Receiver core in 2015

[Antonio's Gates]

Allen and Floyd will be back. Royal is a free agent but a good player, and has turned into a leader, so he should be re-signed. Inman will probably have a bigger role. Tutu is strictly a special teamer. One guy I'm interested in is Torrance Allen. The problem I have with this group however is their skills are all pretty repetitive. We need an explosive player who can stretch the field. I expect one to be a priority this offseason. Who fits the bill?

[Maverick]

Allen and Floyd will be back. Royal is a free agent but a good player, and has turned into a leader, so he should be re-signed. Inman will probably have a bigger role. Tutu is strictly a special teamer. One guy I'm interested in is Torrance Allen. The problem I have with this group however is their skills are all pretty repetitive. We need an explosive player who can stretch the field. I expect one to be a priority this offseason. Who fits the bill?

Agree w/your assessment of the current WRs we have on the roster. That being said, we need another VJ-like WR, imho.

[Steve]

The other thing we really need to make the offense more explosive is an OL that allows Rivers to hold the ball longer and to set up our downfield passing with a running game. Floyd did a good job of stretching the field early in the year, but since Rivers has to get rid of the ball fast, the downfield passing game really dried up. You have to protect the QB if you want to throw downfield.

If we intend to keep all 3 of our top WR, it is going to be pretty hard to bring in anyone new. There is the chance of keeping Royal and Floyd and reducing their workload, but in all likehood, one of them has to go. You can't have backup WR who don't play on at least some ST.
\
And I am not sure what a VJ like WR means either. As far as height goes, we have Floyd, a big guy who can get downfield. What he lacks is the ability to work shorter, more sudden routes. In which case, we probably don't necessarily need the height that VJ had, just a thicker, more physical WR, who can stand the pounding that he takes from LB and S underneath.

The guy I really think we should try and target is D. Thomas. Big, physical guy who is tall, fast, and runs a great mix of short, medium and long routes. Not only does he add to our offense, but it allows our secondary to matchup against Den better, as well as weakening our opponent.

[TTK]

The other thing we really need to make the offense more explosive is an OL that allows Rivers to hold the ball longer and to set up our downfield passing with a running game. Floyd did a good job of stretching the field early in the year, but since Rivers has to get rid of the ball fast, the downfield passing game really dried up. You have to protect the QB if you want to throw downfield.

If we intend to keep all 3 of our top WR, it is going to be pretty hard to bring in anyone new. There is the chance of keeping Royal and Floyd and reducing their workload, but in all likehood, one of them has to go. You can't have backup WR who don't play on at least some ST.
\
And I am not sure what a VJ like WR means either. As far as height goes, we have Floyd, a big guy who can get downfield. What he lacks is the ability to work shorter, more sudden routes. In which case, we probably don't necessarily need the height that VJ had, just a thicker, more physical WR, who can stand the pounding that he takes from LB and S underneath.

The guy I really think we should try and target is D. Thomas. Big, physical guy who is tall, fast, and runs a great mix of short, medium and long routes. Not only does he add to our offense, but it allows our secondary to matchup against Den better, as well as weakening our opponent.

I doubt Denver lets Thomas go but if the Chargers were able to get him or a #1 receiver type like him, would Allen be a better fit in the slot? I think they're going to have to draft or go after a WR next year or the following year anyway since next year is Floyd's last year of his contract and he's going to be 34. I like Royal but I wonder if Allen is a good replacement for him, it would be a cheaper alternative than resigning Royal.

[Maverick]

And I am not sure what a VJ like WR means either. As far as height goes, we have Floyd, a big guy who can get downfield. What he lacks is the ability to work shorter, more sudden routes. In which case, we probably don't necessarily need the height that VJ had, just a thicker, more physical WR, who can stand the pounding that he takes from LB and S underneath.

The guy I really think we should try and target is D. Thomas. Big, physical guy who is tall, fast, and runs a great mix of short, medium and long routes. Not only does he add to our offense, but it allows our secondary to matchup against Den better, as well as weakening our opponent.

Those are exactly the characteristics I was referring to. VJ was tall & fast, yet thicker & more physical than any of our current WR corps. He was often able to go up & out-muscle DBs for the ball. All of our current WRs are serviceable, & Floyd has made some sick catches this year, but it would be nice to add somebody who is fast enough to get downfield & physical enough to go up & get a jump ball from time to time.

All of this being said, I agree with your take that making sure the OL is rock-solid is infinitely more important for Rivers' success than adding another WR. I was merely sticking to the theme of the thread & answering AG's question about how to improve the WR corps.

[CTrout]

Im sure there will be some changes made. The last 3 games against Denver and the NE game, this WR group
really struggled to get open and make plays. Sure more time for Rivers would help but even when he had time
they couldn't get open.

TT might of known this group needed some more help. There was the talk that he tried to sign S. Smith and H. Nicks.

If we would of signed E. Sanders like I suggested....We'd be much better off =)

[richpjr]

IMO, we need a lot more speed out of our WRs than we have. If we resign Royal (which would not be a bad thing as he is a dependable receiver) than whoever we bring in would likely be a developmental player for the season after next as they won't get much playing time, bar injury. But our offense, aside from Mathews and the seldom used Green is pretty slow which amplifies our weak oline.

[rikardo]

I would prefer we sign OG with maybe less money (than a #1 wr). IMO if you give Rivers a running game and time to throw he can do it with what (and a not so pricey wr to be added if you want) we have no need for a superstar WR; If Rivers will get the kind of hits he is being getting this year, a stud WR is worthless...

[Mr. Ray Dehaiter]

I have never seen a team in need of more speed at WR than us. We need a burner. We scare nobody in that regard.

[SDFan]

Those are exactly the characteristics I was referring to. VJ was tall & fast, yet thicker & more physical than any of our current WR corps. He was often able to go up & out-muscle DBs for the ball. All of our current WRs are serviceable, & Floyd has made some sick catches this year, but it would be nice to add somebody who is fast enough to get downfield & physical enough to go up & get a jump ball from time to time.

All of this being said, I agree with your take that making sure the OL is rock-solid is infinitely more important for Rivers' success than adding another WR. I was merely sticking to the theme of the thread & answering AG's question about how to improve the WR corps.

aren't those the attributes of Ladarius Green? Seems to me the guy is being woefully underused as "TE in waiting" behind Gates. The excuse is Royal is doing well running underneath routes- so Green is wasting away as a man without a position. I see no reason they can't change his role to something like D Thomas as a "big WR", or hell even convert him to RB like was done with Rod Bernstein when he was stuck behind Winslow.

[SDFan]

IMO, we need a lot more speed out of our WRs than we have. If we resign Royal (which would not be a bad thing as he is a dependable receiver) than whoever we bring in would likely be a developmental player for the season after next as they won't get much playing time, bar injury. But our offense, aside from Mathers and the seldom used Green is pretty slow which amplifies our weak oline.

The Beaver is a Charger?!? Or is it M&M?

[Steve]

I don't disagree with the speed thing, just that I don't think that helps at all unless the OL is going to be capable of playing better.

One thing to remember about VJ, he used to get shut out a lot against man to man cover guys. Thomas has enough variety to his game, he is a lot harder to shut down, which is part of why I would love for us to go after him. That plus it hurts Den. And since he helps us in so many ways (hurting other teams), it kinda makes him less of a risk.

Green has been vastly underutilized for 2 reasons. 1), his route running needs to get better, but he needs to play to do that, and 2). we have to do a better job of running the ball so we can stay in 2 TE sets. He got almost all his looks last year in 2 TE looks, and he is not a bad blocker, even if he is somewhat limited in that regard. He makes a great motion TE/Hback type. But to make that happen, we have to stop the bleeding with all the interior penetration, so he can get back to running the wham play that he does so well.