Quote:
Originally Posted by ForeverIowan
Julio Jones is 110% an exception and NOT the norm. The wheels fell off and his body folded. How many more examples are there out there of an all-time great wide receiver having zero left in the tank after the age of 30? I have 15+ examples of all-time greats that played at an extremely high level well into their 30s.
|
Would you put Hopkins in the 'all time great' camp?
Because for many of those guys, they became all time greats by VIRTUE of their performance in their 30s. It's a self-selecting group; it's how they accumulated those numbers - by simply continuing to play at a very high level for another 3-4 years into their 30s.
For example, at 29 Chad Johnson looked for all the world like an 'all-time great' and then...wasn't. Nobody considers Roddy White an 'all time great' but through his late 20s he put up 6 consecutive 1,000 yard seasons and averaged almost 1,300 yards/season over that span.
He plays 3-4 more years at that level and his numbers land him in the top 15-20 of all time. But he didn't. He isn't considered an 'all time great' BECAUSE his didn't perform into his mid 30s.
Playing well into their mid-30s is what makes the majority of these guys fall into 'all-time great' status with notable exceptions like Julio Jones and Calvin Johnson who took the Sandy Koufax/Pedro Martinez route and were just so damn dominant in their primes that they didn't need longevity.
I don't think Hopkins falls into that latter category and I don't see anything to confidently state he'd qualify for the former.
And again - I'm offering him $15 million/season here; i'm not saying he'll suck. But I think I'm pricing in the risk of collapse into my offer.