Jeremy Maclin will be a WR2 this year. Lock it in.

[lukkynumber13]

Title says it all. I'm not trying to make some hot take prediction, I sincerely believe Maclin will be a top 25 WR this year, with top 12 upside.

He's by far the best WR in Baltimore, and probably the best WR Flacco has ever thrown to. Maybe #2 behind Steve Smith, who was a difference-maker for most of his Ravens career.

While I don't think Flacco is anything super special in real life terms, one can certainly make the argument that he is the best passer that Maclin has ever had throwing to him. Maclin played with McNabb in Donavan's final year in Philly, then had a smorgasbord of Sanchez, Foles, Vick, Alex Smith, etc.

I think Maclin's floor is 60-875-5. His ceiling is 90-1300-11.

Personally, I expect Maclin to clear 75 catches, 1000 yards, and 6+ TDs

[dlf_jules]

Maybe #2 behind Steve Smith, who posted WR1 numbers for most of his Ravens career.

Smith posted exactly one WR1 season in Baltimore, and that's only if you count his 2015 on a per-game basis. (He played only seven games.) He was a solid WR2 in 2014 and a WR3 in 2016.

Not trying to nit-pick, but this seems relevant to the argument.

[lukkynumber13]

Maybe #2 behind Steve Smith, who posted WR1 numbers for most of his Ravens career.

Smith posted exactly one WR1 season in Baltimore, and that's only if you count his 2015 on a per-game basis. (He played only seven games.) He was a solid WR2 in 2014 and a WR3 in 2016.

Not trying to nit-pick, but this seems relevant to the argument.

Good catch! You're correct.

I thought his 2014 was slightly more dominant

***I edited my original post to say Smith was a difference maker rather than a WR1

[Valhalla]

Can you win with Maclin as your 2nd best WR? Yes, I believe so. Will he fall somewhere between the 12th and 25th highest scoring WRs? I don't know. Does it matter? If the 20th highest scoring WR scores 12 more fantasy points over the year than the 25th highest scoring WR, that's less than a point per game difference...yet we label them WR2 and WR3 at season's end.
There are WAY TOO MANY talented WRs to lock some in as top 24, and that's not a discredit to them. I do think Maclin is in that tier of WRs that could very easily finish inside the top 24, but there's a lot of WRs in that tier.

All that said, Maclin is pretty undervalued...or at least he WAS. I'm not sure how he's valued anymore with the spotlight on him, but I imagine the price has gone up simply because of a buzz around his name now...should have bought more shares of the talent before the spotlight/attention found him.

[ninotoreS]

Can't see any Ravens receiver reaching 1300 yards, OP. Flacco just doesn't have it in him; actually has he ever had a WR go for that many yards? Plus, there's more mouths to feed in Baltimore now. Maclin, Wallace, Perriman, and Woodhead. And Flacco's eclipsed 4k yards passing in a season only once in his career.

And even aside from that, Maclin may have quietly fallen off his career's cliff last year. His floor is lower than 60-875-5 if his body is starting to betray him now.

He's by far the best WR in Baltimore, and probably the best WR Flacco has ever thrown to

Both very dubious assertions.

[ArrylT]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300000 ... s-for-life

It seems Crab Cakes helped suay Maclin to Baltimore.

Hopefully he waits until the next off-season to take advantage ...

[jp67]

Jimmys makes some good crab cakes hon'

I doubt I will own Maclin. I do not have him in any dynasty leagues and pending where he goes in re draft I doubt I will pay the "hometown" price.

I agree with the OP that Maclin will be a WR#2 but I do not believe he has #1 upside I think WR 2 is his upside because that is what Ravens WRs are historically.
Flacco has never had a #1 receiver and although they throw the ball a lot they do not throw the ball to WR enough or with great efficiency. Flacco loves his Rb's and Te's and they gobble up targets and keep Flacco in the QB 2 range.

[Sterling Archer]

Can you win with Maclin as your 2nd best WR? Yes, I believe so. Will he fall somewhere between the 12th and 25th highest scoring WRs? I don't know. Does it matter? If the 20th highest scoring WR scores 12 more fantasy points over the year than the 25th highest scoring WR, that's less than a point per game difference...yet we label them WR2 and WR3 at season's end.
There are WAY TOO MANY talented WRs to lock some in as top 24, and that's not a discredit to them. I do think Maclin is in that tier of WRs that could very easily finish inside the top 24, but there's a lot of WRs in that tier.

All that said, Maclin is pretty undervalued...or at least he WAS. I'm not sure how he's valued anymore with the spotlight on him, but I imagine the price has gone up simply because of a buzz around his name now...should have bought more shares of the talent before the spotlight/attention found him.

According to footballcalculator, he's on the upswing, but it hasn't been that drastic yet. He's still WR48.

I disagree with the OP that he's by far the most talented WR on the team. Wallace is criminally devalued in the fantasy community after Miami and Minnesota, but he's actually a really good WR. That being said, I still agree with the OP that Maclin will be a value... assuming Baltimore doesn't land Decker. If Decker shows up there will be too many mouths to feed. If not, I could see both Maclin and Wallace hovering around 1,000 yards.

[Heartwork]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300000 ... s-for-life

It seems Crab Cakes helped suay Maclin to Baltimore.

Hopefully he waits until the next off-season to take advantage ...

Crabs make people do crazy things ask Jameis.

[KU Sucks]

If Maclin was still capable of producing at a true #1 wr level; KC would have found another solution to their cap issue. Andy Reid loved the guy.

[StableOfRBs]

If Maclin was still capable of producing at a true #1 wr level; KC would have found another solution to their cap issue. Andy Reid loved the guy.

There were 4 possible players for KC to cut to fix their cap issue, one of them is the incumbent QB who they need at least this year to bring along their rookie, two of them were multi-year pro bowl edge rushers in a league where getting to the QB is key to most defensive strategies, and the last was Maclin, a WR who AT BEST was the #2 target on the team behind Kelce in an offense that prefers to run the ball and has Tyreek Hill flashing explosiveness all last year

Cutting him had nothing to do with his ability to produce and everything to do with KC's offensive and defensive needs, not to mention that Reid wasn't even consulted about the move, it was as much a surprise to him as it was to Maclin so whether he liked him or not is irrelevant

[Valhalla]

If Maclin was still capable of producing at a true #1 wr level; KC would have found another solution to their cap issue. Andy Reid loved the guy.

There were 4 possible players for KC to cut to fix their cap issue, one of them is the incumbent QB who they need at least this year to bring along their rookie, two of them were multi-year pro bowl edge rushers in a league where getting to the QB is key to most defensive strategies, and the last was Maclin, a WR who AT BEST was the #2 target on the team behind Kelce in an offense that prefers to run the ball and has Tyreek Hill flashing explosiveness all last year

Cutting him had nothing to do with his ability to produce and everything to do with KC's offensive and defensive needs, not to mention that Reid wasn't even consulted about the move, it was as much a surprise to him as it was to Maclin so whether he liked him or not is irrelevant

This. Plus, word is, he did NOT like it.

[KU Sucks]

I should have known better than to state a fact, he did not and is no longer able produce at a true #1 wr level. You pick him up and expect top 12 wr #s and see what you get.

[StableOfRBs]

I should have known better than to state a fact, he did not and is no longer able produce at a true #1 wr level. You pick him up and expect top 12 wr #s and see what you get.

I'm expecting WR 15-22 numbers, don't think anyone said anything about top 12, in fact the name of the thread says WR2 in the title.

[lukkynumber13]

I should have known better than to state a fact, he did not and is no longer able produce at a true #1 wr level. You pick him up and expect top 12 wr #s and see what you get.

None of us are expecting top 12 numbers. That would be silly.

I am expecting top 25, with the upside to be top 15 if he stays healthy and plays to his full potential (like in 2015)