Malcom Floyd: Why Free Agent WR is Gem of Remaining Free Agency Crop

Malcom Floyd set career highs in yards per game, yards per catch and touchdowns in 2010 and was hoping to parlay that into a $5 million contract.

It seems no team was ready to match that lofty demand as his market was originally pretty small. But as the price has dropped closer to $3 million, more teams have gotten involved.

Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune updates the situation:

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In other ways, [signing Laurent Robinson] has a lot to do with Floyd, as it seems the acrobatic receiver is on his way out of town and the Chargers needed another experienced receiver.

There are still other teams on the line, but the Baltimore Ravens appear to be the leader to acquire Floyd. The Ravens made Floyd an offer late Monday night that tops the $3 million per year that is the Chargers' ceiling.

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Floyd is a very athletic receiver that uses his great size (6'5'', 225 pounds) to get leverage against smaller cornerbacks. Of his 37 catches last season, an astonishing 33 of them (89 percent) went for first downs.

That is a trend for Floyd, as 80 percent of his catches in 2009 and 78 percent of his catches in 2008 went for first downs. For his career, 105 of his 134 catches, or 78 percent, resulted in the chains moving.

Braylon Edwards, the other available No. 2 wide receiver still on the market, only achieved a first down on 72 percent of his catches.

Whereas Edwards has the reputation of somebody who drops a lot of passes, Floyd didn't drop a single pass in 77 targets last season. Floyd cannot match the career numbers of Edwards; however, his 65.4 yards per game in 2010 was better than all but one of Edwards' seasons.

Floyd, who battled hamstring injuries in both legs near the end of last season (which caused him to miss two games), should be fully recovered by now.

While the Ravens are the leading candidate to sign Floyd, other teams that have expressed interest include the Minnesota Vikings, New York Jets, San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals.

Most of those teams entered the discussion after he lowered his demands, which should confirm to him that was overpricing himself after the lockout ended.

Whatever team does sign Floyd will be getting a very good No. 2 receiver that played like a No. 1 while Vincent Jackson was holding out last season. He isn't a huge deep threat, but his size allows him to win one-on-one battles for jump balls down the field.

For a team still looking to add a wide receiver to its offense, Floyd provides more upside than Edwards. Now that the price is around $3 million, he is well worth the money for a rock-solid No. 2 option.