Top 40 WRs NFL.com

[NoSaint]

 

 

Again, semantics. I think that Julio Jones and Roddy White are both #1 WR. I am not saying that Stevie is a #1 b/c he is tops on the depth chart but b/c he is one of the 32 best WR in football. That's just how I view it.

 

By the same token I am not sure that the Bills have a #1 QB until EJ develops a bit. It will not take much to move into the Matt Flynn territory (who I consider a borderline #1).

 

That does make it a bit more clear, and ill generally agree there.

[Never NEVER Give-up]

What??

 

" #28 Steve Johnson " Johnson has been stretched as the Bills' No. 1 receiver." "

 

I don't even know what this means!

 

Looking at the list, I think Stevie belongs in the 8-14 group. I like him better than Vincent Jackson (too many drops). At worst in the 15-21 group.

 

Imagine if he had a bona-fide QB pitching to him!

[jumbalaya]

This will be the year for Stevie to prove if he is a #1. He has a fabulous running game, three potential QBs that can get him the ball, two WRs that can stretch the field for him, an up tempo offense and no more excuses. Except he is playing behind a weak Oline and no TEs.

[mabden]

#28 Steve Johnson " Johnson has been stretched as the Bills' No. 1 receiver."

 

Again no love for the Buffalo Bills. I think this ranking is complete horse crap considering his stats on comparison with other receivers and his shear consistency.

 

Thoughts?

 

Not that I'm a fan, but they have Wes Welker in the prove it category at number 29. So no love for the $6mil a year man, either.

[RyanC883]

As much as people try to poo-poo Stevie putting up 1,000 yards 3 years in a row, (because its "so easy" to put up 1,000 as a WR, or so i have been told) he's one of 7 WRs to do that in the last 3 years. Here's the other 6:

 

Megatron, Fitzgerald, A. Johnson, Colston, Marshall, R. White

 

I don't think there's any argument that those guys are clear cut #1 WRs, yet we've got people still claiming Stevie's nothing more than a number 2. No matter how you cut it, he's in some elite company.

 

Exactly. And Megatron, Johnson, Colston, Marshall and R. White had legit QB's throwing them the ball. Stevie and Fitz, not so much.

[papazoid]

"These rankings are based purely on projected impact for the 2013 season."

 

in this survey, stevie is hurt by the Bill's QB situation.

 

imagine stevie's numbers if an "elite" QB was throwing to him.

 

 

having said that, one of the best stats to judge WR's is "PERCENTAGE OF DROPS" (best hands):

 

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcwest/post/_/id/100761/drop-rates-harvin-manningham-zeroed-in

 

stevie not in Top 20

 

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2013/01/21/signature-stats-drop-rate-wide-receivers/

 

3 years of drop rates for "premium" stats members (i'm not one)

 

 

[Alphadawg7]

Again, semantics. I think that Julio Jones and Roddy White are both #1 WR. I am not saying that Stevie is a #1 b/c he is tops on the depth chart but b/c he is one of the 32 best WR in football. That's just how I view it.

 

By the same token I am not sure that the Bills have a #1 QB until EJ develops a bit. It will not take much to move into the Matt Flynn territory (who I consider a borderline #1).

 

I have another news flash for you...there are not 32 "#1" type receivers in football. When using the term "#1 WR" its referencing a type of WR, and they don't grow on trees and are hard to come by. A #1 WR is a guy who can take over a game, be open when he isn't, makes clutch catches, must be double teamed, has great hands, great routes, great speed, etc. Most of those are not qualities of Stevies...Stevie does one thing really well, in fact he is great at it, and that is running routes. He does not have exceptional hands, blazing speed, size, fight for balls, has not been clutch, etc.

 

Stevie's legend was made in ONE game against the Jets where he had like 8 catches for 80 some yards and a TD against Revis. Big deal. He also DROPPED passes in that game which prevented us from winning that game. Every time someone starts comparing Stevie to other receivers they bring up how Stevie owned Revis...well news flash, he hasn't really. He had one pretty solid game against him that was over shadowed by costing us the game late in the 4th.

 

Stevie amasses A LOT of his stats when the games were blown out, out of reach, etc. He completely vanished for huge chunks of games when he was needed most. He doesn't take over games, he has literally lost us multiple games, he has come up short in big moments, he drops too many passes, he isn't the type to fight for balls, etc.

 

All that being said, I am still a fan of his and I think he is a very very good #2 WR, but the jury is still out on whether he is a legit "#1 type" WR. He is still young and can still develop the other parts of his game, but so far, outside of route running, the rest is underwhelming.

 

Oh...and Bills fans make way too big of a deal of him going over 1,000 yards 3 years in a row. He BARELY broke a 1,000 yards, in fact the most he put up was 1,073 3 years ago. A 1,000 yards was impressive 20 years ago, but barely reaching it now is something secondary and sometimes 3rd options strive for. For a guy who was the MAIN and MOST often targeted guy on this team for 3 years, those numbers are pretty underwhelming. I mean Brian Hartline had more yards than him last year catching passes from a mediocre rookie QB. Nothing against Hartline, but Stevie is being billed by many here as a top 12 to top 10 guy and I dont think anyone considers Hartline in that realm of ranking right now.

 

People mocked that Cecil shorts was ranked ahead of him, yet he caught almost the same amount of yards as Stevie on 24 LESS catches and had 1 MORE TD, played in TWO LESS GAMES than Stevie, and played with a much worse QB situation and was NOT even the #1 WR as Blackmon was.

 

None of this is to bash Stevie, I am a fan of his. Just a realty check to those pissed about his ranking, as IMO its about right until he proves otherwise.

Edited June 10, 2013 by Alphadawg7

[Kirby Jackson]

 

 

I have another news flash for you...there are not 32 "#1" type receivers in football. When using the term "#1 WR" its referencing a type of WR, and they don't grow on trees and are hard to come by. A #1 WR is a guy who can take over a game, be open when he isn't, makes clutch catches, must be double teamed, has great hands, great routes, great speed, etc. Most of those are not qualities of Stevies...Stevie does one thing really well, in fact he is great at it, and that is running routes. He does not have exceptional hands, blazing speed, size, fight for balls, has not been clutch, etc.

 

Stevie's legend was made in ONE game against the Jets where he had like 8 catches for 80 some yards and a TD against Revis. Big deal. He also DROPPED passes in that game which prevented us from winning that game. Every time someone starts comparing Stevie to other receivers they bring up how Stevie owned Revis...well news flash, he hasn't really. He had one pretty solid game against him that was over shadowed by costing us the game late in the 4th.

 

Stevie amasses A LOT of his stats when the games were blown out, out of reach, etc. He completely vanished for huge chunks of games when he was needed most. He doesn't take over games, he has literally lost us multiple games, he has come up short in big moments, he drops too many passes, he isn't the type to fight for balls, etc.

 

All that being said, I am still a fan of his and I think he is a very very good #2 WR, but the jury is still out on whether he is a legit "#1 type" WR. He is still young and can still develop the other parts of his game, but so far, outside of route running, the rest is underwhelming.

 

Oh...and Bills fans make way too big of a deal of him going over 1,000 yards 3 years in a row. He BARELY broke a 1,000 yards, in fact the most he put up was 1,073 3 years ago. A 1,000 yards was impressive 20 years ago, but barely reaching it now is something secondary and sometimes 3rd options strive for. For a guy who was the MAIN and MOST often targeted guy on this team for 3 years, those numbers are pretty underwhelming. I mean Brian Hartline had more yards than him last year catching passes from a mediocre rookie QB. Nothing against Hartline, but Stevie is being billed by many here as a top 12 to top 10 guy and I dont think anyone considers Hartline in that realm of ranking right now.

 

People mocked that Cecil shorts was ranked ahead of him, yet he caught almost the same amount of yards as Stevie on 24 LESS catches and had 1 MORE TD, played in TWO LESS GAMES than Stevie, and played with a much worse QB situation and was NOT even the #1 WR as Blackmon was.

 

None of this is to bash Stevie, I am a fan of his. Just a realty check to those pissed about his ranking, as IMO its about right until he proves otherwise.

 

While I appreciate all of your news flashes I disagree. There are 32 #1 WRs that are not all the same. For example Calvin Johnson is better than Steve Smith yet you would say that they are both #1's. There are 32 teams in the NFL and each of them has a spot for a #1 WR. The way that I view it is that the top 32 WR in football would each fill one of those slots. I believe that Stevie is in the top 32.

 

I said early in this thread that I thought that he was ranked about right. He is somewhere between about 18-30 to me.

[C.Biscuit97]

Exactly. And Megatron, Johnson, Colston, Marshall and R. White had legit QB's throwing them the ball. Stevie and Fitz, not so much.

 

Disagree. Fitz >>>> Brees, Schaub, Stafford, Cutler (though I hate Cutler), Ryan

 

For some reason, people forget how much dependent a position wr is. I loved Fitz' atttude but ask yourself a question. Which of receivers would put up better #s with Fitz than their QB? SJ is a damn good receiver who made Ryan Fitzpatrick look great when he couldn't throw a pass accurately past 10 yards.

[2020 Our Year For Sure]

 

 

While I appreciate all of your news flashes I disagree. There are 32 #1 WRs that are not all the same. For example Calvin Johnson is better than Steve Smith yet you would say that they are both #1's. There are 32 teams in the NFL and each of them has a spot for a #1 WR. The way that I view it is that the top 32 WR in football would each fill one of those slots. I believe that Stevie is in the top 32.

 

I said early in this thread that I thought that he was ranked about right. He is somewhere between about 18-30 to me.

 

Agreed. "#1 WR" is a mathematical term. It's not subject to interpretation. Stevie may not be a "franchise WR" or a "prototypical #1 WR," and despite being technically a #1 WR you can argue he's still not good enough if you want. But if he's one of the top 32 at the position (he is) then he is a #1 WR.

[reddogblitz]

"#1 WRs" are like "franchise QBs" and pornography. It can be defined, but one knows it when he/she sees it I guess.

 

#28 for SJ sounds about right if not a little generous. The 1000 yard stat is nice, but he plays on a team with no other legit WRs. I know SJ back pocket boys don't like to admit this, but the drops are HUGE. That's why he's not higher. Even the ESPN play of the day catch was followed a few plays later by a drive ending drop.

 

I'm hoping having Robert Woods who catches everything will be contagious to SJ and the others. I've seen this happen before on other teams. Namely the 2005 Seahawks when they acquired Joe Jeruvicius after the 2004 season.

 

Go BILLS !!

[Kirby Jackson]

"#1 WRs" are like "franchise QBs" and pornography. It can be defined, but one knows it when he/she sees it I guess.

 

#28 for SJ sounds about right if not a little generous. The 1000 yard stat is nice, but he plays on a team with no other legit WRs. I know SJ back pocket boys don't like to admit this, but the drops are HUGE. That's why he's not higher. Even the ESPN play of the day catch was followed a few plays later by a drive ending drop.

 

I'm hoping having Robert Woods who catches everything will be contagious to SJ and the others. I've seen this happen before on other teams. Namely the 2005 Seahawks when they acquired Joe Jeruvicius after the 2004 season.

 

Go BILLS !!

 

I look at playing with no other threats as a detriment to SJ. Did teams ever double or roll coverage in the direction of Donald Jones?!? I think that if he had anyone opposite him his stats would be better. I LOVE the young WR talent on this team and think that it benefits everyone. This team was razor thin at WR.

[NoSaint]

 

 

I look at playing with no other threats as a detriment to SJ. Did teams ever double or roll coverage in the direction of Donald Jones?!? I think that if he had anyone opposite him his stats would be better. I LOVE the young WR talent on this team and think that it benefits everyone. This team was razor thin at WR.

 

theres a bit of a flipside to that with "someone has to make the catches." the best WR on even a bad offense will show some level of production typically.

 

that said, i agree that everyone benefits from raising the talent - the old rising tides raise all ships.

[Ramius]

Kind of an arbitrary standard that ignores guys like aj green and Julio jones who have played only two years, or Vincent Jackson who if you toss out the holdout year has been about 1100+ for his last 4 full seasons (including near 1400 last year)..... Or Reggie Wayne who came up 40 yards shy of 9 straight, including several monster ones mixed in. It's nice but its a sign of consistency (and health) more than explosive game changing ability.

 

It wasn't arbitrary. The reason for the post was because of the asshats (see a few posts above this one) that insist that gaining 1,000 yards is no big deal, when in fact, it is. Be it holdouts, injury, etc, there's a very small number of WRs that have accomplished the feat in the past 3 seasons.

 

Stevie has gotten 1,000 yards in the past 3 seasons, so i simply looked at who else managed this. I was a bit surprised that the list was so small. I figured it'd be roughly double, with guys like Bowe, Vincent Jackson, Welker, etc. I'll also toss in AJ Green and Julio Jones, because they should hit that benchmark this season. If you double the list with those guys, then its a group of about 15, which is right where i'd rank Stevie. He's in that 15-18 group to me.

 

Basically, looking at all NFL WRs, if i was choosing a WR for my team, there'd be only about 15 guys i'd take before Stevie.

[NoSaint]

 

 

It wasn't arbitrary. The reason for the post was because of the asshats (see a few posts above this one) that insist that gaining 1,000 yards is no big deal, when in fact, it is. Be it holdouts, injury, etc, there's a very small number of WRs that have accomplished the feat in the past 3 seasons.

 

Stevie has gotten 1,000 yards in the past 3 seasons, so i simply looked at who else managed this. I was a bit surprised that the list was so small. I figured it'd be roughly double, with guys like Bowe, Vincent Jackson, Welker, etc. I'll also toss in AJ Green and Julio Jones, because they should hit that benchmark this season. If you double the list with those guys, then its a group of about 15, which is right where i'd rank Stevie. He's in that 15-18 group to me.

 

Basically, looking at all NFL WRs, if i was choosing a WR for my team, there'd be only about 15 guys i'd take before Stevie.

 

1000 yards in 2010-2012 is a little arbitrary. Was his 1004 that much more impressive than Wayne's 960 for instance? Or if he comes up just short this year does it diminish his ability as a WR? Or say a guy has cracked 1000 4 out of 5 years including some 1300+ production but missed due to a holdout one of those years because his GM was a stubborn jerk? Or the guys that only have 2 years starting?

 

Is 1000 more that meaningful vs 900 or 1100 on the other end?

 

Is Stevie juuuust cracking 1000 3 times more impressive than moulds or reed having 900+ yard seasons sandwiched by huuuge years?

 

That was kind of what I was getting at. Our guy happens to be one of a handful that hit that arbitrary number in the exact 3 years being looked at. If he was 5 yards short one year, we wouldn't have the talking point but he'd still be the same exact WR.

 

It counts for something but listing him as only 1 of 7 without qualifying that you thought he was an average to below average guy on the overall list wasnt truly a great way to get into the debate.

[bigK14094]

Stevie Johnson is a very capable receiver, but not totally elite because of his lack of speed. Most NFL corners can run him down from behind. their real problem with him is his moves....he can separate and can catch, although he has only average hands. I don't think this rating is far off.

[Spiderweb]

I for one, am anxious to see what Stevie can do with a QB that is reasonably accurate and consistent with his throws. Imagine how much faster Stevie will be with him not having to carry a ladder and a shovel in his routes. In general I rooted hard for Fitz but damn if he wasn't one of those who couldn't hit the broad side of barn unless it was under 10 feet away. Over throws, and pitches in the dirt were his trademarks. Fitz also brought new meaning to "wide right"........

[billsfan89]

Its crazy that they rank Greg Jennings and the two Packers receivers Nelson and Cobb ahead of him along with Reggie Wayne. Stevie isn't a mega star number 1 like Megatron or Green but the dude is a legit number 1 and the fact that Eric Decker is ahead of him is a joke. I think any list would have Stevie top 20 for sure and I would rank him mid teens myself.