Comments: NFL - Free Agent WRs - On the Move

The agents representing this crop of free agent WRs will be doing their best Jerry Mcguire impersonation as they demand that GMs "show them the money" and they should get their wish with about half of the NFL searching for receiving upgrades. Many teams that are in salary cap hell (such as the Jets, Steelers, Cardinals and Panthers) will be forced to search for pass catchers via the draft, so be sure to check out Matt De Lima's in depth profiles on some the best collegiate WRs that will hear their names called in the early rounds of April's draft http://www.fftoolbox.com/nfl_draft/2013/top-nfl-prospects-for-2013.cfm?pos=WR.

This draft class lacks a top 10 WR talent (ala Julio Jones / AJ Green of 2010), but there is solid depth at the position with as many as 8-10 WRs in the running to be selected during the first 2 days of the draft. In my most recent Mock Draft (http://www.fftoolbox.com/nfl_draft/2013/2013-nfl-mock-draft.cfm?writer=37), I have four WRs going in round 1 and another 5 collegiate pass catchers hear their names called in round 2.

A few WR needy teams with adequate cap space (Cincy, Miami, Cleveland all rank in the top five in available cap room) will likely dip both feet into the free agent waters in hopes of scoring that prized big fish. In Cleveland first year head coach Rob Chudzinki and new OC Norv Turner will need to address a Browns passing offense that passed for the 5th fewest TDs (16) in the league. RB Trent Richardson will remain the focal point of the offense, but adding a compliment to Josh Gordon should take priority. In Miami, Ryan Tannehill will enter his 2nd season in the NFL with hopes that he'll get a true #1 WR as Davone Bess and free agent Brian Hartline are not exactly striking fear into opposing defenses. Miami is rumored to be hot on the trails of speed demon Mike Wallace. Buffalo first year coach Doug Marrone will look to find a running mate for Stevie "Why so Serious" Johnson in hopes of improving the Bills' 25th ranked aerial attack. The ongoing Percy Harvin soap opera in Minnesota could force GM Rick Spielman to open his checkbook for at least one legit WR in this free agent group in hopes of improving the Vikings' 31st rank passing game.

Last season there were multiple free agent WRs that parlayed their skills into monster contract extensions as Vincent Jackson, Reggie Wayne, Stevie Johnson, and Pierre Garcon proved their worth to varying degrees. Robert Meachem (Chargers - 4 year $26 million) and Laurent Robinson (Jacksonville - 5 year, $33 million) failed to come close to justifying their big paydays proving that GMs will need to do their due diligence to avoid wasting money on mediocre talents.

In this article we profile some of the bigger named free agent WRs that may or may not hit the open market. Some of them would see a decent bump in fantasy value if they change zip codes and team up with more talented QBs, while others might be hard pressed to match their career averages if they exit and are not paired with a future Hall of Famer QB (Jennings and Welker I'm looking at you).

Players listed in this article:

• WR Danario Alexander, SD
• WR Danny Amendola, NE
• WR Dwayne Bowe, KC
• WR Victor Cruz, NYG
• WR Brian Hartline, MIA
• WR Greg Jennings, MIN
• WR Mike Wallace, MIA
• WR Wes Welker, DEN

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