Brandon LaFell IS the Answer at Wide Receiver

[Shake n Blake]

(03-27-2017, 12:44 AM)eoxyod Wrote: I'm not making this an argument of Jones vs LaFell as much as I am making an argument that an invested resource in a young WR is better off now than later. The team should be proactive and search for a replacement when the situation allows for it. Now who knows where the Bengals value some guys in terms of draft grade, but when saying "If the other top options are gone" ignores that, if available (probably not at this point I feel like), a player like Corey Davis is 95% chance the best player on the board for the team, and a necessary addition

I haven't seen many WR's going in the top 10 of mocks though. Mike Williams is about it, and he's been on the fringe of top 10. 

Charlie Campbell has Corey Davis going 27th, behind Williams and John Ross.
Walter has Davis going 28th, also behind Williams and Ross.
Lance Zierlien (NFL.com) has Davis going 28th, also behind Williams and Ross.

3 other NFL.com writers (Bucky Brooks, Daniel Jeremiah and Chad Reuter) have Davis going 13th, 18th and 5th. I'm just not sure Davis will even be the best WR available at 9th overall, let alone the best player. If WR were by far the BPA, by all means go for it, but from what I've read, this is a deep WR draft.

Quote:1. I wouldn't say "pointless". There's more to it than stats, but production is production. I assume by dynamic, you mean speed. I addressed that with jj22.

Dynamic as in drawing 7 DPIs for 111 yards
2. That's just being silly. Did anyone pay attention to Jones with Detroit last year? It was a total disappointment considering what they paid.
New system with different play style. Jones fit our system well and had good chemistry with Dalton. That will only grow with Stafford there
3. Calling LaFell a disappointment is a bit much. For a 3rd round pick he's produced almost 5000 yards and 26 TDs by age 30. He's only missed 8% of his career games compared to 26% for Jones. He was a key player in a championship run while Jones has yet to win a playoff game. He just produced the best season by a Bengals #2 WR since Housh.
That's a hard comparison to take with the fact Jones has had the unfortunate life of being on the Bengals, and LaFell had his success with the GOAT
4. Can't disagree there. 
5. LaFell will turn 31 this year. A 2 year deal with an easy out is pretty standard considering he's not a star.
So there's no long term benefit, in which we still have to hope for luck with a second option through the draft if we won't invest a decent resource into it.

1.  I would have to know how many DPIs Jones and LaFell have had on a yearly basis. I'm going to guess that such a number wouldn't be consistent either way.
2.  Sounds like excuses, eox. He started hot in Detroit and cooled down (understatement), going for a meager 522 yards in the last 13 games. He lost Stafford's trust with drops and inability to beat press coverage. If he was better in our system, why was he only able to produce 816 yards and 4 TDs in 2015? Or 712 yards and 10 TDs (inflated number) in 2013? The guy put up pretty much the same numbers Jerome Simpson and LaFell managed.
3.  It's still hard to consider LaFell a disappointment, regardless of who he's played for. If he were so terrible, he wouldn't have started and been featured by the Pats. Or Carolina. Or here.
5.  If we go WR in the first 2 rounds, I'm not going to be upset about it. I just don't see WR as a dire need with LaFell and Boyd on board. Could we use more speed? Always. But I think LaFell gets deep about as often as Jones did. Our deep shots seem to always go to Green anyway. Maybe that would change with a Davis or Ross. Maybe not.