Who would be best for the vikings offense?

[wishuhadad28]

Greg Jennings

Dwayne Bowe

Mike Wallace

[wrizzo]

Percy Harvin should also be on this list... bc we are only going to be able to sign one of those 4 players.

[VCU4LIFEGOVIKS]

Well considering Jennings plays the slot and if we retain Percy we will have two slot WRs. I am going to have to say Jennings would be the worst of the three for this offense. Wallace is a burner much like Simpson and would be a huge upgrade over him but I am not sure he would be worth the money considering we could sign cheaper field stretchers. So that leaves Bowe. He is big bodied guy who can out muscle DBs and win jump balls. That being said he could easily become Ponders safety valve and completely change our passing game. So for me its Bowe.

[wrizzo]

i meant to pick Bowe... i dont know what happened there? i used to think Jennings would be best, but he is another slot guy, so i went to Bowe bc we do not have someone who can do what he can do. Wright isnt Percy, but he is a good slot WR. We go for another WR in rounds 1 or 2 and now we're cookin with gas in the WR corps! Essentially give Harvins contract extension to Bowe, then we gain a high draft pick for trading Harvin. Sucks to lose Percy, but otherwise we waste Wright and have to count on a rookie to be that BIG downfield guy.

[VCU4LIFEGOVIKS]

Percy Harvin should also be on this list... bc we are only going to be able to sign one of those 4 players.

We could always not extend him next season then tag him the year after. Right? I am sure he would have a hissy fit but that may be a solid option if possible.

[Mauer.400]

We could always not extend him next season then tag him the year after. Right? I am sure he would have a hissy fit but that may be a solid option if possible.

I think I have mentioned this in the past. We are not forced to give Percy and extension and he can hold out if he really wants to... it only hurts his value. But we could fit Bowe or Wallace under the cap for at least 1 season with Harvin.

Using the tag on Harvin doesn't make much sense since his salary would exceed what he would get in a new deal anyways. Slot receivers are not nearly as valuable as receivers who can go up and get the ball.

My question is, how much do you value Bowe at in dollar terms? Is he as valuable as the 55 million dollars that Vincent Jackson got last off-season?

[vikingsfan0845]

Well considering Jennings plays the slot and if we retain Percy we will have two slot WRs. I am going to have to say Jennings would be the worst of the three for this offense. Wallace is a burner much like Simpson and would be a huge upgrade over him but I am not sure he would be worth the money considering we could sign cheaper field stretchers. So that leaves Bowe. He is big bodied guy who can out muscle DBs and win jump balls. That being said he could easily become Ponders safety valve and completely change our passing game. So for me its Bowe.

Jennings can play anywhere but no doubt he is at his best when he is in the slot. He would be solid if he came here but we would likely have him in a role that isn't best suited for his skill set and he likely wouldn't live up to the money we would have to pay him. However, if we ship Percy out then Jennings would be a much better fit.

[HSmith22]

I think I have mentioned this in the past. We are not forced to give Percy and extension and he can hold out if he really wants to... it only hurts his value. But we could fit Bowe or Wallace under the cap for at least 1 season with Harvin.

Using the tag on Harvin doesn't make much sense since his salary would exceed what he would get in a new deal anyways. Slot receivers are not nearly as valuable as receivers who can go up and get the ball.

My question is, how much do you value Bowe at in dollar terms? Is he as valuable as the 55 million dollars that Vincent Jackson got last off-season?

I don't believe Bowe will get $55 Million. He's had plenty of problems with coaching/effort and drops which will come into play when bargaining for a big contract. Vincent Jackson was no saint either for the Chargers but I think he had less of these issues. I could be dead wrong, who knows, but I think Jennings will be the top payed free agent receiver.

Well considering Jennings plays the slot and if we retain Percy we will have two slot WRs. I am going to have to say Jennings would be the worst of the three for this offense. Wallace is a burner much like Simpson and would be a huge upgrade over him but I am not sure he would be worth the money considering we could sign cheaper field stretchers. So that leaves Bowe. He is big bodied guy who can out muscle DBs and win jump balls. That being said he could easily become Ponders safety valve and completely change our passing game. So for me its Bowe.

Well said.

Rather than post another long post on my opinion, I'll just re-share what I posted the other day on this topic.

You make some good points but the bolded point has me leaning towards Bowe more and more. Even if Ponder never gets better adding a receiver like Bowe would allow for the offense to stay somewhat balanced because he has produced with ****** QB's before. We don't have the traditional chain-moving possession guy anymore since Rice left. In an offense that relies on possessing the ball, keeping it out of the hands of the opponents, and running the clock out with AP we could use a big guy like Bowe who can make catch after catch and make those tough grabs on key downs to keep drives alive.

One of my favorite players in the NFL for years has been Brandon Marshall. What the hell does he have to do with this conversation you ask? I think Bowe reminds me a lot of Marshall. I think Marshall is one of the best receivers in the league and right up there with Megatron and Andre Johnson at being near unstoppable at times. I was mad when I saw Marshall go from Miami to Chicago for so little because I knew it would give them the perfect fix. I feel Bowe could play a similar role for Ponder that Marshall has given Cutler. A target to throw the ball to all the damn time!

Yeah what they really lack is a capable vertical threat but outside of Wallace, who is in no way another Berrian, there isn't any sure fixes for that in free agency or the draft really. Wallace is known as a speed demon, and it's true that there are fewer players faster than him in the NFL. As a deep threat, Wallace is nearly unparalleled, but he offers much, much more than that. His route running in short spaces is something to be admired. His ability to avoid press coverage by sliding off cornerback jams and his lateral agility make him one of the league's most elusive receivers.

Unfortunately for him, but perhaps fortuitous for other teams, Wallace has been having a down year characterized by high profile drops. That being said, teams know what they saw in 2011 and are sure that they will see it again. The Vikings need a player like Wallace in the worst way, and he would open up an offense that can't pass downfield. Receiver separation has been a problem for the Vikings all year, but the addition of Wallace should remedy that problem in no time.

Signing Wallace would be one of the best moves the Vikings could make to immediately fix the problem of a vertical passing attack but can Ponder even get it to him? Sure Wallace would be a difference-maker but he can only do so if Ponder can feed him the ball. I think signing a player like Wallace would be a bit of a waste with who we have at QB. He belongs in a pass orientated offense that throws the ball a lot. We're the farthest thing from that. Can Wallace thrive on just 3 targets a game? He's not really the go-to-me 10+ times a game type of guy that I feel Bowe and Jennings can be and that Marshall is. He's more of just a deep threat, puts the fear in a defense type guy, will he offer the most bang for our buck? No. I think Bowe or Jennings would be a better signing.

I think Bowe being a big bodied guy but still very athletic is the perfect free agent receiver. Bowe is blessed with a nearly perfect ability to track the ball in the air and respond to it, sometimes performing incredible athletic feats, like circus catches. This makes him a huge threat in the redzone in particular. Who would teams focus on Bowe, Peterson, or Rudolph when the Vikings enter the goalline? I miss seeing Sidney Rice outjump everyone and snatch the ball out of the air. Bowe can bring that back.

Yes he has the occasional drop but that's more due to him worrying about what to do after the catch than completing the process first. He is also as reliable a blocker as there is outside so he would provide a lot to the Vikings who will always run the ball more than pass as long as they have Peterson. Though when they need to pass the ball Bowe would be the go-to guy for Ponder.

I also like Greg Jennings as a potential free agent target and I think he will leave Green Bay. Jennings would be on a great asset to a quarterback that plays with timing and accuracy. Question is can Ponder deliver either? I still think Bowe offers more and is a better fit to our offense than either Jennings or Wallace though.

We missed out on Vincent Jackson, letting him go to Tampa Bay only to light it up to the tune of 72 rec for 1,384 yds 19.2avg and 8 TD's this year so let's not miss out on Bowe this time around! The Vikings may end up having to pay a premium for a player like Bowe, but he would be a difference-maker. It may cost a bunch but if they decide not to resign Harvin, they must land a top-flight receiver and if they do re-sign Harvin, they'd still benefit from adding another top flight receiver to draw coverage away from him and let him thrive.

I still want to keep Percy Harvin though. The Vikings must keep him in my mind. Just think back to earlier in the season. It wasn't AP who everyone was talking about. It was Harvin leading the NFL in receptions through nine weeks and playing like an MVP candidate before getting injured. I think it's paramount to keep him because letting him go would be a big mistake, he's only going to continue to do the crazy kind of things we've seen at both receiver and as a kick returner, and running back for that matter as well. Him and Peterson on the same team is just scary. Defenses don't have an answer for that. They both are two of the most dangerous and unique talents in the league. Say what you want about his ability to stay healthy or his attitude but the kid is a playmaker and his on-field talents are enough to outweigh all that other stuff.

Also I want to see us keep Jerome Simpson. I know I know... General consensus is he was a bust. A bad signing. While it's true Simpson hasn't looked liked anything he was hyped up to be and certainly not what anybody had hoped but he still has potential and has flashed enough talent (11 catches in his last three games) to be signed to another small "prove it" contract. He battled through injuries for most of the season and missed a good portion early on which probably contributed to his down year but he knows the system and is worth another low-risk deal.

Consider that Simpson had better numbers than either Robert Meachem or Laurent Robinson and his very cheap 1 million for a one-year deal wasn't that bad. The Chargers signed Meachem to a 4-year, $25.9 million deal last year and the Jaguars signed Robinson for five years and $32.5 million. Now those are colossal flops. Still both those pale in comparison to John Carlson's eight-catch, 43-yard season. Best $25 million we ever spent. LOL

I'm sick of signing mediocre receivers thinking they can fix the problem when they have not ever been undisputed No. 1 receivers options before.

Vincent Jackson would've fixed the problem last year. Dwayne Bowe would fix it next year. I think we gotta make our best push to sign him. Hopefully not to a $55+ Million contract but honestly you get what you pay for and there are only so many consecutive 1,000-plus-yard receivers that will be on the free-agent market in any given year. Bowe is one so he should expect some strong bids coming his way, hopefully the Vikings realize they need to bite the bullet and pay for someone with talent if they're ever going to raise this passing attack from the depths of the league. He would be the best fix for the problem. I'de rather have one good go-to guy then a whole bunch of mediocre guys. Brandon Marshall type receivers are way more valuable to a team because you can just rely on them and throw them the ball all the time. Greg Jennings, who I consider a fall back plan in case Bowe gets an insane offer from say Miami, Cleveland, or somebody as desperate as us for receiver help, is also a go-to guy.

I think the Vikings could find a way to afford them both though, them being Harvin and either Bowe/Jennings because it's important to keep Harvin. Then continue to build the rest of the team through strong drafting. I don't think we really need to replace all that many players. Our starting roster this season was pretty good. Defensively they could resign Brinkley on the cheap, resign Erin Henderson too because he's a good OLB and young. Try to resign Kevin Williams. Let Devin Aromashodu go. Try to resign Jerome Simpson on a friendly contract but if his head is inflated to his current value let the guy go. Sign Jerome Felton to a reasonable deal and try to lock him up to play with Peterson for the next five years and have continued success. I say resign A.J. Jefferson but not if it costs us much. Phil Loadholt? I want us to draft Jake Matthews in the first round to replace Loadholt, so I'de let him walk out the door as a free agent but that's risky considering if we don't get Matthews we would be without a quality RT. Jamarca Sanford deserves to be resigned I think. Though could easily be replaced I think too. Marcus Sherels should be offered a new contract but a low one. Special team value not much else there.

[VCU4LIFEGOVIKS]

I don't believe Bowe will get $55 Million. He's had plenty of problems with coaching/effort and drops which will come into play when bargaining for a big contract. Vincent Jackson was no saint either for the Chargers but I think he had less of these issues. I could be dead wrong, who knows, but I think Jennings will be the top payed free agent receiver.

I believe the only problems Jackson had were his two DUIs.

[VCU4LIFEGOVIKS]

Jennings can play anywhere but no doubt he is at his best when he is in the slot. He would be solid if he came here but we would likely have him in a role that isn't best suited for his skill set and he likely wouldn't live up to the money we would have to pay him. However, if we ship Percy out then Jennings would be a much better fit.

You are correct, he can play anywhere but he is most effective in the slot. I would love Jennings if we shipped Percy out but with Percy I dont like how he would fit in the offense.

[Coenthar]

Harvin would be the best fit and then draft a guy in the 2nd or pick up a cheaper guy in FA.

[willoull]

Sign bowe keep harvin at 1.5mil and resign Simpson if he's coming back with a low salary

Bowe
Harvin
Wright
Childs
Simpson

Seriously this is a pretty good WR core

[Coenthar]

Sign bowe keep harvin at 1.5mil and resign Simpson if he's coming back with a low salary

Bowe
Harvin
Wright
Childs
Simpson

Seriously this is a pretty good WR core

Thats my dream line-up right there...and until Childs comes back I say we bring back old man MOSS for a year to be our No 3 possession WR and use his great hands like we did Carter in his older years here. But overall this is the best lineup I could imagine for next season.

[Luca68]

cant wait to see childs play next yearr!!

[VCU4LIFEGOVIKS]

cant wait to see childs play next yearr!!

That's not going to happen (at least next year).... Personally I would never expect to see him play football again let alone at a high enough level to play in the NFL.