Is WR still a premium position?

[Peace Frog]

At this point I think I'd prefer a really top end pass catching TE.   A Kelce, Kittle, Waller, Andrews, Ertz and Rudolph and Graham in the past--and Pitts is being touted as a future HOFer.

All of them, big, fast, physical--how do you guard them? 

Would love a guy like that.  Was hoping it was Herndon.

[Icer]

There are great WR prospects every year in the draft now, so there's more talent available. The cream of the crop is still really limited though

[PepPep]

2 hours ago, sec101row23 said:

If you are basing this on the free agent market then that’s not a good way of evaluating it.  The really good WRs rarely hit free agency.  There isn’t a WR currently on the market that deserves top positional money.  If Robinson and Godwin hit the market we would see some different numbers.  
 

The hierarchy of NFL positions IMO, is still QB, Edge, OT, WR, CB, IOL, LB, RB, Safety.  

Yup. This. 

I will add that TE is an interesting position. While not high on the hierarchy, dominant TEs are highly valued, sometimes more so than their receiver counterparts, simply because of their rarity and reliability. Its why a guy like Pitts is mocked by so many in the top 10 and why Kelce got a 4yr 57mil contract despite being a TE. 

[Jetsfan80]

2 hours ago, nycdan said:

Having seen what a difference there is between a great Center and a bad Center, I'm surprised this still seems to be the case. 

I'd probably put Center on the same line as Guard, but when you follow the money, it does seem pretty clear that elite Centers don't get paid like elite Guards, even though median/average centers make more than median/average Guards.

Top 10 Guard salaries:

1. Brandon Scherff:  $18M per
2. Joe Thuney:  $16M per
3. Brandon Brooks:  $14M per
4. Zack Martin:  $14M per
5. Andrew Norwell:  $13.3M per
6. Andrus Peat:  $11.5M per
7. Rodger Saffold:  $11M per
8. Graham Glasgow:  $11M per
9. Ali Marpet:  $10.8M per
10. David DeCastro/Joel Bitonio/Ereck Flower:  $10M per

Top 5 Center salaries:

1. Corey Linsley:  $12.5M per
2. Ryan Kelly:  $12.4M per
3. Rodney Hudson:  $11.3M per
4. JC Tretter:  $10.9M per
5. Ryan Jensen:  $10.5M per

 

5 guards make more than top Center does.  But then you look at the median/average starters at LG, RG and C :

• Median/Average starting Left Guard:  Mike Iupati/Denzelle Good:  $2.3-$2.5M per
• Median/Average starting Right Guard:  Laurent Duvernay-Tardif/Greg Van Roten:  $3.5M per
• Median/Average starting Center:  Ben Jones/Mitch Morse:  $6.5-$6.7M per

 

So this tells me that you're screwed without at least a decent center, but it's easier to get by with average Guard play.  It also tells me that an elite Guard has far more impact on a game than an elite Center.  

[jeremy2020]

4 hours ago, GreekJet said:

Look at the money being thrown around this off-season. All going to OL, Pass Rusher, and CB. Last years WR market was pretty dry as well in free agency with only Amari Cooper getting a big deal. 

We still are seeing plenty of WRs go high in the draft, but I wonder if that will begin to correct itself as well. There are so many good players available in the draft at WR that it seems to be a bit of a saturated market. More of these guys should really look to move to CB. 

I don't get why people try to twist themselves into knots over this stuff. Sam Darnold sucks. Why twist yourself in knots trying to pretend that's not the case? 

Wide Receivers are more important than ever before. Stop trying to twist yourself around because you don't see a top end WR on the roster.