On Tuesday morning, shortly after the Martavis Bryant signing was announced, the Junkies wondered if the current Commanders wide receiving corps had been a little overrated and not as solid as thought.
Well, with Bryant now in the fold, BMitch & Finlay had a similar question, wondering what the need to add Bryant in any manner says about the current crop, and Jeff ‘2 Funny’ Walker put it simply.
“I think it's bad news for everybody in the room except Terry McLaurin. We know he’s a clear-cut WR1, but there’s still clearly competition at WR2, so everyone is on the hot seat,” Jeff Walker said. “If he comes in and performs better than the guys in camp, no telling whose position he's going to take.”
Jeff harkened back to a conversation he had with a buddy last year about Jahan Dotson’s struggles, which he recalled, and perhaps Dan Quinn and Kliff Kingsbury are seeing something there?
“I think two things can be true: I think they might want more from Jahan, but I think Martavis Bryant doesn't necessarily mean bad news for Jahan,” JP Finlay said. “They want more push for the whole receiver room, but this also might just be about a dude who's 6-foot-4 with super long arms and a crazy catch radius. Most signings this time of year probably don't mean anything, you’re probably not making the roster like nine times out of 10, but because of what Bryant has accomplished, and Dallas put him on their practice squad as soon as the NFL reinstated him, I move this to seven out of 10 chance.”
So what say you, BMitch, the only actual former NFL player on the show?
“It’s amazing how we can sign a guy who hadn't played in six years and everybody thinks it's like the next coming of Christ or something,” Brian said. “We have to see if he can still play consistently like he used to, but on top of it, there are a lot of receivers out here that hadn't done their jobs. This is relatively inexpensive, and if he ends up being what he was, we go with it; if he doesn't, he'll probably be going again. But if you’re still on the team and they sign somebody at your position, you might want to say, ‘hey, I can do more than what I’m doing.’ And if they can just ignite that, I think that would be a good thing.”
But what does it mean for Bryant?
“I’m truly blessed to be here, and I’m super excited,” Bryant told the media. “They said to come out and work hard and give it my all and let everything fall into place. Whatever they need me to do, I’m just trying to get back and get better, learn every day. You gotta come here, gotta work, gotta look good. I’ve been working hard, and gotta stay strong-minded. I’ve been through a lot, but I never gave up. I’ve always been a fighter, and I’m going to continue to do that. I didn’t know if another chance would come, I just had to make sure I was prepared to seize the opportunity if it came.”