I think there are really some positions that we ought to consider before we go after a guy like Ted Ginn.
That said, he's a top 10 talent and if we're picking at the very end of the top 10 and he is available, and some other guys are not, then this really has the potential to become a best player issue.
My stance, my newest self-revelation, is that Wes Welker and Chris Chambers simply cannot co-exist. That means either you ditch Chambers, or ditch Welker.
Chambers has higher trade value, but is also much more cap prohibitive given that he just signed a big contract extension with I believe an eight digit bonus at the end of 2004 just before Saban signed on board.
Welker, on the other hand, is fresh off a season where he surprised everyone by leading the team in catches, has really garnered a tough guy with sticky hands reputation around the league (the only receiver of ours that does not regularly drop balls), and is an EXCELLENT punt return man. He's also an RFA and if we slap that $1.3 million 2nd round tender on him, I bet we could field offers of a 4th or maybe even a 3rd for him.
If you trade Chambers, you need to draft his replacement. If you trade Welker, you don't necessarily need to trade anyone.
The reason I would not toss Ted Ginn out the window if he were to be available, is because if we do go ahead and trade Welker (a tough, tough choice, but in the best interests of the team) then I believe he's a natural at the flanker position that Chris Chambers currently occupies.
The reason Chambers and Welker cannot co-exist is because they are both slot receivers. Chambers had arguably his best and least disappointing year as a pro when he was working in Chan Gailey's system as the slot receiver. He looked unstoppable. Since moving to flanker he has been a constant disappointment, with the exception of the final six games of 2005 when, coincidentally, Linehan moved from the box to the sidelines and agreed to move Chambers around the field and most importantly into the slot, to get him more involved and to get better matchups.
Welker's per game production dropped in half from the first 10 games to his final 6 games, and Chambers' per game production doubled. No coincidence at all.
Because, let's face it, as much of a tough guy with sticky hands as Wes Welker is, he's not the kind of explosive playmaker from the slot that Chris Chambers is.
So really if you subtract Welker from this equation and add Ginn, we have a natural outside flanker with devastating speed in Ginn, we have two natural split ends in Marty Booker and Derek Hagan, and we have a highly explosive slot receiver in Chris Chambers.
Long term you could get rid of Marty Booker and his salary, and Hagan and Chambers both could play the split end position, Chambers and Ginn could each play the slot, and Chambers and Ginn could each play flanker. That gives you a lot of options on every play and a lot of ability to ride the hot hand by moving players around, which is something I don't feel we do enough of in terms of receiving spots.
So without Welker on the team, there IS a place for Ted Ginn Jr. on this team.
Ted Ginn Jr. and Chris Chambers, by the way, are first cousins. :)
