Is Eric Decker a #1 WR in the NFL?

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die hard gopher

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So since the football forum is moving kind of slow and even though i don't follow the NFL that closely i was thinking is Eric Decker a legit #1 WR in the NFL and does he deserve to get paid like a #1 WR would which is 8-10 million or is he just a product of Peyton Manning's record setting O. This question has been coming up a lot as he is the #1 WR in free agency this year and he wants to be paid like a top guy however many believe that his value is inflated and he is a very solid #2. What do you think?

In 2013 he caught 87 passes for 1,288 yards and 11 TDs good for 11th, 12th and 8th in the league
in 2012 he caught 85 passes for 1,065 yards and 13 TDs good for 13th, 17th and an astounding 2nd in the league

in 2011 in only his second year in the NFL he caught 44 passes for 612 yards and 9 touchdowns with possibly the worst QB in the NFL thawing to him(Tebow)

Also While playing at the U when healthy he was considered the 3rd best WR in the country behind Dez Bryant and AJ Green and more likely then not would have been a top 20 pick and the #2 WR drafted behind Bryant had he stayed healthy while playing for the gophers.

I think that the Colts would be a perfect fit for him as he would not only get paid 8 million+ but he would have the best young QB throwing balls to him so he wouldn't have to suffer a drop off in productivity. If he were to stay with the Broncos he would not be getting the money he would want. I would like to see him play here at TCF for 2 years and be the hometown hero but i don't think that will happen. It definitely would have happened last year if he was available though.

So do you think he is a #1 WR?
 

Well you beat me too it Bleed. Didn't see that until a few minutes later.
 

Right now he is a legit No. 1. We probably see him as the number 1 receiver with the Jets too. But I bet his numbers will dip and he will have a helluva hard time playing for such a disfunctional team. But he will be their number one receiver if he stays healthy.

Sent from my MUCH i5 using Tapatalk
 

No he's not a number 1 receiver, but their are not enough number 1's to go around for the entire league. By my definition a number one is a guy that can't be checked by a single defender/must be game planned for each week. Teams that don't have a true number one guy off the top of my head:

Vikings
Jets
Panthers
Patriots
Seahawks
Bills
Dolphins- even though they paid Mike Wallace like one
Chargers
Raiders
Ravens

Then you have the borderline cases:

Eagles: Is DeSean Jackson a number one? Tons of speed and certainly a threat, buy just 12 td's total in his 3 seasons prior to this year and has never had double digit touchdowns.

Chiefs: Is Bowe a number one? At times he's been a number one, but he was nonexistent much of this past season.

Steelers: Antonio Brown had a big time year and they paid him instead of Mike Wallace, but I am not completely sold.

Colts: Ty Hilton is emerging as Reggie Wayne is fading.

I am sure I could think of some more borderline guys, but my point is you could make a fairly strong argument that Eric Decker is a top 30 or so Wide Receiver in the league, even though he's not a true number 1. I think he got some unfair backlash at the start of free agency in large part due to his poor production in the Super Bowl. Considering Sherman was on him at times, Peyton wasn't sharp and was arguably rattled at times, and the Broncos performance as a whole, it seems silly to point to his stats in that game as indicative of struggles against a certain type of coverage. The knock that he was only productive due to Manning was also silly as anyone that saw him get open and try to chase down errant Tebow passes the year before Manning arrived can attest. Decker was a player on the rise before Manning came to Denver, Manning didn't make him.

The reality show thing is stupid, and I'd bet that it hurt him at least slightly in free agency. There are VERY few players who can get away with bringing that type of potential distraction to a team and Decker isn't talented enough to be on that list. I hope he does well with the Jets, but he's almost going to be a focal point of defenses by default on that team and that's not a good thing. Geno Smith did a few good things last season considering the terrible talent around him, but not enough to be sold on him as the guy going forward. Probably a pipe dream, but the expectations in New York need to be realistic for what Decker can do in that offense.
 



He's not a true number 1 receiver, but he can fill a #1 role for a team that has no options. I think he will always have best results as a second option playing alongside a deep threat WR.
 

I've never understood why so many of you downgrade him. Some of you never thought he'd make it in the NFL. For someone his size he has good speed which has been the major knock against him. With the Jets he won't have as good a quarterback but he won't have all the good receivers that he to compete against for catches that he had at Denver.
 

With a good QB he is, however the Jets are no better than the Vikes at QB, maybe worse.
 

Wish the Vikings could have brought him back to The Bank...

Sent from my XT912 using Tapatalk
 



Gopher It said:
I've never understood why so many of you downgrade him. Some of you never thought he'd make it in the NFL. For someone his size he has good speed which has been the major knock against him. With the Jets he won't have as good a quarterback but he won't have all the good receivers that he to compete against for catches that he had at Denver.
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I don't think Decker fits the mold of a game changer #1 receiver but outside of Calvin Johnson and a few others there are not many of those guys in the league. To me he fits right into the mold of a Chris Carter type of receiver, lacks the game breaking speed, but has great hands and runs great routes. I was sorry to see him leave Denver because he had a great situation there with Manning and other players to keep the defense occupied. I think he will do well with the Jets but also think there is a good chance it will be very quiet production that doesn't really get him noticed much around the league.
 

He's not a number 1. The contract he just signed reflects that.
 

EG#9 said:
No he's not a number 1 receiver, but their are not enough number 1's to go around for the entire league. By my definition a number one is a guy that can't be checked by a single defender/must be game planned for each week. Teams that don't have a true number one guy off the top of my head:

Vikings
Jets
Panthers
Patriots
Seahawks
Bills
Dolphins- even though they paid Mike Wallace like one
Chargers
Raiders
Ravens

Then you have the borderline cases:

Eagles: Is DeSean Jackson a number one? Tons of speed and certainly a threat, buy just 12 td's total in his 3 seasons prior to this year and has never had double digit touchdowns.

Chiefs: Is Bowe a number one? At times he's been a number one, but he was nonexistent much of this past season.

Steelers: Antonio Brown had a big time year and they paid him instead of Mike Wallace, but I am not completely sold.

Colts: Ty Hilton is emerging as Reggie Wayne is fading.

I am sure I could think of some more borderline guys, but my point is you could make a fairly strong argument that Eric Decker is a top 30 or so Wide Receiver in the league, even though he's not a true number 1. I think he got some unfair backlash at the start of free agency in large part due to his poor production in the Super Bowl. Considering Sherman was on him at times, Peyton wasn't sharp and was arguably rattled at times, and the Broncos performance as a whole, it seems silly to point to his stats in that game as indicative of struggles against a certain type of coverage. The knock that he was only productive due to Manning was also silly as anyone that saw him get open and try to chase down errant Tebow passes the year before Manning arrived can attest. Decker was a player on the rise before Manning came to Denver, Manning didn't make him.

The reality show thing is stupid, and I'd bet that it hurt him at least slightly in free agency. There are VERY few players who can get away with bringing that type of potential distraction to a team and Decker isn't talented enough to be on that list. I hope he does well with the Jets, but he's almost going to be a focal point of defenses by default on that team and that's not a good thing. Geno Smith did a few good things last season considering the terrible talent around him, but not enough to be sold on him as the guy going forward. Probably a pipe dream, but the expectations in New York need to be realistic for what Decker can do in that offense.
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Agree with this completely. No he's clearly not a #1 guy but there are only maybe 12-15 of those guys in the league. Its like how there are only 10-12 'franchise QBs' but everyone else needs a starter anyway. Decker is a solid WR that does everything pretty well but isn't quite fast enough to be a consistent deep threat or quite big enough to be a Boldin like possession guy. But he's definitely one of the 20-25 best WRs in the league and as he was the best one on the market he got paid well
 

He's a #1 WR on my fantasy team, if that helps.

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#1 receivers cannot be made completely irrelevant in the playoffs/against good teams.

He has 15 catches for 200 yards and 0 td's in the playoffs. When he goes against a team with 2 decent CBs (read most playoff teams) he struggles mightily. And he, like they entire Bronco team, sucked in the SB last year.
 


afurry91 said:
He's not a number 1. The contract he just signed reflects that.
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The contract making him one of the top 20 paid receivers? You're an idiot if you only say there 12-15 #1's in the league. There are 32 teams. Each team has a most valuable receiver, the #1 receiver. The Jets are paying him to be that player. You could argue that the #1 receiver should be the top 32 receivers as if you were doing a fantasy draft and wanted to draft based upon potential, and I still think Decker would be picked. The #1 receiver doesn't have to go to the hall of fame or the pro bowl. #1 on the depth chart for any team is a big deal.
 

AO54 said:
The contract making him one of the top 20 paid receivers? You're an idiot if you only say there 12-15 #1's in the league. There are 32 teams. Each team has a most valuable receiver, the #1 receiver. The Jets are paying him to be that player. You could argue that the #1 receiver should be the top 32 receivers as if you were doing a fantasy draft and wanted to draft based upon potential, and I still think Decker would be picked. The #1 receiver doesn't have to go to the hall of fame or the pro bowl. #1 on the depth chart for any team is a big deal.
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Are you really arguing this?

Decker was around the 40th best active WR with Peyton Manning as his QB last year according to cbssports player rankings.

He might be the Jets #1 receiver, but he isn't getting paid like it, nor is he a #1 receiver. He just got a contract making him the 18th highest paid player. This is free agency. Everybody overpays for talent. If he was a #1 he'd be making Top 10 money.

There are plenty of teams with terrible #1 options. Look at the Patriots roster. If you honestly believe that there are 32 #1 receivers in the league, then we have nothing else to talk about.
 


Gopher It said:
I've never understood why so many of you downgrade him. Some of you never thought he'd make it in the NFL. For someone his size he has good speed which has been the major knock against him. With the Jets he won't have as good a quarterback but he won't have all the good receivers that he to compete against for catches that he had at Denver.
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I don't think people are downgrading him, he is a very good receiver. He fits the role of the #2 receiver better though with his skill set, he isn't a playoff/crunch time game changer but he is very talented and should have a great NFL career.
 

afurry91 said:
Are you really arguing this?

Decker was around the 40th best active WR with Peyton Manning as his QB last year according to cbssports player rankings.

He might be the Jets #1 receiver, but he isn't getting paid like it, nor is he a #1 receiver. He just got a contract making him the 18th highest paid player. This is free agency. Everybody overpays for talent. If he was a #1 he'd be making Top 10 money.

There are plenty of teams with terrible #1 options. Look at the Patriots roster. If you honestly believe that there are 32 #1 receivers in the league, then we have nothing else to talk about.
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I googled cbs sports player rankings and it listed Decker as #38, but you might have missed the fact that the stats were from 2011.

He was the 8th best fantasy WR last year. He won't be that high this year without Peyton, but it's obvious he's the #1 in the Jet's eyes.

Again, I take the #1 question literally as in, "who is going to be team A's #1 receiver this year", rather than "Is this receiver a #1 or tie for #1 on any team?"
 

Regardless of whether he's a number 1 or not, I think any team in the league would take him. Posession receiver, pu t returner, "just scores touchdowns".

I think Mrs. Decker determined their next address. It was going to be NY or Nashville.
 

highwayman said:
Regardless of whether he's a number 1 or not, I think any team in the league would take him. Posession receiver, pu t returner, "just scores touchdowns".

I think Mrs. Decker determined their next address. It was going to be NY or Nashville.
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Nah, I think the Jets gaping hole at receiver determined it. Along with the fact that Denver clearly was planning to spend their money on defense by the signings they made, so Decker was not gonna get close to the money he got with the Jets.

He's not your elite level, #1 type of guy, but I think the real question is, can you win football games with him as your best receiver? I think you can, the guy caught 8 TDs with Tim Tebow as his QB, so he's got something there. I just wouldn't expect him to make a Pro Bowl or anything like that.
 

AO54 said:
I googled cbs sports player rankings and it listed Decker as #38, but you might have missed the fact that the stats were from 2011.

He was the 8th best fantasy WR last year. He won't be that high this year without Peyton, but it's obvious he's the #1 in the Jet's eyes.

Again, I take the #1 question literally as in, "who is going to be team A's #1 receiver this year", rather than "Is this receiver a #1 or tie for #1 on any team?"
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I don't want to sound like a pr*ck, but you seriously didn't write that did you? Fantasy stats?

Decker is very productive. Bigger, stronger version of Wes Welker. He gets in the right system and he's going to do extremely well. That said, I don't think he's your classic guy who can dominate a game.
 

highwayman said:
Regardless of whether he's a number 1 or not, I think any team in the league would take him. Posession receiver, pu t returner, "just scores touchdowns".

I think Mrs. Decker determined their next address. It was going to be NY or Nashville.
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for free? yes then anybody would take him. The question is would you take him for 8-10 million which is what he wanted and the consensus was no.
 

die hard gopher said:
for free? yes then anybody would take him. The question is would you take him for 8-10 million which is what he wanted and the consensus was no.
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Right now on ESPN there seems to be consensus amongst their round table that the Broncos were smart to walk away. They inferred that the Jets overpaid. Tough not to agree.
 

50PoundHead said:
I don't want to sound like a pr*ck, but you seriously didn't write that did you? Fantasy stats?

Decker is very productive. Bigger, stronger version of Wes Welker. He gets in the right system and he's going to do extremely well. That said, I don't think he's your classic guy who can dominate a game.
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Had to laugh about this post. I have always thought some of the posts here were people's fantasies but now I have proof.:rolleyes:
 

How about this: he is a poor #1 receiver, but a great #2 receiver.

He may be one of the top 32 receivers in the league, and that's a testament to how good he is. I sincerely hope that he proves my assessment wrong, and can be a better than average #1 WR in the NFL. I'd love for him to completely blow me out of the water and turn into a perennial Pro Bowl player, with the potential of a HOF career. I just don't see it.
 

50PoundHead said:
I don't want to sound like a pr*ck, but you seriously didn't write that did you? Fantasy stats?

Decker is very productive. Bigger, stronger version of Wes Welker. He gets in the right system and he's going to do extremely well. That said, I don't think he's your classic guy who can dominate a game.
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Now more than ever, stats matter in how a player is perceived. Decker's the best receiver on the Jets. Sounds like he's their #1 receiver.
 

Ski U Master said:
I don't think people are downgrading him, he is a very good receiver. He fits the role of the #2 receiver better though with his skill set, he isn't a playoff/crunch time game changer but he is very talented and should have a great NFL career.
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Herds of GH'ers have downgraded Decker in the past, so why not now? If you're looking for a reason to distrust the knowledge of many frequent posters, look no further than the number of experts here who confidently opined that then-senior Gopher receiver Decker could not play in the NFL due to his lack of pro-caliber speed. These same geniuses also informed the rest of us that Adam Weber, on the other hand, had at least a decent chance of landing an NFL gig due to his prototypical size and extraordinary, powerful arm. Okay then...
 

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