Boldin Injury debate

[qmar]

Wow. No. I never called Boldin a future hall of famer, so stop putting words in my mouth. I called him a proven playmaker, which is what he is.

And the whole argument that we must build through the draft is total BS. The MVP of this Super Bowl was Drew Brees, a castoff FA QB with a freshly injured shoulder. New Orleans did not draft him. A key component to that teams success on the defensive side of the ball was Darren Sharper. He was an older FA that no one wanted and he had a great year for that team. Yes, we need good drafts to build a foundation and provide good depth, but you also have to balance that with adding good veterans as leaders of the team.

This is our third year of rebuilding and it is time to make some splashes in FA and with trades. BTW, Antonio Bryant is trash compared to Boldin.

^This.

I concur with everything said here. You cannot build a team solely through the draft. For the Boldin haters, have you even watched this guy play? Do you also know how long it takes NON Top 5 pick WR's to work out in the NFL? It's about 3 years (i.e. Vincent Jackson, Roddy White, etc.) I would rather not hinder Henne's developement and pass on a FA WR who will help this team and immediately become our best playmaker (FAR AND AWAY).

As for Antonio Bryant, he will be the BEST FA WR available this year. The guy is going to get paid whether it's by the Bucs (doubt it) or another team, he will make alot of money in FA. I would say not too far behind Boldin. That being said, the guy doesn't hold a candle to Boldin and he's also 29 years old. I would rather just keep what we have before investing the money it would take in Bryant.

Re-building time is over guys. It's time to make a splash in FA (or via trade) and see if this team has got what it takes to make a run. I think a realistic off-season could include:

1. Go get Boldin, give up a 3rd round pick.
2. Go get Larry Foote (stopgap MLB that should be productive for another 2 years or so).
3. Move down in the draft, try to acquire back at least a 3rd round pick)
4. Take BPA of the following positions (FS, DT, OLB, etc.)

This gives us our stop gap at ILB and a guy that could be a leader for this team. Foote and Crowder would be fine at ILB for the next couple of years. Build through the later rounds some ILB prospects.

We get our Playmaker on offense. He is exactly the type of WR Henne is asking for and would immediately become Henne's #1 target.

Since we wouldn't take McClain or Bryant (if they are even there at 12), based on the FA acquisitions, it gives you the ability to move down and probably get a 2nd thrown in or a 3 and 5 or something. You then take BPA at that spot you moved down to (say its 19 or 20) and you get one of those defensive needs mentioned. Take another BPA in the 2nd and if it's a WR we can develop (Thomas as some have mentioned earlier), go for it. That would give us our WR that would take over for Boldin in 3-5 years.

This seems realistic to me.