow down, we have this young dude who along with Jacobs are ready to dominate.

Joe, you also bring up a very good point that Thrash has to play offense. This guy sucked as a #1 receiver but really contributed when we got Antonio Brown to handle a lot of the special teams load.

Good run down JDS, I think we'll get out of this ok, one thing to remember is that Gibbs and co. have known this was coming for MONTHS, they have a plan, we'll be alright.

[joethefan]

Very good read...I too agree with you...I like the No 3 corps.

And yes we should solve the problem with our own guys first then see what can we add to them....

Great read.

[Ramsey2Moss]

I like 3 or 4. I'm warming up to the idea of Jacobs finally stepping into the starting role (ASHLEY LELIE ANYONE?!?!), but I would love it if we somehow got Mike Williams and Plaxico Burress (two 6'5'' WRs). But then again we are a running team and would be fine with corps 3.

[GolfFreak]

I like all 3 of your Corps, but #1 is my favorite - we get MW in the draft, Patten in FA and then keep our 3 current players (so I prefer the DMC over Jurevicius). Plus we don't write off Thrash - he is an all around good player.

[ConradCountry]

Alright, obviously we've got some tinkering to do now that Coles is out the door and Rod is trade bait. Assuming both have, in fact, cleaned out their Redskin lockers for the last time, we not only need to have a burner high on the depth chart to stretch the defense, we need a big man who can go up and get it, too. That being said, here are a few early observations:

- We may already have both of the necessary players on the roster, and simply by playing the odds, at least one of the two should be able to step up and produce. I'm talking, of course, about Taylor Jacobs and Darnerian McCants. Jacobs is a quick, shifty guy who hardly got any playing time last year, and DMC is big, deceptively quick (not necessarily deceptively fast, but deceptively quick), a great red zone target, and already has some nice chemistry with Ramsey. Also, despite the fact that nearly everyone has written James Thrash off as a special teams player, I refuse to do the same. Being stuck on a roster with Coles, Gardner, and Jacobs left little room for Thrash to get in on the offense. This guy has been going up against #1 corner for six years. If we put him against a nickel or dime back, I promise you there'll be some ankles broken.

- Free agency has come back to bite us in the arse far too many times on the offensive side of the ball. I, for one, am sick and tired of big-money free agents doing absolutely nothing to score us some points, then walking away with millions in cap room still left on the contract. Jeff George, Mark Brunell, Albert Connell, now even the beloved LC... all gone. All hurting our cap situation. No more.

What we need to do this go-around is take a look at some of the mid-level guys that will be coming out. David Patten. David Givens (if the Patriots tender him at the seventh-round level). Derrick Mason (more of an upper-mid level guy). Joe Jurevicius. And here's a name some of you should remember... Derrius Thompson. Hasn't been very good in Miami, but we could get him dirt cheap and pencil him in as a third or fourth receiver because of his size. Don't forget, when he was here a lot of people liked him better than Rod.

We need to sign guys like this, because I guarantee you that out of the three big-name wide receivers, two of them won't be worth nearly the amount of money they get signed for, and the third only has a 50/50 chance. Could be Porter, could be Burress, could be Muhammad. I don't know. But I do know that none of them are am odel on consistency, and we don't need anyone else like that around here, athleticism or not.

- The draft. Oh, here's where things get interesting. There are two main options when it comes to wide receivers. First, assuming Mike Williams falls to #9, we stay there and draft him. Big guy. Great hands. Concern about his speed. Could be Roy Williams, could be Keyshawn Johnson. Only time will tell. Secondly, we could trade down from #9 and try to pick up a second-rounder. With the later first-rounder, we go for either Troy Williamson or Mark Clayton. Clayton reminds me of Coles and Deion Branch. Fast, shifty little guys with great hands. There's some concern about his ability to get off the line in the big leagues, but as Branch and Coles have proven, it's not impossible. Williamson's not as developed as Clayton is, but he does have more size and perhaps just a bit more pure speed. Personally, I'd go with Clayton, as he seems to be a much more polished guy who could contribute right away from the slot.

So, from those three areas, we need to find outselves two starters and two or three reliable backups. I'd say that Taylor Jacobs starting as the #2 receiver should be pretty much automatic by this point. I don't think anyone wants to hand over the #1 spot to him just yet, so that means we have to solve that either in free agency or the draft. The following combos seem likely:

Corps 1

Mike Williams
Taylor Jacobs
David Patten
DMC/Joe Jurevicius
James Thrash

Corps 2

Derrick Mason
Taylor Jacobs
Mark Clayton/Troy Williamson
DMC
James Thrash

Corps 3

Derrick Mason
Mike Williams
Taylor Jacobs
James Thrash
Late Round Draftee/Scrub Free Agent

And, since we do still have Daniel Snyder as an owner....

Corps 4

Jerry Porter/Plaxico Burress/Mushin Muhammad
Taylor Jacobs
Mark Clayton/Troy Williamson
DMC
James Thrash

I'm not including Antonio Brown in the mix because I don't know whether or not Gibbs want to use a 5'6" guy in the offensive lineup.

Most of my projected corps assume we keep DMC because, frankly, we need him at this point. One of the things we really lack is a big man on the outside who has great hands and can make tough catches in the end zone. That is DMC. His unwillingness to play special teams may not keep him off the field if we only have one or two players above him on the depth chart after the draft, especially if those two happen to be, say, Jacobs and Clayton, who are both pretty small. But most of all, I think we need to keep DMC and use him more simply because we need to start solving problems with our own players. No more big free agents. No more casting aside of guys like Brad Johnson, Trent Green, Stephen Davis, N.D. Kalu, guys who wind up proving they can play at a high level in some other city. If we simply add some quality depth to the receiving corps, I'd make a promise directly to Joe Gibbs that both Jacobs and DMC can be solid contributors and make plays. We don't need an overhaul. We just need to fill in some cracks.


I think that if we sign POrter we should not use our 1st rd pick on WR, we need to make our OL more dominant so that iwe can run the ball agianst everyone and pass only when we absolutley must.

[LadyNRedskinsfan]

good post joe. i actaully like ALL of your scenarios sound good to me and i'd be happy with either one......the bright spot in all of this is that jacobs should be seeing more time and we need to see what this guy can do. he has shown flashes in limited time.

[PSUredskins]

Corps 1

Mike Williams
Taylor Jacobs
David Patten
DMC/Joe Jurevicius
James Thrash



I really like this core of players the best. It's risky having the two young guns as the starting two wide receivers....but if williams can translate any of his college success to teh pros he will be a formidable possesion receiver....and i have always like jacobs. THen our depth is exactly what i think we need...Patten, Jurevicious, and Thrash are all proven veterans with good hands. They aren't spectacular but they are consistent.

To Clarify however...i like that the best out of the options listed. I dont really like hte pick-up of Mason or Muhsin Muhammad....at most they will have 1 good year left in them and if we pick them up, snyder will want to give them big contracts which we get tied into after they have a lackluster few years...much like many of out other signings. I agree Burress, Moss (Gasp) are both way too expensive....and i have never been impressed by jerry porters play at all.

What we need to do is find our own gems and not pay for other teams over the hill ones.
1.) I say keep Jacobs...he needs to play he'll be a good solid downt he field receiver,
2.)I like DMac's hands but i dont think he quite has the moves/speed/whatever to get open a lot of the time. When he doesn't have that much space to work with (the endzone) he finds a soft spot and makes the tough catch, but besides that i haven't really seen that much out of him. Its a conundrum every week whether to put him on the roster, however i agree with gibbs and co that if he wont play special teams then he will only see like6 plays a game where he would be our best option...not enough to take a spot. Dont get me wrong i love Dmac...but he needs to show more if he wants to play here.
3.)Troy Williamson - I really love this guy. He is a burner with decent size....he'll pose the deep threat every time. He may not be as polished as say mark clayton, but i think if we draft clayton we are just getting a younger version of taylor jacobs.
4.) Thrash: what can i say about this guy. He plays his heart out and produces when he can on both special teams and when given the chance offense. He is a must-have.
5.) I think we need another mid-level, veteran free agent. A david patten type player who isn't too expensive yet is consistent. this is going ot be someone down our depth chart who can come in to spell our wide receivers if necessary. can catch the ball when necessary in 4 wide sets if we use them, and can step in during an injury and produce.

this give us two burners (jacobs, williamson) two solid WR's (thrash, the veteran FA) and then Big possesion receiver, (McCants or someone who we pick up to fill that role...give mcCants a shot unless we can find someone better to replace him)

[split3clemente]

theres no way mikel williams is dropping to #9, he would have to run like a 4.8 at the combine to drop that low

[skins111111]

sure 3 is nice but we would pay dear for Mason and out #9 for Williams and we still may need a stud CB and a stud LT.....if we take 3 it just won't happen.
now if we pick up Porter we will have 2 burners in Porter and Jacobs and 2 Posession recievers in DMac and Thrash.........we pick up some cheap debth and still have our Draft picks and a little coin to address our other problem areas.

[skins111111]

theres no way mikel williams is dropping to #9, he would have to run like a 4.8 at the combine to drop that low

a lot of Mocks have him at 9 or lower.....there are concerns about him being out of football for a year.............a lot of mocks have Edwards ranked higher also.

[silverspring]

i would rather have gardner than DMC.

[NCskinsfanatic]

i would rather have gardner than DMC.

Joe might too, who knows we might not trade Gardener if we dont get atleast a 3rd. It's not like Gardner is costing us a lot this year, unless of course he also just wants out. All I'm saying is we dont need to give him away if we are losing Coles.

I think we could keep Thrash , Gardner, Jacobs, sign say..... Porter or Mason and either keep DMC or sign a solid vet like Patten. That WR corp, with changes for a more wide open O, could be solid. And all this w/o using our 1st rounder on a WR. Thus freeing us up to trade down and acquire a second. Then WR would be set and we could draft where we need to in the first and second(OL,DE,TE,etc.)

[champisachump]

I agree with everything but I rather have Jacobs starting out at the slot, just because i think he'll be more effective. Then unless DMAC shines in Gibb's eyes, get Givens, or someone depending on who to target during the draft so there can be a balance between types of receivers. (possesion and speed)

[Beast56Redskin]

Bravo JDS, lots of time and effort. i agree on all 4 corps possibilities, and think that there may be one with porter and williams as well....i hope TJ and DMC see the field, and that DMC gets hs thing resolved with joe.

[Cruising270]

great post and it does settle my nerves of worrying about replacing our soon to be gone starting WR's. I do want to see Jacobs and Thrash more next season and this definitly might be the way to see it!

[bgforever]

Keep it up Joe that was a fine read for me and its one of the best compilations to scenario reads I have read here!!!!

It clears the air on no matter the situation and what coach Gibbs knows he needs first and foremost. Great job indeed to JDS!

[PyroGenic]

I like 3 or 4. I'm warming up to the idea of Jacobs finally stepping into the starting role (ASHLEY LELIE ANYONE?!?!), but I would love it if we somehow got Mike Williams and Plaxico Burress (two 6'5'' WRs). But then again we are a running team and would be fine with corps 3.

stay away from plaxico, im warning you, something is wrong with that guy.

[swheeler]

Nice work JDS, I think those are all good options

stay away from plaxico, im warning you, something is wrong with that guy.
What do you mean by that? I like what I've seen, and my friend who's a Steelers fan loves the guy. I doubt we can reasonably afford to get him, but if it was possible I'd be very happy to see him in b&g

[DUCKIN_TACKLERS]

Nice post...i think core 4 makes the most sense. we solve Coles with porter and keep cheap options hoping one makes it big. Although I think its risky i think it is the best option for the betterment of the whole team.

[Jimreaper007]

With the Coles Situation going the way it is either Porter or Buress are now a requirement because we have no speed now with Coles departure. Jacobs is fast but does not scare anyone.

[colkurtz]

What does everyone think of Brandon Edwards? He may actually be there at #9.

Jerry Porter
B. Edwards
Jacobs
Thrash

P.S. GREAT POST!

[cmdlost29]

Great post.

Porter is too flashy of a WR and I see him as a bust waiting to happen, anyone remember P. Price with Atlanta. Porter is Price waiting to happen. And there will be some team out there willing to give him a grip of loot to sign on, I hope it's not Danny Boy.

Mason is my favorite choice to be our WR FA this year. He is older yes but I don't see that as a problem, it's a GREAT thing. In Tennessee he was able to take two WR's and make them superstars opposite him (Calico and Bennett) under his wing. He can do that on the Redskins with Jacobs and DMC or draft pick (Edwards or Williams). He's got great skills and will continue to produce for the next 3-4 years. Mason is a classy guy and I believe a perfect Gibbs guy. How many older guys was Gibbs able to take and make into winners in his first time here? Too many to name!

The Redskins don't need these bums:

Porter - Bust waiting to happen
Buress - Over Rated
Moss - Head Case
Jurevicius - Garbage

Although I do like David Patten. I am on the Mason bandwagon and I sure hope Gibbs was listening to the news reports today!! Go get'em Joe. The loss of Coles will seem like a blessing with Mason on board!

[Redskin006]

What does everyone think of Brandon Edwards? He may actually be there at #9.

Jerry Porter
B. Edwards
Jacobs
Thrash

P.S. GREAT POST!

I like your list except I would prefer Mason over Porter. So the list would go as follows:

Derrick Mason
Braylon Edwards
Taylor Jacobs
Darnerian McCants
James Thrash

[Redskin006]

Great post.

Porter is too flashy of a WR and I see him as a bust waiting to happen, anyone remember P. Price with Atlanta. Porter is Price waiting to happen. And there will be some team out there willing to give him a grip of loot to sign on, I hope it's not Danny Boy.

Mason is my favorite choice to be our WR FA this year. He is older yes but I don't see that as a problem, it's a GREAT thing. In Tennessee he was able to take two WR's and make them superstars opposite him (Calico and Bennett) under his wing. He can do that on the Redskins with Jacobs and DMC or draft pick (Edwards or Williams). He's got great skills and will continue to produce for the next 3-4 years. Mason is a classy guy and I believe a perfect Gibbs guy. How many older guys was Gibbs able to take and make into winners in his first time here? Too many to name!

The Redskins don't need these bums:

Porter - Bust waiting to happen
Buress - Over Rated
Moss - Head Case
Jurevicius - Garbage

Although I do like David Patten. I am on the Mason bandwagon and I sure hope Gibbs was listening to the news reports today!! Go get'em Joe. The loss of Coles will seem like a blessing with Mason on board!

I agree with your assessments of porter, burress, moss, and jurevicius. I was never big on Porter, he is not consistent enough throughout his career. Burress seems like a watered down version of Moss, he only cares about himself. Moss, is well, Moss. Jurevicius is nothing special.

[guinness4health]

if coles is really gone, then there are going to go out and get porter (can specify why just gut feeling, synder move), then if m williams or b edwards are around then we nab them, or trade back and then all bets are off....wideout could be selected in 1,2 (assuming we pick on up by trading back), or 3....which leaves us starting jacobs or thrash next to porter...with the rookie and possible DMC backing everyone else

[JoeDaSchmoe]

Ugh, can't stand Braylon Edwards. Reading descriptions of him is just like reading descriptions of Rod Gardner. If I had a choice between Edwards or Williams, Williamson, or Clayton, Edwards would be last on my list.

[akhhorus]

Ugh, can't stand Braylon Edwards. Reading descriptions of him is just like reading descriptions of Rod Gardner. If I had a choice between Edwards or Williams, Williamson, or Clayton, Edwards would be last on my list.

Edwards reminds me a lot of David Terrell or Koren Robinson. Pass. He's a bust waiting to happen.

[JoeDaSchmoe]

Edwards reminds me a lot of David Terrell or Koren Robinson. Pass. He's a bust waiting to happen.

Yeah, KoRo's another good example. Not sure about Terrell, haven't seen him play much.