Does Kealoha Pilares beat out Armanti Edwards?

[KJDaniel31]

Probably, Pilares has been playing WR all along... Armanti's still a work in progress.

It's not as tough of a switch as QB to WR, but Pilares actually came to college as an RB, and I believe played RB for a season or 2. The big knock on Pilares is he is still learning to play WR.

Seems to be a pattern.

[Floppin]

A lot of people blinded with Armanti hatred because of the trade or, in the case of a few posters, because they are WCU fans. Regardless, Armanti will start before Pilares.

[mountainpantherfan]

It's really hard to compare the two. Everyone has just assumed that Edwards is going to be more of a slot reciever but really no one has a clue there's really no analysis on him at the WR position that would tell us anything. I know a lot of people have labled him as the slot guy but that might not be his best fit.

To play the slot you have to go over the middle and be fearless doing it. Thats just something guys either have or don't have. Does Edwards have that? I don't think anyone can say that either way. And it's really not something you can force yourself to learn either.

Under Fox, the offense only had two starting WR spots, the Flanker and the Split End. Smith was the Flanker and Moose was the Split End and generally seen as a possession receiver. When Henning was still running the offense in the early days Proehl was the Slot Receiver but Fox still didn't see it as a starting position.

Now, under Chud, all three spots will have starters but the Split End will not be seen as a possession receiver anymore. Under Chud, the Flanker is typically a taller and really fast WR. The Split End will be just as fast but will need to be more stout in order to fight off jams at the LOS. Another difference is that the Slot receiver usually lines up on the LOS as well and the TE is then allowed to back off the LOS. This is one reason why Gates has been so much more effective in Turner's offense. Giving him 5 yards to seperate is just unfair to the defense.

Anyway, if I were to guess at how best Edwards would be used I would say as a Flanker as compared to a Slot Receiver that Pilares is a natural at. So to me the question is a little premature until we see more of Edwards and exactly how Chud is going to use the different WRs.

[Catalyst]

http://fantasyfootballmetrics.com/Player_News/2011/NFL%20Draft/Draft_2011_Pilares_4-19-11_1.0.htm

Great article about Pilares and why he could be a huge steal...

I haven't a clue where Pilares will be selected, but I would bet on 2 things for him in the NFL Draft:

1. Pilares will be selected by a team we would all agree is "smart" on personnel decisions, Indianapolis, San Diego, New England, NY Jets, KC Chiefs, Philly are a few to watch. Pilares has smaller hands, so I would think a cold weather team wouldn't be as great a fit...but he is going to be such a steal, it probably won't matter to the drafting team (smaller hands is more an issue with "big WRs, not "small WRs translating to the NFL, according to our research). Put me down for San Diego or Indianapolis, with San Francisco as a wild-card.

2. Pilares will be within the first 20 WRs taken. Again, he is rated about 25th-40th+ WR on most media draft boards. It's a shame if he is taken somewhere around the 15-25th+ WR overall, because he should be a Top-10 WR...he is going to be a major steal anywhere near the 20th overall WR taken.

[AceMan]

AE will make the team as 3rd QB

[CarolinaKat]

I'm an Edwards fan but truthfully I forgot all about him when we drafted Pilares

[SCP]

This guy could wheel out there and beat out Armanti Edwards.

[Vagrant]

http://fantasyfootballmetrics.com/Player_News/2011/NFL%20Draft/Draft_2011_Pilares_4-19-11_1.0.htm

Great article about Pilares and why he could be a huge steal...

That guy is apparently a moron. He hedged his bets by naming 9 of the 32 teams as possible landing spots and missed on every single one. Why even venture a guess if you have no idea what you're talking about to start with?

Armanti Edwards has shown nothing at this point and neither has Kealoha Pilares. The fact that Pilares is not healthy is already a tremendous strike against his chances as it will take a while for the mobility to come back. It wouldn't shock me to see him end up on the practice squad or injured reserve.

Right now with Steve Smith, David Gettis, and Brandon LaFell slated as the Top 3 receivers for this team we know that anybody behind those guys is going to have to contribute on special teams to justify a roster spot or an active player. Wallace Wright, David Clowney, Armanti Edwards, Trent Guy, and Charly Martin all have their areas of specialty.

I can tell you one thing and it's that regardless of performance, Edwards will be on the roster next year. As long as Marty Hurney is our GM he will attempt to keep Edwards around to prevent cutting a player a year after drafting him when you traded him for what amounts to a supplemental first round pick. 33rd overall as we all know.

Plus, it's far too early to talk about position battles when we haven't even had free agency, don't know if Steve Smith is staying or leaving, and haven't seen a single snap of preseason football if there will be any.

[vorbis]

Armanti Edwards has shown nothing at this point and neither has Kealoha Pilares. The fact that Pilares is not healthy is already a tremendous strike against his chances as it will take a while for the mobility to come back. It wouldn't shock me to see him end up on the practice squad or injured reserve.

i don't think it will be the case that pilares is behind due to his health. his PCL injury was a strain and he ran a 4.42 40 yd dash at his pro day 3 months after the injury. i imagine he is only more healthy and mobile now than he was then, and 4.42 isn't too shabby. unless he gets another injury or somehow aggravates his previous one he'll be going full speed whenever lockout is over and players are practicing.

[jayflip]

We have a challenger to the Pilares fanclub!!! Vagrant, I respect your opinion, but I hope you are wrong. I'm still convinced that Kealoha will eat the world.

[dxpanther]

god, i cant wait for armanti to shut everyone up this season. this is going to be great

[Darth Biscuit]

Honestly, I have no clue what to expect on Edwards. Like someone just said above me, we haven't seen him play enough to make any sort of accurate judgement or prediction on his skill as a wide receiver. I think at this point, it just depends on how hard he works at it and what his natural skill level turns out to be when he gets some playing time...

Almost word for word what I was thinking... I have hopes for Armanti, but have no clue what he's going to do because Fox never gave the kid a chance.

[rayzor]

edwards will be more of a threat after the ball is in his hands, esp. given a little room to run in.

pilares will be a dude you can send into the middle of a train wreck and still come out with the ball.

doesn't have to be one or the other. we'll have 5 or 6 active WRs and with this new offense, all of them will be getting plenty of opportunities...with or without smith around.

[The_Cannon]

What kinds of contracts did Clowney and Thomas sign last year? I always assumed they were one year stop gap guys. I don't know if Riv and Chud are keeping some form of the Moutainer package but I'd like to see that utilized to ease Edwards into taking NFl hits. I can't make a real call on this till I see them at OTA or camp. I know Edwards didn't look all that hot when I was in Spartenburg last year, but then again he didn't know poo last year. Too early to tell...