WR Nate Washington

[bradentonian]

Thought this quote was interesting

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playernews.aspx?sport=NFL

Nate Washington-WR- Steelers Feb. 10 - 5:30 pm et
   
 
Mike Lombardi of the National Football Post believes that free agent Nate Washington would be a "perfect" fit for the Titans.

Lombardi has Washington as his No. 2 free agent wideout, behind Antonio Bryant and ahead of T.J. Houshmandzadeh. A deep threat, Washington can play flanker and the slot. He'd be a decent upside bookend for Justin Gage.
Source: National Football Post
Related: Titans

[Simms2Clayton05]

Resign Bryant, Sign Nate Washington, Haynesworth, and get BPA in the draft.

[RatDog]

Been saying this for days now......

[Simms2Clayton05]

He drops alot of balls, if not more then Clayton, Washington was the intended target on 78 passes last season, with a catch percentage of 51.3% and 4 drops

How many times was Clayton the intended target?

[JoshJohnson11]

I'd love for him to be a buc.

Resign Bryant, Sign Nate Washington, Haynesworth, and get BPA in the draft.

Both of you are right on if we could do that we'd be tough to beat.

[bradentonian]

Would Bryant, Washington, and Clayton be an acceptable starting group?

[Detrimental]

He drops alot of balls, if not more then Clayton, Washington was the intended target on 78 passes last season, with a catch percentage of 51.3% and 4 drops

Comparing Nate Washington to Michael Clayton is apples and oranges. Washington was Pittsburgh's main deep threat (before Holmes was the starter). Clayton is the short-intermediate type guy so you'll generally see possession type WR's with high amount of % caught and vice versa with passes not caught.

[bradentonian]

He drops alot of balls, if not more then Clayton, Washington was the intended target on 78 passes last season, with a catch percentage of 51.3% and 4 drops

Comparing Nate Washington to Michael Clayton is apples and oranges. Washington was Pittsburgh's main deep threat (before Holmes was the starter). Clayton is the short-intermediate type guy so you'll generally see possession type WR's with high amount of % caught and vice versa with passes not caught.

Nate does have a rep for dropping balls though

[JoshJohnson11]

Would Bryant, Washington, and Clayton be an acceptable starting group?

Yeah Bryant is a physical WR Washington is a deep threat and Clayton is a good blocker.

[Detrimental]

Would Bryant, Washington, and Clayton be an acceptable starting group?

Yeah Bryant is a physical WR Washington is a deep threat and Clayton is a good blocker.

Bryant can run any route in the book. He can be implemented as a deep threat as well, it's just the fact it took 13 games to realize that, well for Garcia anyway.  [banghead] [banghead]

[HughC]

National Football Post: Free Agent WR's

FIRST LEVEL

Name, team, age, height, weight, speed, year entered NFL, draft pos., agent

Antonio Bryant, Tampa Bay, 27; 6-1, 192; 4.61; 2002; 2nd round (63rd overall); Peter Schaffer – He has always had all the talent in the world, but off-the-field issues have been a problem for him, affecting his consistency.  One-year wonder.  Bill Walsh always told me, “Do not look at the one-year player and look forward. Look back.� (We learned this lesson after drafting Clemson running back Terrance Flagler in the first round in 1987.)  Someone might pay Bryant big money and then hold their breath. 

Nate Washington, Pittsburgh, 25; 6-0, 172; 4.47; 2005; free agent; Thomas Tafelski � This is a diamond in the rough.  I know he drops too many balls, but he has great vertical speed and has significantly improved as a player.  He would be perfect for the Titans. 

SECOND LEVEL

T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Cincinnati, 31; 6-1, 197; 4.57; 2001; 7th round (204th overall); Kennard McGuire � Some teams might be a little scared of his age and his average yards per reception (below 10.0).  He is somewhere between the first and second level, but age and lack of overall production will be a concern.  I would not be willing to invest four years of huge money.

I like Lombardi's analysis (the criteria he spells out is an interesting read) but I have to disagree with his assesment of ranking Nate Washington above T.J. Houshmandzadeh.  Age needs to be taken in to consideration but it's given too much weight here, in my opinion.  I'm also in disagreement with his assesment of Bryant as a one-year wonder.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the more highly Antonio Bryant is rated, the more it's going to cost to re-sign him.  Before we start having dreams of 'Bryant and Houshmandzadeh' or 'Bryant and Washington', let's see the Bucs lock up Bryant first - before the start of free agency.

[BucsPirate]

I bet Bryant gets tagged. He is going to want to be paid like an upper echelon receiver, and he is the top FA at the position. Still I'd like to see him build on last year before he gets a big signing bonus.

[CAROLINABUC]

To tell the truth I hope the bucs do sign Michael Clayton, because who are the other FA at WR next year?

[Buc31]

Would Bryant, Washington, and Clayton be an acceptable starting group?

Nope! Take off Michelle and we're good

[PoorRichard]

TJ is #3?? That is why this clown is blogging and is out of the league. TJ is clearly #1 and has strong track record to prove it. Bryant is 1a only b/c he has 1 season under his belt and is still an unknown. Washington doesn't have the production history to justify such talk. There is a reason the Steelers have continued to invest a sizable # of picks on WRs since they grabbed Washington. He is average.

Ideally, the Bucs would resign Bryant, sign TJ, and draft a playmaker for the #3 spot in the 1st round.