Why Trading Burns is the Only Path to Getting a #1 WR in 2024

[tukafan21]

Here are the top WR's scheduled to hit the market in 2024 Free Agency

Tee Higgins, Mike Evans, Calvin Ridley, Michael Pittman, Marquise Brown, Curtis Samuel, Gabe Davis, Michael Thomas, Darnell Mooney.

Of them, right away, Mooney, Thomas, Davis, Samuel can be crossed off as they're not #1's (I'd actually love to get Samuel, but he's not the #1 that we need).

Pittman and Ridley won't hit the market, I'm quite confident both will be back with the Colts and Jags respectfully.

Evans, while still has game left to him, isn't the type of #1 we need to give Bryce, he's more of a big possession WR, which we have in Thielen.  We need a quick twitch, fast, outside #1 and that's just not Evans game at this point in his career.  Plus, if he leaves TB, it will be to go to a contender, not just the highest bidder (and that won't be us).

Brown MIGHT fit that definition, but personally, I'm just not sold on him being worth it, I think he's more of a good #2, not a #1.

That leaves Higgins as the only legitimate target among the players we know will be available this offseason.  Odds are he doesn't hit the open market either, he will more than likely be tagged and traded.

The other option is for us to go after a player like Tyreek or AJ Brown in recent years, guys who are due a new contract but their team doesn't want to give them one.  Players who might fall into that category would be someone like DK or maybe Devonta Smith, but those are total guesses and it could be anyone, nobody expected Tyreek to be moved.

If we're going to trade for Higgins or a yet to be known available WR, we'll need either a 1st round pick or an elite player at a different position.

That's Burns or our 2025 First, and I'm not trading that 2025 First to pay out a big money contract for a WR, that wouldn't be smart when we could likely just wait the year and take a WR in the Top 10 or 15 and have them locked in on a rookie contract.

So whether it comes down to trading Burns for the WR or trading him for the picks that we'd then flip for the WR just depends on who is available, who we target, and what those teams want, but all roads point to Burns being the only legitimate asset to get that #1 WR for Bryce next year.

And I don't know about you guys, but if it's Burns or a #1 WR to help Bryce's development, then it's not even a discussion.

[OneBadCat]

Samuel while not a #1 could be an interesting get for us. Pairing him with Bryce's out of pocket magic might be pretty dangerous.

[CamWhoaaCam]

LMAO!

 

 

[Johnstonny]

1 minute ago, OneBadCat said:

Samuel while not a #1 could be an interesting get for us. Pairing him with Bryce's out of pocket magic might be pretty dangerous.

...saw enough of him....

[tukafan21]

1 minute ago, OneBadCat said:

Samuel while not a #1 could be an interesting get for us. Pairing him with Bryce's out of pocket magic might be pretty dangerous.

Oh 100%, I wouldn't be against finding a way to trade for him right now, I think his speed is very much what we need for Bryce.

But he's not the outside #1 WR that we need.

[TheBigKat]

we need to draft a WR like Flowers to pair with Mingo / Thielen

[tukafan21]

Just now, TheBigKat said:

we need to draft a WR like Flowers to pair with Mingo / Thielen

Yep, but without a 1st, we can't do that until 2025 and we can't wait that long for Bryce's development.

Again, that's where Burns comes in as I fully expect he can get us the two 1sts that come with the tag.

If we can't flip the 1st for an established WR, we can use it to take one in this draft and then still have another future 1st in our pocket.

[t96]

I’d sign Evans in a heartbeat

[Bluetooth]

[tukafan21]

1 minute ago, t96 said:

I’d sign Evans in a heartbeat

Good player, wrong style of game for what we need to give Bryce.

Thielen and Mingo are both possession WRs, sure Evans is better than them at it, but no point in adding redundancy for the sake of adding a better WR, need to add complimentary players to what we already have.

[Varking]

Evans won’t be coming here but he still has plenty of speed left. He’s got like 5 plays over 30 yards this season even at his WR advanced age. 

[tukafan21]

1 minute ago, Varking said:

Evans won’t be coming here but he still has plenty of speed left. He’s got like 5 plays over 30 yards this season even at his WR advanced age. 

Having long plays isn't the same as having the quick twitch speed WR that we need out there.

His long plays aren't because he uses his speed to out run a DB in a foot race, it's generally because he's just a GREAT deep ball catcher because of his size and ability to go up and high point the ball before a smaller DB can make a play on it.

 

[Varking]

Just now, tukafan21 said:

Having long plays isn't the same as having the quick twitch speed WR that we need out there.

His long plays aren't because he uses his speed to out run a DB in a foot race, it's generally because he's just a GREAT deep ball catcher because of his size and ability to go up and high point the ball before a smaller DB can make a play on it.

 

I mean he still has a 70 yard TD on the year on a ball that traveled like 15 of those yards. He can still run away from folks from time to time. You don’t get to 1k yards every year for 10 years if he can make 500 more yards this season, without still having good speed. He’s a guy that you can pay for 2-3 years and feel great about it. Anything longer is likely a bad contract. 

[tukafan21]

1 minute ago, Varking said:

I mean he still has a 70 yard TD on the year on a ball that traveled like 15 of those yards. He can still run away from folks from time to time. You don’t get to 1k yards every year for 10 years if he can make 500 more yards this season, without still having good speed. He’s a guy that you can pay for 2-3 years and feel great about it. Anything longer is likely a bad contract. 

He's still not a Tyreek, Chase, Jefferson, Diggs, Lamb, Waddle, type of player, that's more of who we need to go after.  It's not just the straight line speed, it's the stop/start quick twitch speed that we need to get Bryce.

I just think Evans is more of a better version of Thielen/Mingo in terms of style of play, we need to add a different type of player to be that #1 and have versatility in our pass catchers, not a bunch of the same style guys.

Higgins isn't quite those guys either, but I think he's closer to it than Evans, and like 6 years younger, which is why I'd rather overpay to get him than go after Evans, it's about overall roster construction.