The Wide Receivers : Where do we stand now !!!

[Shanghai Pack]

Cobb being out 6-8 weeks with his injury translates to a 8-12 week injury with our training staff. That said, I doubt there's a trade for a WR we could get that would really help the team. Even if that WR had talent, they won't have timing and rhythm with Rodgers for a while, but we'd need them right away. We'll just need to rely on the running game and our the current guys on the roster even more. I shudder at this thought, but Boykin's going to have to step up.

 

[Darth Garfunkel]

Where do we stand now?

Apparently on one leg!

 

[Bagadeez04]

I can't remember for sure, but I remember a few years ago I think someone offered a spot on their active roster to a player on the Packers practice squad and the Packers offered him a pay raise to stay (not sure if it was as high as what he would have made) and he stayed here.

Think it was Tori Gurley and the Vikings?

 

[7thFloorRA]

I think it was Gurley....Proud member of the current Browns PS.

 

[Bagadeez04]

Packers apparently trying to sign Tavarres King off Broncos practice squad but the Broncos are trying to keep him. Probably won't know until tomorrow if it's happening.

Sounds like he's coming to Green Bay...he will be on the 53 man roster and on a team that is great at molding young receivers. There is also a need for receivers on the Packers long term, with Jones a free agent and Boykin an unknown. No brainer for King if u ask me.

From the quotes I've seen on Twitter he said hey I sent to stay but...

 

[FrankRizzo]

Cobb being out 6-8 weeks with his injury translates to a 8-12 week injury with our training staff.

BINGO...... in 11 weeks we play week 17 at Chicago.
Then hopefully it's the playoffs.

If we can have him 95+% healthy by January 5th for our first playoff game, I will be A) very happy and B) very surprised.
Guys for us always tend to be out longer than expected. So now I expect nothing good.

So negative that I expect either Jordy or Boykin to get hurt within 1 or 2 games, so these new guys have to be able to play. This is getting like the Packers in 96 with Favre. His receiving core got awful afterwards..... kinda like New England right now, darnit. Dang Elam.

 

[sjb12681]

Some draft analysis from last year on boykin. A week of practice may sort out sone of the timing stuff, and his biggest knock was yac, which was his only positive last week. For what its worth...

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/nfl/draft-2012/players/83414.html?mobile=no

 

[HardRightEdge]

I don't know if anybody mentioned this but Myles White was promoted to the 53 man. Evidently the rock-turning yielded nothing so far and we have to get on with it. I liked the looks of the guy in preseason...maybe he'll get some snaps for us to have a look see where it's not preseason against 2nd. and 3rd. stringers.

Tyrone Walker was re-signed to the PS to take White's place. I liked Walker...he runs good routes and seems to have good hands...but he is on the slow side

 

[HardRightEdge]

Think it was Tori Gurley and the Vikings?

Yes, it was. Talk about miscalculations all around in this piece:

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...rs-practice-squad-over-vikings-active-roster/

 

[13 Times Champs]

Think we would have any interest in this guy???

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/10/17/49ers-waive-receiver-chris-harper/

 

[12theTruth]

So the Packers add Myles White from our practice squad and Chris Harper off waivers from the 49ers this week. Ted has been very busy.

In pure straight line speed Harper is about equal to Cobb which has the fastest 40 time of our original slate of WR's this season. Football speed is another thing and I also hear grumblings that Harper was slow to pick up the playbook in Seattle.

Harper has an interesting background being a converted QB at Oregon before transferring closer to home at Kansas State. That makes two Wildcat WR's (along with Jordy) on our roster at least for the short term. Harper I read is playing at 6' 1" 238 at this point. The 49ers wanted to turn him into a Delanie Walker type and he likely added some bulk while residing on the 49ers practice squad

Harper seems like quite an athlete from everything that I've read. Who knows? Maybe after ALL the injury dust settles Thompson may just decide to keep 5 WR's once again. Maybe Myles White and Harper will be in a 'competition' to see which player provides more value to the Packers offense and the best man will remain?

 

[FrankRizzo]

Think we would have any interest in this guy???

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/10/17/49ers-waive-receiver-chris-harper/

Yes.

 

[FrankRizzo]

More on this Chris Harper guy.

Looks to me that he needs to WATCH THE BALL.
All the muscles and swag in the world isn't going to help a dude catch the ***** football if they don't look the ball into their hands.

How can professional, even college, receivers drop passes like this, not watching the football?

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Chris Harper dropped what would have been a touchdown catch in the Seahawks' final preseason game

The 49ers signed receiver Chris Harper off Seattle's practice squad, announcing Monday that he had joined the team with a three-year contract.

MIKE SANDO, ESPN WEST GUY, breaks down this move the Niners made on Harper
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9...gn-4th-round-seattle-seahawks-wr-chris-harper

Harper, who was drafted by Seattle in the fourth round (123rd overall), was among the weekend's surprise cuts.

Seattle then signed him to its practice squad, but San Francisco offered him a chance to join its 53-man roster and he took it.

He finished the preseason with four receptions for 39 yards but dropped two passes, including one on what should have been an easy touchdown reception in Seattle's final preseason game.

HERE are a couple of NFL DRAFT PROFILES in HARPER from this spring:
http://www.nfl.com/draft/2013/profiles/chris-harper?id=2539246
NFL Comparison
Early Doucet
Bottom Line
It took Harper a couple of seasons, and a transfer from Oregon back to his home state, to embrace a position switch from quarterback to receiver. While Harper isn't extremely tall, he has a muscular frame, particular in his lower half. This along with his speed makes him a tough cover, and an even tougher player to bring down with the ball in his hands. He will likely be selected in the third or fourth round.

http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/dsprofile.php?pyid=82917&draftyear=2013&genpos=WR
04/28/13 - A closer look at the Seahawks' picks: Round 4/123 - Chris Harper, WR, 6-1, 233, Kansas State...A big receiver with strong hands who has been compared with Anquan Boldin. Harper was a former quarterback turned receiver. - The Sports Xchange
04/24/13 - 2013 NFL DRAFT RANG'S GANG: Wide Receiver: Chris Harper, Kansas State, 6-1, 229, 4.50...Playing in an offense based on Collin Klein's ability to run, Harper didn't post eye-popping numbers (58 catches for 857 yards and three touchdowns) but he was nonetheless given Second Team All-Big 12 honors from league coaches. He has enough speed to threaten the big play and the strength to shield defenders from the ball, often coming through with tough grabs with corners draped over him. - Rob Rang, NFLDraftScout.com

 

[TJV]

Harper has certainly experienced an interesting beginning to his NFL career. He’s not even at the half-way mark of his rookie season and he’s been cut by two good teams and quickly has been acquired by another. He apparently has rare size but is raw and he struggles getting separation.

One scout compared Harper's physique and style of play to former Packers wide receiver Sterling Sharpe.

Obviously it’s just his physique, otherwise he either wouldn’t have lasted until the fourth round or if he had, he wouldn't have been cut once, let alone twice. But he’s supposed to have good hands and the team he’s landed on just happens to have the most accurate QB of the three he’s experienced, so he just needs to get a little separation.

As a WR/TE ‘tweener, if he is a willing blocker (and I read one report saying he is not, but who knows?) he may get a shot out of the backfield as Quarless and Taylor were taking turns against the Ravens from the “FB” spot and now Taylor is out. More likely he’ll learn a few plays from the WR spot.

He’s an intriguing acquisition for the future but for the Packers’ WR corp it’s all hands on deck.

 

[FrankRizzo]

We'll have to see how he develops.
He needs to be smart enough to learn the plays, and he needs to catch the ball when it gets to him whether he's barely open or wide open.

Still wondering what the deal is with Tavaress King.

 

[7thFloorRA]

Kind of weird that he is compared to Boldin when Boldin's biggest asset is probably that he catches every single thing thrown to him and Harper has serious drop issues.

 

[12theTruth]

As a senior at K-State Harper had the 7th best drop percentage in the entire country at 3%.

He had a reputation for sure handedness coming into the draft. I'm sure its something that be improved with further training and being more comfortable in the offense that he is in.

 

[I_am_smoked_cheddar]

Ok, here we are in week # 9 , the team's doing the plug and play, so far so good. I'm thinking good thoughts and projecting all the good Karma I can.

 

[13 Times Champs]

Jones should be ready this week but Boykin has done a good job in relief.

 

[Jordyruns]

Any chance Boykin's play makes Jones expendable this offseason. There are a lot of guys that need resigning this offseason and finding a cheap option without much, or any drop off would be ideal. Boykins play indicates this is very possible with Jones. Any chance TT pulls the trigger on letting Jones walk? I would hate to see Jones go but again I would hate to see him come back for a price that limits our ability to sign other free agents this offseason. Either way a WR should be taken in the 3rd round or sooner this year. In TT we trust right.

 

[Dan115]

Harper has certainly experienced an interesting beginning to his NFL career. He’s not even at the half-way mark of his rookie season and he’s been cut by two good teams and quickly has been acquired by another. He apparently has rare size but is raw and he struggles getting separation. Obviously it’s just his physique, otherwise he either wouldn’t have lasted until the fourth round or if he had, he wouldn't have been cut once, let alone twice. But he’s supposed to have good hands and the team he’s landed on just happens to have the most accurate QB of the three he’s experienced, so he just needs to get a little separation.

As a WR/TE ‘tweener, if he is a willing blocker (and I read one report saying he is not, but who knows?) he may get a shot out of the backfield as Quarless and Taylor were taking turns against the Ravens from the “FB” spot and now Taylor is out. More likely he’ll learn a few plays from the WR spot.

He’s an intriguing acquisition for the future but for the Packers’ WR corp it’s all hands on deck.

He saw action on the special team vs vikes.

 

[tynimiller]

The idea that Boykin may allow TT and company to save money by not re-signing Jones is valid, and sucks fan wise but makes good money sense. Besides look for TT to draft possibly another WR weapon in rounds 3,4 or 5 (IMO) and we'd still have Cobb, Nelson and Boykin....and a better run game. Jones is one of my favorite Packers but I'm a more a Packer fan and unless he is willing to sign under what he could make elsewhere releasing him would be smart in my book.

***The luxury of having the coming weeks to further evaluate Boykin is actually huge in this decision, and while I'd rather have Cobb healthy...this could work out for us in the form of millions saved going forward.

 

[adambr2]

It's going to be an extremely busy offseason for TT. We have numerous departing FA's without a new contract -- Shields, Finley, Raji, Jones, EDS, Jolly, Neal, Newhouse, Kuhn, Pickett, Quarless, Wilson..A few of these guys will probably be back, but I would say half probably will not be -- some due to salary considerations, others simply because we just don't want them back.

RFA's like Jennings, Lattimore, and Starks may be considerations for a tender.

Safety and WR should be the biggest areas of focus going into next year, draft-wise, and I hope both are addressed in the first 3 rounds. Boykin's performance the rest of the season will be the determining factor in whether or not we can move forward with him as our WR3.

 

[TJV]

Boykin has really come on. In the game against the Browns, Larry McCarren said two of Boykins’ big plays were route adjustments at the LOS. That means he was in sync with Rodgers on those plays and he’s picking up the intricacies of the offense. I was impressed with his sure-hands grabbing low tosses against the Vikings, particularly on the third and 16 play where Rodgers rolled right and threw one of those low passes. Not only did Boykin make sure he caught the ball but then had the presence of mind to stretch for the first down – before realizing no defender was about to touch him.

So to answer the question posed by this thread, where the Packers stand at WR: The Packers are deeper at WR than they were a month ago. The coaching staff was obviously more aware of Boykin’s talents but no one knows for certain how a player will react to live action. And now we’ve seen Boykin’s potential begin to be realized as production. Certainly if they lose Finley for the rest of the season, that’ll hurt. But if Cobb is 100% going into the playoffs and Nelson, Jones, and Boykin are healthy they’ll have four legit WRs.

 

[rodell330]

James Jones has grown on me and i hate to see him go but he could be the #1 guy on about four other teams (Jax,St. Louis,San Diego,New England) and get more money so i see him leaving. Boykin has done a solid job don't get me wrong but Jones is a physical blocker and makes acrobatic catches which i havn't seen from Boykin yet. The depth at wr has definitely taken a hit and with Finley out teams will most likely play more cover2. Wr should definitely be a high priority next years draft..i'd go as far as possibly the first round. I love Sammy Watkins from Clemson, this guy is basicly a bigger Randle Cobb with more speed.