Griffin's impact on the off-season FA/draft

[Paintrain]

Originally Posted by 30gut

I think it would be nice to upgrade the WR spot but I guess I'm the only one that doesn't see it as a need?

Gaffney had one of, if not, his most productive seasons.
I haven't heard too much about Hankerson's injury but I'm gonna assume he's coming back 100% healthy.
There are a finite number of targets and I don't want to hinder/stall the development of Hankerson by burrying him on the depth chart where he'll struggle to get 1st/2nd team practice reps much less game targets.

If you agree that injuries and a long ball challenged QB had a negative effect on the production of Moss and Armstong then its not unreasonable to view them as players talented enough put up these numbers:

Armstrong: 44 rec 871 yards 19.8 YPC

Moss: 93 catches for 1115 yards (both top 10)

Well maybe that's where we differ. I don't think injuries and Grossman made a huge impact on our WR production last year, I just think we didn't have much talent there. You mentioned Gaffney who had a career season, you're right..at 31 years old. There's very limited upside there. I don't think he will match those numbers and really doubt he will ever exceed them.

Moss's numbers were impacted by his injuries, true, but when he was healthy he wasn't explosive, didn't threaten defenses and dropped way too many passes. I just think he's pretty much done. He had a great 2010 but for what we are paying him, he needs to replicate those numbers and I don't think he's still capable to do so.

I don't think Armstrong, Banks, Austin, Paul, Stallworth or Robinson are anything special. I'd like to keep Paul around because he may develop into a James Thrash type and Robinson for depth and maybe he develops into a deep threat. If we only returned Gaffney, Hankerson & Paul I would be perfectly ok with that.

In the red zone we have no targets from our WR corp. Hankerson is 'big' by our standards but he's barely 6'2, not a huge target and he's unproven. I think he will be a good player, perhaps very good but he will develop better with more threats around him.

I don't think we need a 'splash' player here.. I'd be thrilled with Garcon & Royal or Meachem. We've got enough other holes to fill we don't need to go crazy at this position but it does need significant focus.

I'll be happy if opening day features:
Garcon/Meachem
Hankerson
Royal
Gaffney
Paul
Draft pick or Robinson

I'd also be fine if we signed Jackson, but I don't think it would be our best use of the money..

Since this is already long, might as well tack on a few more thoughts:
-Forget Nicks and Grubbs.. They are not good scheme fits nor is it like Shanny to pay big money to interior linemen. More than likely is someone from Houston (Myers or Briesel) who knows the scheme and can solidify the middle with Steiger and Chester..
-Don't be surprised to see us add a feature type back in FA or in the 3rd round. What about Helu?? Shanny has called him on a few occassions a nice change of pace back and he wasn't really drafted to be a 250-300 carry guy. He's not built for that..
-After WR is taken care of, RT is the next big fill.. Anthony Collins or Levi Brown could be a big play here.. If they fix this spot, our offense could take a big leap..
-Don't be shocked if Fletcher doesn't return. He's looking to get PAID and we may be able to get close to his production and save about 10 years. It would suck to lose him but if the defense can get younger for the same price without a huge dropoff it's the smart thing to do.
-While I'd love Terrell Thomas, it's more likely we're looking for nickel type backs than a starter. Just spent big on Wilson last year and Hall will be tough to release. They will probably go with the logic if the offense is better, the secondary will improve because teams will have to throw more and create turnover opportunities.