Possible FA Targets: WR Malcolm Floyd/WR Legedu Naanee

I like Malcolm Floyd.  Not just because when he was healthy, he was killing it for my fantasy football team last year (sometimes).  He seems like a worker.  Not flashy, but does his job.

He fits the profile of a Carroll WR - rangy, 6'5", 225, and decently fast. However, he had the annoying habit of becoming invisible in a few games, or maybe more accurately he was inconsistent as the no.1 receiver on a team with Philip Rivers at the helm.  In week 2 he had three catches for 95 yards and score.  In week 3, against Seattle, he had 6 for 97 yrds and a TD.  The next week?  2 catches for 45 yards.  He went off in week 5 when he caught 8 passes for 215 yards and a TD.  The next week?  2 catches for 15 yards before he got hurt in the 4th quarter.  This lack of consistency could be the product of a number of things, but his numbers do tell us that he's capable of big games.  With Philip Rivers.  And as the number one receiver.  I'm not sold he'd be equally as effective in Seattle's offense.



On the other hand, I really feel like a player like Legadu Naanee could thrive in our offense.  He is more athletic than Floyd, posting ridiculous numbers at the combine:  4.41 40-yard dash, and 6.73 3-cone agility, 19 reps at bench of 225 lbs; and has a 40" vertical.

He was drafted by Norv Turner with the thought that he'd play some H-Back, the hybrid Fullback/Receiver/Tight End position used by some offenses.  Since then, he has been a straight WR, and has had some success.

In 2009, he moved up the depth chart to become the Chargers' 3rd WR.

Evan Silva wrote on his season: While he managed a modest 24 receptions for 242 yards and two touchdowns in 15 appearances, Naanee was outstandingly efficient. His 88.9% catch rate led the league among qualifying receivers. Naanee dropped just one of his 27 targets, and paced the Chargers in yards-after-catch average. Naanee is also not a liability as a blocker, helping his chances of earning permanent playing time

He started out the 2010 season with 5 catches, 110 yrds with a TD against the Chiefs.  He slowed down after that, only played in 10 games due to a lingering hamstring injury, but finished the year strong with 2 solid games in week 16 and 17 (4/59yrds, 4/79yrds).

Naanee's mediocre season, production-wise, could make his price relatively low.  He's a local (ish) kid, hailing from Portland and a product of Franklin High School.  He may have the desire to come home and play a short 3 hour drive from his roots on a team that he has a chance to start on.

Of course the question has to be, where does he fit in?  I think he could be a deep threat opposite of Mike Williams, and provide some depth at the position, but I think his strength lies more so in the slot, as he's shown a respectable ability to gain yards after the catch (5.8 YAC in '09), and he's a strong, big, physical receiver.  With Brandon Stokely's future with the Hawks up in the air, it wouldn't be bad to bring in a guy to fill that void (and Golden Tate remains a question mark).

The other reason we might target Naanee, (as more of a hunch... and this may be reaching quite a bit):  the Hawks brought Isaiah Stanbeck in last year during the offseason to compete for a roster spot.  Stanbeck is a remarkably similar player, physically, to Naanee.  He's 6'2", 208, fast, physical, a former QB that was converted to WR, and I believe Carroll had brought him in to compete for a chance to play the slot and do some wildcat work.  His versatility was forefront in the mind of Coach Carroll.  This sounds a lot like Naanee. Shortly after reporting though, Stanbeck tore his achilles tendon, and his future is in doubt.  I don't think that Isaiah is under contract for next year, and coming back from an achilles injury is always a challenge.

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