Phil The Thrill Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 I was listening to the Tim Graham Show from last week and everyone debated exactly what a “true #1” receiver meant. Tim was saying that a #1 is a taller WR that you can continually throw the ball to, that can change games etc. I’m thinking he meant guys like Julio Jones or D’Andre Hopkins. He believes that many teams don’t have a #1 WR. He thinks that most teams get by with 2 good #2 WR’s. He said that Davante Adams, and Adam Thelin are not a #1 WR and neither was Wes Welker when he played in NE or any slot WR’s. While those players led the league in targets and/or receptions they weren’t a “#1 WR.” They actually brought James Lofton on the show and he disagreed. I guess if Thelin makes 103 catches and Michael Thomas (Who TG said is a #1) has 102, how is Thelin not a #1 whereas Thomas is? The whole conversation started when people referred to Zay Jones as the Bills “#1 WR.” He said he is not a #1 and that is ceiling is probably a #2. So how do you define who a “#1 WR” really is and what’s the difference between a #1 WR, #2 WR and even a #3 WR? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianmoorman4jesus Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 I would say it’s the best WR you have. The WR that the other teams defense will try and focus on. The WR that will most likely lead your team in targets and most of the important stats. The go to guy. A WR that you are game planning to get involved. If you need a play through the air, the guy you are looking for. Progression 1 on most non-gimmick passing plays. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSHMEAB Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 A true number 1 WR can make a play even if the defense suspects the ball will go to said player. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil The Thrill Posted December 16, 2018 Author Share Posted December 16, 2018 5 minutes ago, Brianmoorman4jesus said: I would say it’s the best WR you have. The WR that the other teams defense will try and focus on. The WR that will most likely lead your team in targets and most of the important stats. The go to guy. A WR that you are game planning to get involved. If you need a play through the air, the guy you are looking for. Progression 1 on most non-gimmick passing plays. So is an Adam Thelin or Wes Welker at #1 WR? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBillsGospel Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 My definition is a WR who can run almost all the route tree's, is open even when he isn't and can make the clutch catches when you need them most. We don't have one, there doesn't appear to be one in FA and I'm not sure the draft has one either according to many of the "experts" there isn't a larry Fitzgerald or Calvin Johnson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hapless Bills Fan Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 8 minutes ago, LSHMEAB said: A true number 1 WR can make a play even if the defense suspects the ball will go to said player. This. A #1 WR is the guy the other team tries to cover like a blanket, and he somehow still hauls in the ball. He is clutch. When you need a catch, he's your guy. I don't understand the criterion if Theilen isn't a #1. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 2 minutes ago, LSHMEAB said: A true number 1 WR can make a play even if the defense suspects the ball will go to said player. Basically. If you have 1 play to win the game, an average qb and a wr facing a good corner- who are you throwing to? Julio, brown, aj green, Odell not zay. Likely not even welker without brady. Moss? Yes. It’s kind of the same debate as franchise QBs. There are about 10-15 QBs that are legit “the guy.” A few debatable and then a lot of interchangeable guys from 25-70 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy1 Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 Andre Reed & Eric Moulds. A number one is a dominant player who the qb trusts to make a play. Size is a plus but not required. Their productivity makes success for the QB and team. They come through in clutch situations, even when the pass is not perfect. I thought Sammy would be that player, but that was a fail. Bills have not had one since Moulds. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianmoorman4jesus Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 7 minutes ago, Phil The Thrill said: So is an Adam Thelin or Wes Welker at #1 WR? Yeah. Of course. I don’t know why people act like a slot WR can’t be the #1 option. Reed was. Some offenses are just built that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Duffy Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 Not Sammy Watkins. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 3 minutes ago, Brianmoorman4jesus said: Yeah. Of course. I don’t know why people act like a slot WR can’t be the #1 option. Reed was. Some offenses are just built that way. I believe that many are getting at “the guy that can transcend scheme or situation” not the guy that happens to be the #1 option on a random depth chart at some point 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boatdrinks Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 If you have to think about whether your team has a true # 1WR, you don’t have one. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SinceThe70s Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 I would never characterize a #1 WR simply by physical attributes like height, weight and speed. Bigger, faster, stronger plays into to a big degree, but after that it's more about the size of the fight in the dog than it is the size of the dog in the fight. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
formerlyofCtown Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 I think a tru #1 is a game changer that is difficult to shut down and can be moved around or doesnt need to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Riverside Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 A true number 1 makes a play even when he is covered....and does it consistantly He is also the guy that is game planned for by the opposing defense each and every week We currently do not have that on this team 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patriot Killa Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 A true #1 can always run the full route tree, can catch contested 50/50 balls, has enough athleticism to get consistent separation, can get off press coverage, has good ability to track the ball in the air and solid hands. most of the time, yes, you do want a talller guy because it helps in 50/50 jump balls but it’s not necessarily needed. 6’1 is the threshold for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEpsYtown Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 This is an overrated concept. We've had a true number one many times in the past, and it got us nowhere. I believe you need pieces on offense that are complementary to each other. We need a guy with some size and elite athleticism who can do a little bit of everything and make contested catches. That's what our team is missing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bing Bong Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 1 hour ago, Brianmoorman4jesus said: I would say it’s the best WR you have. The WR that the other teams defense will try and focus on. The WR that will most likely lead your team in targets and most of the important stats. The go to guy. A WR that you are game planning to get involved. If you need a play through the air, the guy you are looking for. Progression 1 on most non-gimmick passing plays. I'd say Thielen is arguably a true #1 on most teams, but Diggs beats him out not necessarily on talent, but on being harder to game plan against. Not that Thielin isn't hard. But Diggs is tough and I don't think hands are brought up as an issue when you talk #1 caliber. Yet Theilin probably has the best in the league. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken Boo Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 1 hour ago, Phil The Thrill said: So is an Adam Thelin or Wes Welker at #1 WR? Thelin, yes. Welker, no. 7 minutes ago, PetermanThrew5Picks said: Yet Theilin probably has the best in the league. I'd peg Hopkins for best hands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussie Joe Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 It’s hard to define but you know whether you have one or not.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bing Bong Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 (edited) 11 minutes ago, Chicken Boo said: I'd peg Hopkins for best hands. Yeah probably I mean I'm sure there's 3-5 you could name at the top.. ODB, Jarvis, and Brown. I remember the probowl reciever challenge made that skill pretty clear. Chad Johnson won it easily hands down, and it was never close. If you lumped all the WRs together in a challenge like that, you'd get a very simple measurement of everybody's skill at catching. I remember the Dolphins had that slot guy from Hawaii who had hands of glue and until he faded out in his 3 year prime I wouldn't ever say anybody had better hands than him. Dude who caught passes for Colt Brennan. EDIT: Davone Bess! Wasn't perfect. But damn he never dropped the ball. Unfortunately didn't have all the other athletic attributes the very best WRs need. Edited December 16, 2018 by PetermanThrew5Picks 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken Boo Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 12 minutes ago, PetermanThrew5Picks said: Yeah probably I mean I'm sure there's 3-5 you could name at the top.. ODB, Jarvis, and Brown. I remember the probowl reciever challenge made that skill pretty clear. Chad Johnson won it easily hands down, and it was never close. If you lumped all the WRs together in a challenge like that, you'd get a very simple measurement of everybody's skill at catching. I remember that well. Ocho put all questions to rest that day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bing Bong Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 10 minutes ago, Aussie Joe said: It’s hard to define but you know whether you have one or not.. If you don't have a guy that can do all the route runnimg, catching, physical contested balls, consistent hands, and speed, than you can have a nominal #1 and #2 that give you both. But once you need 3 guys that are elite at all those attributes, ya don't really have a #1. I'd say a guy with 3/4 or 4/4 of the top WR attributes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAJBobby Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 2 hours ago, Phil The Thrill said: I was listening to the Tim Graham Show from last week and everyone debated exactly what a “true #1” receiver meant. Tim was saying that a #1 is a taller WR that you can continually throw the ball to, that can change games etc. I’m thinking he meant guys like Julio Jones or D’Andre Hopkins. He believes that many teams don’t have a #1 WR. He thinks that most teams get by with 2 good #2 WR’s. He said that Davante Adams, and Adam Thelin are not a #1 WR and neither was Wes Welker when he played in NE or any slot WR’s. While those players led the league in targets and/or receptions they weren’t a “#1 WR.” They actually brought James Lofton on the show and he disagreed. I guess if Thelin makes 103 catches and Michael Thomas (Who TG said is a #1) has 102, how is Thelin not a #1 whereas Thomas is? The whole conversation started when people referred to Zay Jones as the Bills “#1 WR.” He said he is not a #1 and that is ceiling is probably a #2. So how do you define who a “#1 WR” really is and what’s the difference between a #1 WR, #2 WR and even a #3 WR? See Hopkins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bing Bong Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 5 minutes ago, Chicken Boo said: I remember that well. Ocho put all questions to rest that day. I remember my friends saying with pretty strong conviction he'd blow everyone else out of the water. I don't think he dropped a ball. I remember thinking "yep I guess that's what makes him so good among everything else." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBillyG Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 So many BBMB "Stevie Johnson" argument flashbacks right now....? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nelius Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 See Hopkins performance against the Jets tonight. It's more than the best WR that you have. It's a dependable, game changing wide receiver that can alter everything. We haven't had one since Moulds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bing Bong Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 1 minute ago, No Place To Hyde said: So many BBMB "Stevie Johnson" argument flashbacks right now....? Good route running is a very underrated skill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nelius Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 DeAndre Hopkins is still quietly the best receiver in the game by the way. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LABILLBACKER Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 2 hours ago, Andy1 said: Andre Reed & Eric Moulds. A number one is a dominant player who the qb trusts to make a play. Size is a plus but not required. Their productivity makes success for the QB and team. They come through in clutch situations, even when the pass is not perfect. I thought Sammy would be that player, but that was a fail. Bills have not had one since Moulds. I agree, we've had only 2 true #1 wrs in the history of the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thurman#1 Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 (edited) 6 hours ago, Phil The Thrill said: So how do you define who a “#1 WR” really is and what’s the difference between a #1 WR, #2 WR and even a #3 WR? Graham's smart, but wrong here, IMHO. Jerry Rice was 6' 2". He wasn't a true #1? That's crazy talk. It's not about height. The way it's generally used is pretty much how Bucky Brooks uses it here: "Sure, Brandin Cooks and Robert Woods are one of only three duos with 1,000 yards a piece (Tyreek Hill/Travis Kelce and Antonio Brown/JuJu Smith-Schuster are the others), but neither guy is considered a true No. 1 receiver with the capacity to dictate coverage through his presence and production on the perimeter. Defensive coordinators will take their chances in single coverage against Cooks and Woods, committing an extra defender to the box to contain Gurley." http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000999729/article/saquon-barkley-validating-giants-decision-pete-carroll-for-coy By this definition, and most definitions, a true #1 is far more than the best guy you have on your team. The way it's most frequently used there aren't 32 of them in the league, or even 20. At any time there are generally somewhere between maybe 8 and 16 in the NFL and usually it's on the low side. It's hard to get one. When you do, you generally hold onto him. Edited December 16, 2018 by Thurman#1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BullBuchanan Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 Usually #1's have it all - size, speed, strength, elusiveness, route tree, catching, hands, etc. There should be little that they can't do better than most #2's in the league. Sometimes they aren't the biggest (Brown), or the fastest (Fitzgerald), but that usually means that some other aspect of their game has to be so special that it overcompensates for their deficiencies. When i think of prototype #1's I think of guys like Calvin Johnson, Randy Moss, and Terrell Owens. Obviously, it doesn't mean Jerry Rice wasn't better than all of them being slower and shorter, but that's what I ideally want when I'm looking for a #1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fixxxer Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 (edited) 6 hours ago, Andy1 said: Andre Reed & Eric Moulds. A number one is a dominant player who the qb trusts to make a play. Size is a plus but not required. Their productivity makes success for the QB and team. They come through in clutch situations, even when the pass is not perfect. I thought Sammy would be that player, but that was a fail. Bills have not had one since Moulds. Sammy had the talent to be the #1 WR, he lacked maturity and consistency at the position. One day he was spectacular, other days, it felt like he wasn't even on the field. Moulds was a beast, fast and physical, it's shame he didn't have a consistent QB throwing him the ball throughout his career. He would have been borderline HOF material. Edited December 16, 2018 by Fixxxer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldmanfan Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 Your # 1 should demand a double team on every play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlayoffsPlease Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 5 hours ago, MrEpsYtown said: This is an overrated concept. We've had a true number one many times in the past, and it got us nowhere. I believe you need pieces on offense that are complementary to each other. We need a guy with some size and elite athleticism who can do a little bit of everything and make contested catches. That's what our team is missing. So you are saying we need a true WR1? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
row_33 Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 If you have to ask for a definition... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hapless Bills Fan Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 7 hours ago, SinceThe70s said: I would never characterize a #1 WR simply by physical attributes like height, weight and speed. Bigger, faster, stronger plays into to a big degree, but after that it's more about the size of the fight in the dog than it is the size of the dog in the fight. Well put Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianmoorman4jesus Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 8 hours ago, NoSaint said: I believe that many are getting at “the guy that can transcend scheme or situation” not the guy that happens to be the #1 option on a random depth chart at some point I mean #1 literally means the first option. And certain passing concepts and schemes value different skill sets. The Patriots flat out spread you thin and then attack the middle of the field. That’s what they do now. If they had a big time WR on the outside and Edelman in the slot, they still are going to go to the underneath guy most of the time. It’s a rhythm on time passing game. They should just classify WR as “inside guys” and “outside guys” They are quite different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CommonCents Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 A true #1 WR is a player that can’t be game planned for properly without ruining all the other match ups in the secondary. Sure you can shut down Hopkins if you triple cover him but then you can’t cover everyone else. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Dude Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 It’s a wide receiver that will catch you when you are falling — time after time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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