NFL Free Agency 2011: Top 10 Destinations for Santonio Holmes
The New York Jets have been to two straight AFC Championship games.
In 2009, they got there with Braylon Edwards as the team's big name wide receiver. And in 2010, Santonio Holmes joined Edwards in the Big Apple to form quite the one-two punch.
But if Rex Ryan's crew wants to get to a third straight AFC title game, then they may be have to do it with only Edwards, like in 2009, or only Holmes this time around, as both receivers are currently free agents.
So who will it be?
Well, I still think the Jets will try a little harder to hold onto Holmes, but they'll have some competition.
Here are the top 10 possible landing spots for Santonio Holmes.
10. Buffalo Bills
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Buffalo's Steve Johnson was one of the league's most pleasant surprises in 2010, racking up 82 catches for 1,073 yards and 10 touchdowns on a lowly Bills team.
But there was a huge drop-off in production after him, as the team's second-leading receiver was Lee Evans, who caught just 37 passes and four touchdowns.
After Evans, the Bills' third-leading receiver, Roscoe Parrish, caught only 33 passes and got into the end zone just twice.
Though Johnson and Evans are nice pieces, Parrish thrives primarily in the return game, and the Bills would benefit from adding a third starting caliber wideout, such as Santonio Holmes.
9. Chicago Bears
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There are certainly teams who are in more more of a pickle at the wide receiver position than Chicago, as the Bears have a decent cast with Devin Hester, Earl Bennett and Johnny Knox.
But Hester and Knox are burners more than they are pure receivers, while Bennett is never going to be confused for a No. 1 wideout.
In fact, neither of those three receivers caught more than 51 passes or five touchdowns last season, and none of them are over 6'0'' tall.
So would adding the 5'11" Santonio Holmes just give them what they already have?
Maybe so.
But Holmes is better than all of Chicago's receivers, and the Bears may go with a want rather than a need in this situation.
8. Jacksonville Jaguars
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In 2010, Jaguars tight end Marcedes Lewis emerged as one of the NFL's premier red zone targets and touchdown threats.
Both Mike Thomas and Mike Sims-Walker put up solid numbers at wide receiver for Jacksonville as well.
But after those three guys, the next best pass catchers were running backs Rashad Jennings and Maurice Jones-Drew, with the team's No. 3 wideout, Jason Hill, catching only 11 passes all season.
Sims-Walker and Thomas, though playmakers in their own right, clearly need another playmaker to help them out.
Adding a third wideout, such as Santonio Holmes, would give them some much needed help on the outside and prevent David Garrard from relying too heavily on Jennings and Jones-Drew as receivers out of the backfield.
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7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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Last season, Josh Freeman connected with rookie wide receiver Mike Williams to form one of the league's best young QB-WR duos.
But after Williams (65 receptions and 11 touchdowns), no other receiver had more than 25 receptions (Arrelious Benn) or two touchdowns (Benn and Sammie Stroughter).
In fact, of the eight players not named Mike Williams who caught a TD pass, they only combined for 14 total TD catches.
It's going to be tough for Freeman and Williams to replicate their success of 2010 without help from Tampa Bay's supporting cast.
Though Stroughter and Benn could step up next season, why not go with a proven veteran like Santonio Holmes?
6. St. Louis Rams
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After he won the Offensive Rookie of the Year award in 2010, all signs point to Sam Bradford becoming a star in the NFL.
But the only way that's going to happen is if St. Louis gets him some more people to throw the ball to.
The Rams' top wide receiver in 2010, Danny Amendola, caught a very impressive 85 passes but had just 689 receiving yards and three touchdown receptions.
Meanwhile, no other Rams receiver caught more than 53 passes, had more than 620 receiving yards or caught more than two touchdown passes.
While Brandon Gibson showed serious flashes of potential, the Rams don't have much on their roster after he and Amendola.
Though not necessarily the best fit, Santonio Holmes would be a welcome addition to a St. Louis team that could really benefit from adding a top-tier receiver.
5. Oakland Raiders
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I understand that Oakland was a run-heavy team last season, but it's still shocking that the team's top two pass catchers don't even play wide receiver.
Tight end Zach Miller led the team with 60 receptions, while running back Darren McFadden was second with 47 catches.
Of the Raiders wide receivers, Louis Murphy had the most receptions (41), and he was followed by Darrius Heyward-Bey (26), Jacoby Ford (25) and Johnnie Lee Higgins (10).
Not much production, huh?
I'd guess Oakland will try to find some wide receiver help—some way, somehow—-and Santonio Holmes is better than anyone currently on the team's roster.
4. Tennessee Titans
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When Kenny Britt was healthy in 2010, he played like a top-five wide receiver.
But even if he plays that well again in 2011, the Titans are still shaky at best at the wide receiver position.
Tennessee's second-leading wideout in 2010, Nate Washington, caught just 42 passes, while no other Titans receiver had more than 20 receptions or one touchdown.
Obviously, that type of production is not going to translate to a whole lot of wins next season.
The Titans need to add another starting-caliber wideout, either through the draft or free agency, and Santonio Holmes would provide them with a nice complement to the much bigger Britt and Washington.
3. Carolina Panthers
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In 2010, the Panthers offense was: Terrible. Awful. Horrible. Abysmal.
And the biggest reason why? Well, you could could certainly make a case that it was the team's wide receivers.
Carolina's top three receivers—Steve Smith, David Gettis and Brandon LeFell—combined for just 121 receptions, 1,530 yards and six touchdowns.
To put that into perspective, Atlanta's Roddy White had 115 receptions for 1,389 yards and 10 touchdowns. And he's just one guy.
The Panthers need to add another top-notch receiver to take the pressure off Smith and open the field for Gettis and LeFell.
And while Santonio Holmes may not be the best fit next to the even smaller Smith, he's definitely an upgrade over the rest of Carolina's receivers.
2. Cleveland Browns
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If we're going to talk about teams with major wide receiver problems, Cleveland might be the first one that we should mention.
Last season the Browns top two pass catchers were tight end Benjamin Watson (68 receptions) and running back Peyton Hillis (61).
There was a huge gap between Hillis and the team's top receiver, Chansi Stuckey, who caught just 40 passes for 346 yards and zero touchdowns.
Mohamed Massaquoi also had 36 receptions, while Brian Robiskie (29 receptions) and Josh Cribbs (23) were the only other contributors to Cleveland's passing game who are worth mentioning.
Something tells me the Browns could use a wideout to bolster their passing attack.
I'm not wrong, am I?
1. New York Jets
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In a perfect world, the New York Jets would be able to re-sign both Braylon Edwards and Santonio Holmes.
But money will probably prevent that from happening, so the Jets will likely have to choose which wide receiver they want to bring back to the Big Apple in 2011.
And in just 12 games last season, Holmes caught 52 passes for 746 yards and six touchdowns, while providing the Jets with a big-time playmaker in the passing game.
Though there's always the possibility the Jets keep Edwards instead, Holmes is the better player.
Rex Ryan and company should do anything and everything they can to keep him.
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