Posession Receivers vs Playmakers What are they worth

CF74

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So you have possession receivers that more often than not catch the ball and convert 3rd downs but they rarely score td’s. These guys typically have great numbers between the 20’s but they just don’t score very often because they don’t have home run speed.

Good defenders typically allow guys like this to catch all the underneath stuff while focusing more on your faster guys like Cooop or even Austin (When Healthy.) Once inside the redzone it gets much tighter and coverages change.

So how much do you pay these possession receiver types? Every team has at least one but not everybody pays them like they pay the playmakers on the team. I’m not saying you don’t need them, I’m just saying let’s be practical here and not over pay them..

What does the market say and is it not better to fill this need in the draft?
 

links18

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There isn't even one type of possession receiver. There are Cole Beasley types (but also Patrick Crayton, maybe): not overly fast, shorter, shifty underneath types, who can catch the ball short of the sticks but then make a few guys miss and get YAC. Then there are Keyshawn Johnson types: taller, bigger, not terribly fast, but good hands who can fight and win the ball in tight coverage near the sticks.

Similarly, there are different types of playmakers: the thrown it up and win jump ball types: Dez, Alvin Harper, and then there are the burn you down the field with speed types: DeSean Jackson, Tyreek Hill, Joey Galloway.

In Cooper, we have a guy with decent speed who can still win balls (when they aren't bouncing off his facemask) and in Beasley we have a shifty guy who can catch the ball between 5 and 15 yards from the line of scrimmage and get some YAC. What we need is a guy who takes the top of the defense (Austin, but can he stay healthy?), a stronger possession guy (could be Hurns, but again health?) and then we need that middle of field YAC guy to replace Beasley. Not to mention a seam busting TE.
 

Crown Royal

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The market pays for speed. That's why guys like Troy Williamson a few years back go really high in the draft despite low college production, and guys like Sammy Watkins benefit from a bid war.

Speed is a great asset, and when combined with value makes a team dangerous (Ted Ginn Jr. is a speed guy who has helped teams on value contracts). But a premium should always be paid for players who run good routes AND can catch.
 

JayFord

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I’ll take a possession receiver over a playmaker any day

Yes playmaking receivers are great to have but that possession receiver is going to make the catches that are needed like 3rd and 8 he’s getting you 8 yards and that’s all
 

Tangle_Foot

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I don't think you can necessarily separate the two, speed guys aren't always play makers and some play makers are possession guys. Just because the speed guy catches the long ball and makes the big play that doesn't earn him the moniker of a playmaker.
Drew Pearson, Michael Irvin, Chris Carter, Steve Largent, Larry Fitzgerald, Dez Bryant and Anquan Boldin were all playmakers that lacked that lacked top-end speed.
I'm sure the market varies with each team and scheme they run.
 

Verdict

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So you have possession receivers that more often than not catch the ball and convert 3rd downs but they rarely score td’s. These guys typically have great numbers between the 20’s but they just don’t score very often because they don’t have home run speed.

Good defenders typically allow guys like this to catch all the underneath stuff while focusing more on your faster guys like Cooop or even Austin (When Healthy.) Once inside the redzone it gets much tighter and coverages change.

So how much do you pay these possession receiver types? Every team has at least one but not everybody pays them like they pay the playmakers on the team. I’m not saying you don’t need them, I’m just saying let’s be practical here and not over pay them..

What does the market say and is it not better to fill this need in the draft?

I think there are no hard and fast rules, but you have to approach it practically. Is it easier to replace a guy like Beasley or Amari? Amari hand down.

Beasley was an undrafted free agent. You can obtain a possession receiver with short area quickness later in the draft, or as an UDFA. A guy like Cooper must usually be drafted high or you can't get a shot at them.

Receiver, CB, RB and LB tend to be positions that can be found throughout the draft. I would like to see us keep Beasley, but his act has become old and tiring so maybe it's time he moved on for both him and the team.

If we can keep Beasley for $4m per year I would probably keep him around. But I wouldn't pay more than that for his 3 receptions per game.
 

xwalker

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So you have possession receivers that more often than not catch the ball and convert 3rd downs but they rarely score td’s. These guys typically have great numbers between the 20’s but they just don’t score very often because they don’t have home run speed.

Good defenders typically allow guys like this to catch all the underneath stuff while focusing more on your faster guys like Cooop or even Austin (When Healthy.) Once inside the redzone it gets much tighter and coverages change.

So how much do you pay these possession receiver types? Every team has at least one but not everybody pays them like they pay the playmakers on the team. I’m not saying you don’t need them, I’m just saying let’s be practical here and not over pay them..

What does the market say and is it not better to fill this need in the draft?

I've never liked the term possession receiver.

Witten was a possession receiver.

Compared to some other WRs Irvin and Drew Pearson were possession receivers (67 TDs for Irvin vs 197 for Jerry Rice).

Tony Hill was the speed guy when Pearson played and Hill had more career TDs in 32 less starts.

I think it's more specific than calling a player a possession receiver vs big play or #1 receiver.

Beasley is a limited player. He is great in the short area and can occasionally make a big play but in general he needs deception to win on intermediate/deep routes.

Witten was an all time great player but he was not really a TD machine per se.

Larry Fitzgerald ran a slow forty but nobody would call him a possession WR.

For the Cowboys in 2019 the receiving issues are about signing or replacing Beasley and drafting a TE if one with the potential to be elite is available.

An Adam Humphries type would add some versatility over Beasley because he is bigger and is a legit punt returner.

They could get another legit outside WR and use Cooper in the slot more often. Cooper is unique in that despite being 6-1, 210 has Beasley type short area quickness. Cooper in the slot on 3rd downs would be very difficult to defend.

In regards to TE, there is no point just drafting one with average upside. They can make do with the TEs on the roster. They need a TE that can really stress defenses. Either with a mastery of route running like Witten or one with elite physical ability that just needs some time to develop.
 

Batman1980

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Amari Cooper is one of the best receivers in the NFL, even with the inconsistent games. Cole is just too limited, much rather have a guy like Golden Tate there who can take the lid off the defense from the seam.
 

conner01

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I’ll take a possession receiver over a playmaker any day

Yes playmaking receivers are great to have but that possession receiver is going to make the catches that are needed like 3rd and 8 he’s getting you 8 yards and that’s all
I want both
Your outside guys you want playmakers
Your inside guys you want to get open to move the chains and make the catch
 

kskboys

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So you have possession receivers that more often than not catch the ball and convert 3rd downs but they rarely score td’s. These guys typically have great numbers between the 20’s but they just don’t score very often because they don’t have home run speed.

Good defenders typically allow guys like this to catch all the underneath stuff while focusing more on your faster guys like Cooop or even Austin (When Healthy.) Once inside the redzone it gets much tighter and coverages change.

So how much do you pay these possession receiver types? Every team has at least one but not everybody pays them like they pay the playmakers on the team. I’m not saying you don’t need them, I’m just saying let’s be practical here and not over pay them..

What does the market say and is it not better to fill this need in the draft?
They should actually be paid more. Speed guys are generally nullified much easier if your possession guys are not producing.
 

cern

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the great jimmy Johnson said you get the ball in the hands of your playmakers. because they make plays. when a game's on the line, you go to your playmakers. calvin Johnson. Michael Irvin. Terrell owens. jerry rice. possession guys are needed. but playmakers are more important. jmo
 

Bobhaze

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IMO, great receivers are good at a lot of things and they don’t necessarily have to be super fast.They are both playmakers and possession receivers.

Jerry Rice, The greatest receiver in NFL history, was neither fast nor big. But he could beat you in a host of ways. He could beat you deep, he could be a short possession type, he could make plays in traffic.

Obviously there’s only one Jerry Rice, but what I wanted to illustrate is that the more things a receiver can do, the better.

A current FA I would love to see us get is Adam Humphries, although it’s doubtful we could afford him. He’s infinitely better and more consistent than Cole Beasley, as his stats show, he’s only 26 and is a better punt returner than Beas. He would make an excellent bookend for Cooper and his age makes him good for awhile. Unlike Tavon Austin who can’t stay healthy, Humphries has been consistently healthy.
 

ShiningStar

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we have two play makers, now we need guys to be a good support cast, Gallup and one other. lets not go overboard.
 

CowboysExchange

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I think there are no hard and fast rules, but you have to approach it practically. Is it easier to replace a guy like Beasley or Amari? Amari hand down.

Beasley was an undrafted free agent. You can obtain a possession receiver with short area quickness later in the draft, or as an UDFA. A guy like Cooper must usually be drafted high or you can't get a shot at them.

Receiver, CB, RB and LB tend to be positions that can be found throughout the draft. I would like to see us keep Beasley, but his act has become old and tiring so maybe it's time he moved on for both him and the team.

If we can keep Beasley for $4m per year I would probably keep him around. But I wouldn't pay more than that for his 3 receptions per game.
Beasely is just spot played on 3rd down so that's probably 2-3 more punts per game for the cowboys.

He'll probably get 7 million a year just because of his open rate and catch rate and 3rd down conversion rate.

Dallas is better off using that money on an outside wr or a te. Someone who will be on the field alot more often .
 

kskboys

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the great jimmy Johnson said you get the ball in the hands of your playmakers. because they make plays. when a game's on the line, you go to your playmakers. calvin Johnson. Michael Irvin. Terrell owens. jerry rice. possession guys are needed. but playmakers are more important. jmo
Irvin was a possession guy. Not really a playmaker. Yes, I know they called him that. But, that's not what the definition is.
 
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