I still can't wrap my head around the fact that apparently every young receiver we bring in is better than Jarrett Boykin! I mean all the guy does is constantly prove his value to the team; we've all seen it. And yet you really think he wouldn't have made the team had Abbrederis remained healthy?!? I guess I shouldn't be surprised though... you didn't seem to think he'd make the roster in January before we added more receivers from the draft either:
Originally Posted by: StoicFire
If we were to only keep 5 guys, I absolutely believe Boykin could've been in trouble.
We know Cobb and Nelson are making it without question, and so is Adams as a 2nd round pick. That eats up the first 3 slots. Only two remain.
Janis is a guy who has measurables that are better than nearly everyone at the WR position in the entire NFL. If he played well, and he has, how are you going to cut that unique specimen? You aren't. That would eat up 4 spots leaving only one more if we were to keep 5.
That leaves Abbrederis vs. Boykin. A 5th rounder, who by all rights, could've gone much higher than he did vs. a guy who came to us via tryout as a UDFA...we didn't even sign Boykin as a UDFA, initially, he only got a tryout to be signed. The hardest road of all. Let's say Abbrederis lit it up like Janis has, which was a real possibility. Do you think it's so unlikely a 5th round hot shot rookie wouldn't be kept over Boykin who has very poor speed? I don't. Yes, Boykin proved to be a solid NFL WR, but he was not a precious draft choice. We all know how those are valued in Green Bay.
To me, it was no stretch at all to say it was well within the realm of possibility that Boykin may not have been Top 5. MM's quote on Boykin was very flattering toward Jarrett, but that was prior to seeing all the guys who would be in competition against him. If forced to choose, how could you easily just say I'd take Boykin over Janis? That is where it likely, in my view, would've come to had Abbrederis not gotten hurt if we were only going to keep 5.
Boykin is a fine WR...I don't dislike him or his game at all. He has excellent hands and knows how to play the position. He's just not flashy and offers little in the way of speed. Abbrederis, Janis, Boykin... Who would you rather hold onto?
Ted Thompson sits on his hands per former GM: "because they’ve had 25 fricking years of great quarterbacks. Of course it works. Try it without a special quarterback."