I developed a theory about a decade ago watching Mizzou football and it was essentially that your 3rd WR is what makes/breaks a passing offense. When Mizzou was at its best after Daniel, the throughput wasn't even the QB - it was the ability to run 3 dangerous receivers out there. When that fell to 2, the dropoff in productivity was dramatic. Far more than merely losing a weapon would've suggested.
Because THAT'S when you stretch a defense past its talent level. A lot of teams have 2 credible CBS - very few have 3. If you can put 3 guys out there with the ability to tax the defensive backfield, you create mismatches that are far more difficult to deal with.
I'm not content simply putting a 2nd good WR out there and calling it a day. I think we're better with Rice/Ridley/Egbuka than we would be with Rice/Aiyuk/Toney. It's that ability to pressure the worst player in their defensive backfield that I'm looking for.
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"If there's a god, he's laughing at us.....and our football team..."
"When you look at something through rose colored glasses, all the red flags just look like flags."
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