Boykin does not have 4 years vested; he has to go through waivers.
The Bears top 4 WR missed the last game; I'll bet those jerkwads claim him, in part to prevent him from coming to GB.
After GB didn’t tender and not having a very good camp in Carolina juxtaposed against the glut of WRs that have come into the league in last few years, I would think Boykin’s options are limited other than a central division foe just being a jerkwad. But it’ll be interesting to learn how many teams, if any, claim him.
I loved Boykin in 2013 and have no idea what happened in 2014. Something happened: Maybe he was playing w/ an undisclosed injury; maybe he went nuts after his girlfriend dumped him; someone close died; perhaps it was simply making a few bad plays AR lost confidence and he lost confidence, which caused him to screw up more; maybe he had a horrific personality clash w/ another player; maybe it was not getting a single target in 2013 PO game and 1st game v. Seattle. If whatever caused his psychological downfall can be resolved-Boykin would be an asset.
He had best hands among GB WRs and dropped 5 passes in 83 targets, tying him w/ Jordy at a very good 2.4% drop rate in ‘13. But, as his focus became less divided between being in the right place at the right time and catching the ball, I expected him to lead the league in drop rate. Shockingly, in ’14 he had 2nd worst drop rate in league dropping 3 in only 12 targets.
In 2013 Outsiders, adjusting for game situations and competition, had him rated as the #32 WR, HUH, I guess that makes him a #1 [sorry couldn’t resist]. He was 49-681-3 [or 80-1110-5, if extrapolated to Jordy’s # of snaps] w/ a kinda low 59% catch rate [Jordy 67%, Jones 63%, Quarles 60%] in 663 or 59% of the snaps; 0 fumbles; 2 penalties for 15 yards; 5 drops; forced 12 missed tackles; 2 PI penalties for 37 yards were called against his defenders; and was a solid downfield blocker. PFF gave him a 5.1 grade (ranked No. 10 out of 23 Packers offensive players; ranked No. 3 out of Packers' 5 qualifying WRs). 10 of his 49 catches went for a 1st down when it was 3rd down. The guy was a dependable chain mover. And caught passes from AR, Tolzein, Flynn and Wallace.
The guy has vice grips for hands; uses his body and hands well to fight for the ball, high points the ball well, he’s not fast, but is very crafty with his moves to gain separation and he is a beast to try to tackle in the open field. He definitely knew the playbook well [for a 2nd year guy] and was a good route runner; but the one thing he had problems with was the reading on the fly. A few times he did his curl or stick right when AR expected him to turn left and vice-versa. He and AR were not reading the movement of the D the same.
He’s a good STer had 90 snaps in 2013; and was tied for 10Th in snaps on the team in 2014 w/ 160 [though missing 3 games].
My favorite play: 3rd and 16 @ Minn, does a deep crossing route at marker and AR underthrows pass short so Boykin must dive to make the catch 1 yard short of 1st; he instinctively and immediately flops himself forward 2 yards for the first and then realizing he still hasn’t been touched, started to get up, but the pursuit had arrived and he was tackled.