The SportsHoopla WR Rankings: Tiebreaker and Pt. 7

[MHSL82]

We have a tie between Andre Johnson and Dez Bryant. One of them will be 6th and the other may or may not be 7th. Take a look at the options and select one.

FYI, "Andre Johnson/Dez Bryant" means 6th is Andre and 7th is Dez. And so on.

I picked the options based upon who has received votes so far. Leaving Patterson in this time because he's received votes, but please vote honestly.

 

[MHSL82]

I should add that if a choice is picked with three names there, the third will be 8th, but if the first two options win, then only 6th and 7th is picked now. I thought that tying for 6th should guarantee you 8th spot or better. Practically speaking, if the same posters voted, the loser between Dez/Andre would be at worst 8th. It would make the 8th round more meaningless than it is.

 

[Wazmankg]

Where are the top 5 listed ? Is there a thread ? 5 guys better than both Andre Johnson and Alshon Jeffrey ? That's questionable.

 

[MHSL82]

Where are the top 5 listed ? Is there a thread ? 5 guys better than both Andre Johnson and Alshon Jeffrey ? That's questionable.

The best WRs league by vote were Calvin Johnson, AJ Green, Brandon Marshall, Larry Fitzgerald, and Julio Jones.

 

[cdumler7]

I have no clue why there is so much Julio Jones love among fans. His best season as a pro was 1198 yards and 10 touchdowns. 2 of his 3 years in the league he has been hurt so to me all the hype around him is media driven. His actual play on the field while good is more in the top 15 range not top 5.

 

[night]

I have no clue why there is so much Julio Jones love among fans. His best season as a pro was 1198 yards and 10 touchdowns. 2 of his 3 years in the league he has been hurt so to me all the hype around him is media driven. His actual play on the field while good is more in the top 15 range not top 5.

Jones missed 3 games his rookie season. I'm not sure how that equates to missing 2 seasons.

 

[cdumler7]

Jones missed 3 games his rookie season. I'm not sure how that equates to missing 2 seasons.

I didn't say he missed 2 seasons. I said he has been hurt in 2 seasons. That can mean just missing a few games. Even with those games though his stats wouldn't be up with the top 5 players in the league. His best season didn't even crack the top 10 in yards or receptions so again how has he shown he is a top 5 receiver in this league?

 

[night]

I didn't say he missed 2 seasons. I said he has been hurt in 2 seasons. That can mean just missing a few games. Even with those games though his stats wouldn't be up with the top 5 players in the league. His best season didn't even crack the top 10 in yards or receptions so again how has he shown he is a top 5 receiver in this league?

If I were going to be making an argument for him the biggest knock on Julio pre-2013 was that Roddy took the #1 cover corner out of the equation. In 2013 during Roddy's injury issues Julio stepped up to average for over 100 yards per game with those #1s on him. He was taking over games even though we had the worst offensive line in the league which gave Ryan little time to react. Julio has made progressions in most facets of his game to improve each season as well but what makes him stand out compared to other receivers to me is his overall athleticism combined with fluid moves. To me a guy like Thomas is a lot more clunkier on the field.

 

[cdumler7]

If I were going to be making an argument for him the biggest knock on Julio pre-2013 was that Roddy took the #1 cover corner out of the equation. In 2013 during Roddy's injury issues Julio stepped up to average for over 100 yards per game with those #1s on him. He was taking over games even though we had the worst offensive line in the league which gave Ryan little time to react. Julio has made progressions in most facets of his game to improve each season as well but what makes him stand out compared to other receivers to me is his overall athleticism combined with fluid moves. To me a guy like Thomas is a lot more clunkier on the field.

My point is that Julio has done enough to definitely be considered a top-15 WR in the NFL. He has shown that much potential so far. We are talking about top-5 for the position though. To me those are the type of guys that must show not only great potential but also actual major success on the field. You look at all the other guys in that top-5 and they have all had multiple successful seasons in the NFL to have earned their spot on that list. Julio to me has not earned that spot on the list. A 1,200 yard 10 touchdown season is great and all but when that is the best he has that like I said is closer to 15th in the league instead of 5th.

Now you look at Thomas as a clunkier player down the field but he at least has shown on the field he belongs in that top-5 consideration with 2 straight 1,400 yard seasons and 10 touchdowns or more in both of those. He also was top-10 in both of those seasons in receptions as well so he really does do it all. His route running although not quite as smooth as Julio has shown to be impressive for the size speed combination that he is. All of this while being the #1 guy on the team going up against #1 Corners most weeks.

Now he is not the only one I would rank ahead of Julio at this time. Like I said I would have Julio closer to 15th than I would 5th. Personal opinion sure but I think mine has more statistical backing to show why he should be there compared to where he is ranked here.

 

[night]

My point is that Julio has done enough to definitely be considered a top-15 WR in the NFL. He has shown that much potential so far. We are talking about top-5 for the position though. To me those are the type of guys that must show not only great potential but also actual major success on the field. You look at all the other guys in that top-5 and they have all had multiple successful seasons in the NFL to have earned their spot on that list. Julio to me has not earned that spot on the list. A 1,200 yard 10 touchdown season is great and all but when that is the best he has that like I said is closer to 15th in the league instead of 5th.

Now you look at Thomas as a clunkier player down the field but he at least has shown on the field he belongs in that top-5 consideration with 2 straight 1,400 yard seasons and 10 touchdowns or more in both of those. He also was top-10 in both of those seasons in receptions as well so he really does do it all. His route running although not quite as smooth as Julio has shown to be impressive for the size speed combination that he is. All of this while being the #1 guy on the team going up against #1 Corners most weeks.

Now he is not the only one I would rank ahead of Julio at this time. Like I said I would have Julio closer to 15th than I would 5th. Personal opinion sure but I think mine has more statistical backing to show why he should be there compared to where he is ranked here.

I don't have a problem with anyone ranking him below where I'd put him. He is somewhat unproven. It helps Julio Jones has Matt Ryan but with the same token it really helps that Demaryius Thomas has Peyton Manning. Just so I don't look like a complete homer I think Thomas has a little better situational awareness with his feet (and it shows up in the red zone). He has a very good grasp on his body in relation to the lines. I think Julio is much better at jump balls though.

I hope this comparison goes on for some time because I don't think either has done enough to make an unbiased opinion quite yet. I believe Julio ran his 40 .01 slower than Thomas so their speed is relatively the same.

I don't want you to feel like I'm just jumping at your team. I actually think Julio and Thomas are one of the better sets of receivers to accurately compare because they have pretty even size and speed.

 

[cdumler7]

I agree they are a good comparison. And please don't take me not having Julio in my top-5 as some big insult to him. I just am one that hates the dreaded "he has great potential" label as that to me just means he hasn't done it on the field. Now Julio has done some nice things on the field but for me I just need him to have 2-3 years in a row where he puts up great numbers for the Falcons before I would put him on this list. There are just so many good receivers these days in the league that it does make it hard to come up with a list that most can agree on.


I do agree Julio is better at the jump balls. Honestly I think Julio and Thomas could switch teams and do about the same no matter where they are as they are very similar with just a few differences like that of Julio being better at jump balls where I would say Thomas has a little better ability in the open field to make something out of nothing. They both are great I just would say Thomas has proven on the field a bit more to be a better weapon at this point because he has been able to stay healthy the last few years. Health does play into my equation of figuring out who is best so again why I have him ranked lower.

 

[night]

I respect your opinion cdumbler because it often comes with impartial observation. I have no qualms agreeing to disagree with you here.