I’ve got the list of free agent wide receivers in front of me, and there’s not a lot on there. The pickings are pretty slim.
Alshon Jeffery will get the biggest contract. He’s got some size and ability, and he’s been productive at times. But he hasn’t been so good that the Bears wanted to franchise him. He’s had some durability and weight issues.
Terrelle Pryor is sneaky interesting. He managed to put together a 1,000-yard season last year in Cleveland. Considering he’s a converted quarterback who’s still learning the position, he could develop into a Jeffery-type receiver.
There’s a trio of older guys who’ve had some good season but who have definitely played their best ball – DeSean Jackson, Pierre Garcon and Ted Ginn Jr. Washington also has Josh Doctson and Jamison Crowder, so it most definitely won’t re-sign both Jackson and Garcon.
Michael Floyd has some talent but has off-field issues. He’s currently serving 24 days in jail for extreme DUI. He’ll be suspended for the start of the season.
Kenny Stills has deep speed that will interest some teams, but I don’t know that Miami will be willing to pay him much. It already has Jarvis Landry, and DeVante Parker is developing into a good receiver.
Kenny Britt was surprisingly good last year for the Rams. Relative to what all of these players get paid, he might end up being the best “value”.
Brandon LaFell, Kendall Wright and Robert Woods are definitely lesser guys.
Below are the stats for wide receivers for the last two years. These are per-game numbers for all players with at least 20 starts. (Pryor and Cordarrelle Patterson have started fewer than 20, but I’m tossing them on there also, since they’re free agents).
Scoring system here is 6 points for touchdowns, 1 for every 10 receiving yards and 1 for every 10 rushing yards.
| WIDE RECEIVERS PER GAME (2015-16) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Player | St | No | Rec | Run | TD | Pts |
| 1. | Antonio Brown, Pitt. | 31 | 7.8 | 101 | 1 | .76 | 14.8 |
| 2. | Julio Jones, Atl. | 30 | 7.3 | 109 | 0 | .50 | 13.9 |
| 3. | Odell Beckham Jr., NYG | 31 | 6.4 | 91 | 0 | .74 | 13.6 |
| 4. | A.J. Green, Cin. | 26 | 5.8 | 87 | 0 | .54 | 11.9 |
| 5. | Mike Evans, T.B. | 31 | 5.5 | 82 | 0 | .51 | 11.2 |
| 6. | Allen Robinson, Jac. | 32 | 4.8 | 71 | 0 | .64 | 10.9 |
| 7. | Doug Baldwin, Sea. | 32 | 5.4 | 69 | 0 | .68 | 10.9 |
| 8. | Brandon Marshall, NYJ | 31 | 5.4 | 74 | 0 | .55 | 10.7 |
| 9. | DeAndre Hopkins, Hou. | 32 | 5.9 | 77 | 0 | .48 | 10.6 |
| 10. | Brandin Cooks, N.O. | 32 | 5.1 | 72 | 2 | .53 | 10.6 |
| 11. | Sammy Watkins, Buff. | 21 | 4.2 | 70 | 0 | .52 | 10.2 |
| 12. | T.Y. Hilton, Ind. | 32 | 5.0 | 80 | 0 | .35 | 10.2 |
| 13. | Julian Edelman, N.E. | 25 | 6.4 | 72 | 3 | .41 | 10.0 |
| 14. | Larry Fitzgerald, Ariz. | 32 | 6.8 | 70 | 0 | .47 | 9.8 |
| 15. | Demaryius Thomas, Den. | 32 | 6.1 | 75 | 0 | .35 | 9.6 |
| 16. | Jarvis Landry, Mia. | 32 | 6.4 | 72 | 4 | .33 | 9.6 |
| 17. | Alshon Jeffery, Chi. | 21 | 5.0 | 78 | 0 | .29 | 9.5 |
| 18. | Michael Crabtree, Oak. | 32 | 5.4 | 60 | 0 | .54 | 9.3 |
| 19. | Emmanuel Sanders, Den. | 31 | 5.0 | 70 | 1 | .35 | 9.2 |
| 20. | Amari Cooper, Oak. | 32 | 4.8 | 69 | 0 | .36 | 9.1 |
| 21. | Rishard Matthews, Mia.-Ten. | 27 | 4.0 | 60 | 0 | .48 | 8.9 |
| 22. | Allen Hurns, Jac. | 26 | 3.8 | 58 | 0 | .50 | 8.8 |
| 23. | Dez Bryant, Dall. | 22 | 3.7 | 54 | 0 | .53 | 8.6 |
| 24. | DeSean Jackson, Wash. | 24 | 3.6 | 64 | 0 | .33 | 8.4 |
| •• | Terrelle Pryor, Clev. | 16 | 4.8 | 63 | 1 | .33 | 8.4 |
| 25. | Jeremy Maclin, K.C. | 27 | 4.9 | 60 | 0 | .37 | 8.3 |
| 26. | Ted Ginn Jr., Car. | 31 | 3.2 | 48 | 5 | .45 | 8.0 |
| 27. | Golden Tate, Det. | 32 | 5.7 | 59 | 1 | .32 | 8.0 |
| 28. | Stefon Diggs, Minn. | 26 | 5.2 | 62 | 1 | .27 | 7.9 |
| 29. | Jordan Matthews, Phil. | 31 | 5.1 | 58 | 0 | .35 | 7.9 |
| 30. | Davante Adams, G.B. | 29 | 4.3 | 51 | 0 | .47 | 7.9 |
| 31. | Willie Snead, N.O. | 30 | 4.7 | 63 | 0 | .26 | 7.8 |
| 32. | Tavon Austin, Rams | 31 | 3.5 | 32 | 19 | .45 | 7.8 |
| 33. | Randall Cobb, G.B. | 29 | 4.8 | 50 | 3 | .38 | 7.5 |
| 34. | Travis Benjamin, Clev. | 30 | 3.8 | 55 | 0 | .33 | 7.5 |
| 35. | Pierre Garcon, Wash. | 32 | 4.7 | 57 | 0 | .28 | 7.4 |
| 36. | DeVante Parker, Mia. | 20 | 3.7 | 55 | 0 | .30 | 7.3 |
| 37. | Marvin Jones, Cin.-Det. | 31 | 3.9 | 56 | 1 | .26 | 7.3 |
| 38. | Donte Moncrief, Ind. | 25 | 3.8 | 42 | 0 | .52 | 7.3 |
| 39. | Michael Floyd, Ariz.-N.E. | 27 | 3.1 | 48 | 0 | .41 | 7.2 |
| 40. | Kenny Britt, Rams | 31 | 3.4 | 54 | 0 | .26 | 7.0 |
| 41. | Anquan Boldin, S.F.-Det. | 30 | 4.5 | 46 | 0 | .40 | 7.0 |
| 42. | John Brown, Ariz. | 30 | 3.5 | 51 | 1 | .30 | 7.0 |
| 43. | Jamison Crowder, Wash. | 31 | 4.0 | 47 | 0 | .35 | 6.8 |
| 44. | Dontrelle Inman, S.D. | 23 | 3.7 | 49 | 0 | .26 | 6.5 |
| 45. | Brandon LaFell, N.E.-Cin. | 27 | 3.7 | 51 | 0 | .22 | 6.5 |
| 46. | Tyler Lockett, Sea. | 31 | 3.0 | 41 | 4 | .32 | 6.4 |
| 47. | Cole Beasley, Dall. | 32 | 4.0 | 43 | 0 | .31 | 6.2 |
| 48. | Kenny Stills, Mia. | 28 | 2.2 | 38 | 0 | .39 | 6.2 |
| 49. | Mike Wallace, Min.-Balt. | 32 | 3.5 | 47 | 1 | .20 | 6.0 |
| 50. | Terrance Williams, Dall. | 32 | 3.0 | 45 | 0 | .22 | 5.8 |
| 51. | Kendall Wright, Tenn. | 21 | 3.1 | 39 | 2 | .29 | 5.8 |
| 52. | Devin Funchess, Car. | 20 | 2.0 | 31 | 0 | .42 | 5.6 |
| 53. | Robert Woods, Buff. | 25 | 3.8 | 45 | 0 | .16 | 5.5 |
| 54. | Dorial Green-Beckham, Ten.-Phil. | 20 | 2.7 | 39 | 0 | .22 | 5.2 |
| 55. | Torrey Smith, S.F. | 28 | 1.9 | 33 | 0 | .26 | 4.9 |
| 56. | Jermaine Kearse, Sea. | 32 | 2.8 | 37 | 0 | .19 | 4.9 |
| •• | Cordarrelle Patterson, Minn. | 16 | 3.3 | 28 | 3 | .19 | 4.2 |
| 57. | Nelson Agholor, Phil. | 27 | 2.1 | 23 | 1 | .12 | 3.1 |
—Ian Allan