re: Is jimmy graham a tight end or wide out?

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So, instead of being a TE that lines up wide more often than most TEs, he's the only WR in the league that ever lines up on the line, with his hand on the ground.

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And an even better one that I didn't think about. No defensive lineman in the league attempts PAT or FG, with the exception of Suh. Either Suh is the only DL in the league who has also has coincidentally kicked the ball, or he is a kicker, by your argument.



ETA- in both cases, you're actually talking about two very unique players that fill voids. The voids they have filled are K and TE, being that they are a DL and WR.

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Either Suh is the only DL in the league who has also has coincidentally kicked the ball, or he is a kicker, by your argument.

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"Coincidentally" is a big word in the above statement.

Does Suh spend 1/3 of his time on the field kicking?

If a player spends 66% of his time at DE and 33% of his time at OLB, what would you classify him as?

You take the average amount of time lined up at both positions, and multiply it by the average of the top 5 players at those positions and that is the franchise tag amount.

If I were a Saints fan, I'd be livid if I found out they were lining him up at TE solely because of money reasons. I don't buy that for a second, but if true, HOLY frick I'd be livid as a fan.

SO for instance say he play 60% of his snaps at WR - and the average of the top 5 WRs is 14 million.

He played 40% of his snaps at TE and the average for top TEs is 8 Million.

.4 x 8 Million = 3.2 million
.6 x 14 Million = 8.4 million

His tag price should be 11.6 Million.


Simple as that.

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His tag price should be 11.6 Million.


Simple as that.

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Get this common sense shite out of here.

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And, over time, their values will rise above what TEs were traditionally worth.

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Which makes the franchise tag unfair, hence the adapting of the rule. When the game evolves, positions and player types gain and lose value.

With the spread, athletic TEs are very valuable and should be paid as such. The best way to do that is to look at how they are used and pay them on that ratio in the franchise tag scenario.

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Anyone who wants to call him a WR, that's fine...you can call him whatever you want. Just prepare to be made fun of when you call him a WR to someone in real life. People will assume you are on par with a girl as far as knowledge about sports.

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Ok slick.

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Except that in the franchise tag situation, there has to be some defining factor. While most hypothetical examples seem extreme they serve a purpose. Graham represents an evolution in the game, and pay structure will have to evolve to fit it.

He may be classified as a TE by the team, and he may line up at TE occasionally. But when it comes to his contract, he should be compensated according to his production. He produces like a WR so he should be paid like one.

If the Saints are allowed to continue paying him like a TE, then what stops teams from designating high dollar players as lower paying positions?

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easy, in this case the tight end position is changing. who do you think he has more in common with day to day, and play to play: gronk, vernon davis, jared cook or calvin johnson, larry fitz, and mike wallace.

that his hand is on the ground 1/3 of the plays would be completely bizarre for anybody at the WR position, but generally speaking is completely normal for the top 5-10 tight ends. he accepts his pro bowl award at the TE position, sits with the TE in meetings, and has regularly described himself as a TE and actively chased records for the TE position. its not like they are trying to call him a full back here. the guy is a TE and if the Tight end pay scale is behind WRs, so be it.

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With the spread, athletic TEs are very valuable and should be paid as such. The best way to do that is to look at how they are used and pay them on that ratio in the franchise tag scenario.

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and as TE salaries organically go up, which they are, the tag will follow. thats the beauty of a system based off the existing contracts. it changes with the game.

unless you are arguing that guys like gronk and vernon davis who signed contracts being factored into the top 5 somehow dont represent his position fairly.