09-17-2021, 10:08 AM
(09-17-2021, 06:04 AM)Bilbo Saggins Wrote: "Need" is a funny word. Does a team need a #1 like Higgins, a #2 like Chase, and a slot like Boyd? No, a team doesn't really "need" that mix of personnel in order to win games. That doesn't mean that those three aren't capable of winning games. Getting open, catching balls, blocking well, ect. etc. is never bad. If you add a Gronk in his prime or a Kittle or a Waller or etc. etc. to this offense, is it really accurate to say that they wouldn't be better? Yeah, Uzomah is a pretty good athlete in a straight line. Sample is a pretty good blocker and outlet receiver. Does anyone really believe that playoff caliber teams wouldn't be able to scheme against them better than they could against an elite TE? Does anyone really believe that having an elite TE to pick up the slack in cold weather and/or when receivers may be injured wouldn't be more effective than just eating into other players' yardage?
I mean, I guess you could look back at a lot of really good teams and claim that they don't "need" this player or that, but TEs probably play an underrated position to this day. The best of the best move the needle for their respective teams more than the best of the best receivers do. Also: without Uzomah or Sample this offense gets a lot worse overnight.
Not even the best team in the league has a star at every position. The reason is that no team can afford to use a top draft pick or big free-agent contract at every position. So it is all about "return on investment". Tampa Bay would have a better defense if they paid Aaron Donald $20 million to play DT for them. But their defensive front is already so good that the improvement would not be that great and not worth the price.
That is my point about the Bengals needing an upgrade at TE. Uzomah is not a bad TE at all, and we already have three other top receivers. The cost of brining in an elite receiver to play TE might improve our passing game some, but it would not be enough to be worth the investment of a first round pick or huge free-agent contract. Especially considering that we still have other isues with our roster that need to be addressed.
