Matthews vs Stills- A Closer Look

[So Be]

Matthews is 26 and a FA I expect to get around $5M a year. He has worked his ass off to become a legit NFL #2 WR, clicks with Tannehill, and was one of the few working out with him in the last two off seasons at his own expense, while making NFL lunch money. Last year, he caught 43 of 61 targets for a 15.4 average with 4 TD's before being injured.

Stills is only 23 and gets $1.6m this year with no guarantee. He has more speed and is more of what you would like in a deep threat stretching the field. All QB's have said that it takes a year to click with a speed WR. Last year, he caught 27 of 63 targets for a 16.3 average with 3 TD's.

I would love to keep both, and neither has hit their prime. Add in Parker and Landry and we have a "Kiddie Core" at WR which can become lethal sooner than later. What is Gase to do?

I'm wondering if the best solution would be moving Cameron and going with more of a blocking TE. With these four "Young Guns" and adding in hopefully Miller with AJ, that one hell of a six pack on O for Tannehill. How many targets would Cameron get, and how much would a blocking TE help the run and protection?

 

[PhinSoldia]

Man to me i dont think Matthews should even be in a conversation. he reminds me so much of Hartline, and Hartline had better hands during his tenure here. he is an "OK" saftey valve. not better hands than Landry, not more physically gifted than Parker, and not faster than Stills. this isn't even a concern or a question in my mind. If this kid wants to come back for anything more than 3 Mill a year he walks. let someone overpay for average.

 

[AL R]

Well think Gase ie a TE friendly coach so not sure he would do that may want two good TE one blokcer one receiver. We never seem to use TE correclty anyway maybe that will change.

You have to go with Stills and hope a Hazel or someone else comes along strictly from dollars etc. I can't see them giving Rishard that contract realizing you will have Landry coming up etc. I like Rishard a little more but just dont see it happening.

 

[So Be]

I did not realize how young we are at the skill positions on O. Matthews at 26, Stills at 23, Landry at 23, Parker at 23, Miller at 24, and AJ at 22 is very likely the best group of young play making talen in the league, and no one has hit their prime.

 

[So Be]

Well think Gase ie a TE friendly coach so not sure he would do that may want two good TE one blokcer one receiver. We never seem to use TE correclty anyway maybe that will change.

You have to go with Stills and hope a Hazel or someone else comes along strictly from dollars etc. I can't see them giving Rishard that contract realizing you will have Landry coming up etc. I like Rishard a little more but just dont see it happening.

I was thinking the same AR. Then, I see the team trying to keep Matthews and now having some doubts. I think Landry is the wild card here, as Gase has not had a slot guy like him to deal with in the past.

Gonna get VERY INTERESTING very soon.

 

[spiketex]

Man to me i dont think Matthews should even be in a conversation. he reminds me so much of Hartline, and Hartline had better hands during his tenure here. he is an "OK" saftey valve. not better hands than Landry, not more physically gifted than Parker, and not faster than Stills. this isn't even a concern or a question in my mind. If this kid wants to come back for anything more than 3 Mill a year he walks. let someone overpay for average.

I think that you grossly underestimate Rishard Matthews' upside. He is a really physically strong athlete - Hartline is not.
Matthews improved significantly last season until he had his ribs crushed. We are banking on Tannehill and he has the chemistry with Matthews. Last offseason Matthews spent many hours every day catching the ball from Tannehill. Just ask Ryan if he wants to keep Rishard Matthews in Miami.

 

[Drfletcherdc]

I never saw a blade of grass tackle Mathews like it would Hartline.

 

[SCLSU Mud Dogs]

I never saw a blade of grass tackle Mathews like it would Hartline.

Man, that turf monster had a serious vendetta against Hartline.

 

[jbyrd850]

It would be nice to have one of the best position groups in the nfl, at some position, any position. I think if we can hold on to Matthews we have that with our wrs.

Its not like we have jordy nelson and randall cobb and then 2 other studs so we shouldn't bring back Matthews cause we are just beyond stacked at wr.

We have Parker who hasn't even played a full nfl season yet, hes pegged as our number 1. Then we would have Matthews who is the perfect number 2 imo. Landry is perfect for the slot and then Stills is the perfect number 4 guy who comes in for deep routes and to stretch the field.

Pair that wr core with Tanne and get some blocking and the offense could be pretty good.

 

[BlueUndertow]

Sure - would love to keep Matthews but it's going to come down to money and the Dolphins have a lot of positions they need to explore in Free Agency. So while it would be great to have 4 playmakers at WR, I wouldn't do so at the expense of OL, LB and Secondary help.

 

[Asicswrg85]

You'd think it'd be "one hell of an offense"....except that was our offense last year and it was far from consistently good

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

 

[fininpsl]

Man to me i dont think Matthews should even be in a conversation. he reminds me so much of Hartline, and Hartline had better hands during his tenure here. he is an "OK" saftey valve. not better hands than Landry, not more physically gifted than Parker, and not faster than Stills. this isn't even a concern or a question in my mind. If this kid wants to come back for anything more than 3 Mill a year he walks. let someone overpay for average.

Differences between Hartline and Matthews:

TD's.- With 17 career starts Matthews has scored 8 TD. Hartline has only scored 14 TD's in 73 career starts.
Physicality- Hartline is a finesse WR. He's tough, but he's not out muscling anybody. Mathews does.
Build- Matthews is llike having a short fast TE out on his routes. He's built like a tank. It's what enables both traits above.

What made Hartline solid was precision. He was a great route runner with very good hands and solid speed. But he did not have any elite physical characteristics, and stunk in the redzone. Matthews may not quite be a number one WR, but he has more to offer than Hartline in therms of potential, and he was doing it out on the field all last year. Statistically he was better than Landry for us in the games he played.

 

[tay0365]

Once in the redzone, there is no better friend to a QB then a big receiver or good athletic TE that can run good precise routes. Miami will need to be able to score more TDs once they reach the redzone, and as much as I like Matthews, he is neither a big receiver, nor a good pass-catching, route running TE.

 

[CANDolphan]

If you measure him in Madden measurables - like speed and height/weight - yeah Matthews seems like a bad choice.

But then you realize he's a traffic catcher who simply outmuscles people and breaks tackles. He was well on his way to a 1000 yard season until he went down - which was fine, as it allowed us to give Parker reps and see what he can do (which is, simply put, make plays).

If you can sign Matthews to a 3 year/18/12 guaranteed deal, you do it all day.

 

[BSQ]

It's very important that we resign Matthews. Tannehill has excellent chemistry with him, he has very good hands and he moves the chains. Watch some games from last season before he was injured. He was playing at a high level. He is an ascending player who will excel in Gase's system. He more valuable than Stills imo.