Analysis

5/24/22

5 min read

5 Teams in Need of an Upgrade at WR

5 Teams in Need of an Upgrade at WR

This offseason has been dominated by big name WRs being traded and or paid handsomely by NFL teams, and although the perception that wide receivers are easily replaceable is starting to become a bigger topic, true number one receivers are still hard to find. And there are still teams that need a serious upgrade to their receiver room before training camp begins. With that said, here are the five teams that need to address their receiver position.

1) Chicago Bears

Justin Fields will be entering his second year in the NFL with what many believe is the worst Wide Receiver room in the NFL. Darnell Mooney is his projected WR1 and although he is a solid reliable receiver, he simply is not a No. 1 receiver in this league and would best fit as the Robin to a Batman.

Many draft experts and analysts believed Chicago would address the position with one of their two second round picks; the Bears front office and coaching staff went in another direction with those picks. Although the Bears did sign Byron Pringle in Free Agency, that still is not enough, and they should be looking to acquire another receiver to pair with Fields.

2) Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens entered the offseason with a solid receiver room with Marquise Brown and former rookie Rashod Bateman as their projected one and two receivers, many believed they were good enough to get by without needing to seriously address the receiver position. Then the draft rolled around, and the Ravens sent Brown and a third-round pick to the Cardinals in exchange for a first-round pick.

Once that trade went through many believed the Ravens were looking to pick a receiver early in the draft so that they could avoid having to hand out a large contract to a receiver. Instead, they opted to take the prospects that fell into their laps and avoided reaching for a receiver early. They still did not address the position later in the draft and as of right now Bateman is the only receiver with any sort of pedigree. For a team that has Super Bowl aspirations that simply will not work for them.

3) New England Patriots

Mac Jones is coming off a solid rookie season in which he led the Patriots to a 10-7 record and playoff berth. But the one obvious issue all year was that the Patriots lacked a true explosive passing game and instead had to rely on the short to intermediate game along with a strong running game. All offseason it was rumored that New England was looking for a true No. 1 receiver to pair with Jones. And although they did trade for Devante Parker, he has yet to truly prove he is capable of being a No. 1 guy, with injuries plaguing him for most of his career.

Going into the season Jones' top weapons at receiver are Kendrick Bourne, Jakobi Meyers and Devante Parker — all of whom are better suited as a two or three at receiver. The lack of a true No. 1 at receiver could be their downfall as the season progresses and the Patriots could be best served to address the position once more before the season starts.

4) Houston Texans

The Texans appear to be all in on building around Davis Mills and although they had two early first round picks they waited until the second to address the receiver position, selecting John Metchie III out of Alabama. Though he is a talented productive weapon, he is coming off of a Torn ACL and may not be available at the start of the season, which could hurt his development.

Outside of Brandin Cooks the Texans receiving room is not proven and could benefit greatly from a veteran addition to help Mills be more comfortable and productive. This season is another evaluation season and more importantly an evaluation of Mills and a veteran addition at receiver can help him have a more productive second season and potentially solidify himself as the future of the Texans franchise.

5) Tennessee Titans

Entering last season, the Titans boasted one of the better receiver duos in AJ Brown and Julio Jones. Fast forward a year and neither of those receivers are on the team with Brown traded to Philadelphia and Jones still on the market. Now Ryan Tannehill will be expected to produce with an underwhelming receiving corps that does not look as strong as it did last year with first round pick Treylon Burks and former Rams receiver Robert Woods, who is coming off a torn ACL and is now 30 years old.

These two receivers are the only notable targets on this roster and one of them is an unproven rookie while the other is no bet to recapture his pre-injury form. If the Titans truly believe they are a team that can compete in the AFC and make a push for the Super Bowl, they should look to acquire another receiver to help bolster that room and provide insurance in case one of the top two receivers can't produce as much as anticipated.

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