Brees: Colston has a bunch of good years left
 

After a down year statistically speaking for Marques Colston, the New Orleans Saints wide receiver proved that he still has what it takes to play the position.

Facing a stiff Seattle Seahawks secondary in the divisional game, Colston hauled in 11 receptions for 144 yards and a touchdown. The performance was more than enough to get Drew Brees reflecting on the wide outs career.


“He’s the prime example, for any young player coming in, that anything is possible. He came in as a seventh-round pick and after OTAs, you didn’t think he was going to make the team. And then he comes in, and all of a sudden he’s our No. 1 receiver going into the season in ’06. He does not get the credit he deserves. But he’s a quiet, soft-spoken, come-to-work, get-the-job-done kind of guy. The story is yet to be written. I think he still has a bunch of good years left.”

On the year, Colston failed to reach 1,000 yards for only the second time in his career. The other was in 2008 when he played only 11 games. He also tied a career low for touchdowns with five.

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Re: Brees: Colston has a bunch of good years left
 

I also believe Colston has a couple years, my opionion would be 2.

Re: Brees: Colston has a bunch of good years left
 

He has good years left no doubt about that, but I don't think he is a #1 WR... JMO.

Re: Brees: Colston has a bunch of good years left
 

Colston presents tremendous value. Not the fastest or the quickest but clearly has Drew's confidence.

Re: Brees: Colston has a bunch of good years left
 

Take a step back and look at this season. How many key catches did Colston make. How many times did you yell, "YES", when he made that important catch.

All I know is that I want the "Quiet Storm" in the game when we need that crucial play. Yes, even more so than Graham.

Re: Brees: Colston has a bunch of good years left
 

I will agree, at this stage in his career he is not a #1, but still can be a #2 or even a #3 reciever. I can see us drafting another Colston type this draft, with Stills emerging and hopefully Morgan (if he can stay healthy) we will be in good shape.

Re: Brees: Colston has a bunch of good years left
 

Agree with most posters here. Colston would still make a great #2, but I think hes not quite a #1 receiver anymore.

Re: Brees: Colston has a bunch of good years left
 

Best defensive backfield in the league - Marques Colston, 11 receptions for 144 yards and a TD.

Re: Brees: Colston has a bunch of good years left
 

I will make my business case for trading Colston.

The perception that I have seen everywhere is that he still has a few years left in the tank. Great!

That is trade value...

Why do you want to trade Colston while most people still think he has a few years? Because his contract is as quiet as he is, but is also as lethal.

Past season 4.5M cap hit <- he is worth that
2014 8.3M Cap hit <-- I do not think he is worth this or the rest.
2015 9.7M Cap hit
2016 10.5M Cap hit

If you do not trade him now, while you can sell his value, it isnt till 2015 that he isnt upside down in dead money.

Still not convinced? What if i told you that in 2014 for 9M you could have Stevie Johnson, Antonio Brown, Mike Wallace, Dwayne Bowe, 2x Demaryius Thomas, 2x Crabtrees, 3x Dez Bryants...

Are you still keeping Colston?

I would trade him for draft picks and use the cap space to find a FA WR worth around 7m, giving us another 2m to play wit for Graham... LT, CB, etc...

Re: Brees: Colston has a bunch of good years left
 

I hope Drew is right and I hope next season is one of those good years. By Colstons standards, this last year was just meh.

Re: Brees: Colston has a bunch of good years left
 

Drew was rushed like mad this year at times it appeared that he was hearing footsteps. In my opinion Colston is most effective on the long routes. How many times do to the pressure did Colston check back this season. Against better Defenses our O Line struggles Graham suffered the same fate.

Re: Brees: Colston has a bunch of good years left
 

When I hear stuff like this, I get a little worried sometimes that Brees in particular has a bit of the ole "keeping the ole gang together" syndrome....no question he is passionate about his teammates, and loves these veteran guys like Sproles, Colston, Moore, Meachem, PT, etc. But will he still be so connected to them in friendship and so forth, that he ends up influencing the decision making about the offense going forward....As fans, everybody loves the idea of keeping the band together, let's just keep going and going and going and it will always be just like old times and we'll GET ALL THOSE GUYS ANOTHER LOMBARDI. But 2009 was a long time ago now, and when you look at these young, incredibly fast teams that were in the playoffs this past year, and how great the youth and speed movement was for our defense, our offense is suddenly looking incredibly long in the tooth lately.

I think Colston could be a part of that offense going foward, but everything needs to be on the table, everything needs to be looked at carefully. Because time marches on.

Re: Brees: Colston has a bunch of good years left
 

I don't believe Colston is anywhere close to done. I do think his foot/knee/ankle problems slowed him down this year, in combination with Brees locking on to Graham a lot means his numbers are down.

But even with the ball going to other guys in a spread-it-out offense and multiple nagging injuries he still managed well over 900 yards in an "off" year. I do strongly believe if we see healthy Colston in 2014 he will be around the 1100-1200 yards and 80-90 catches mark again.

Re: Brees: Colston has a bunch of good years left
 

I do see your point and I tend to agree with it. Maybe there will be some sort of restructuring so that we can keep him w/o the cap hits. Hes definitely worth keeping, but we do need help in other areas so trading him isn't bad either, depending on what we can get for him.

Re: Brees: Colston has a bunch of good years left
 

His cap hits...
2013 4,500,000
2014 8,300,000
2015 9,700,000
2016 10,500,000

Re: Brees: Colston has a bunch of good years left
 

As Dannno pointed out in another thread I wasn't thinking about bonus money staying with the team.

So while my example failed miserably my argument stands. Nearly all players have one season in their career where their perceived ability and their actual ability is on the decline. If you miss that season you miss the opportunity to get as much value out if a trade as possible.

We keep hanging onto players till the tank is empty and don't get anything but an empty spot in return.

Re: Brees: Colston has a bunch of good years left
 

Our whole receiving corps looked shifty this year. I think it has more to do with our line not giving Breese enough time to be as accurate as he usually is. Goes to show you how much better Breese makes our receivers look when he is on.
I hope his accuracy problems were a result of his lines poor play and not a sign that he is slipping. Payton and Brady are older and still going strong but they have not been asked to throw as much as Brees has. Improving our running game is starting to become a top priority if they want to prolong Brees career.

Re: Brees: Colston has a bunch of good years left
 

While it feels that way I averaged three years worth of attempts for all three and this is just regular season.

Ave per/year
Brees 659
Manning 640
Brady 625

Total Throws on arm in games.
Brees - 6799
Manning - 8452
Brady - 6586

The difference between them all is 1-2 passes per game.

Re: Brees: Colston has a bunch of good years left
 

Obviously if we could bring back everyone that would be great. But I doubt Dar Commissar Goodell will allow us to play at 30 million over the cap.

We absolutely without question must get rid of several players. Deciding whom is the hard part.

Re: Brees: Colston has a bunch of good years left
 

No.

Re: Brees: Colston has a bunch of good years left
 

Colston is limited by two things. Burners to run the routes that open up the field and a good O-line. If Brees had more time those crossing routes would open up again.

Re: Brees: Colston has a bunch of good years left
 

Colston is the best player to never make a probowl, and if he wasn't in the Saints by committee WR mumbo jumbo he would be in the PB. I love Colston but that number is too damn high.

Re: Brees: Colston has a bunch of good years left
 

From a purely emotional standpoint I would hate to see him go. An ultimate professional dedicated to his craft and good at keeping his mouth shut. Thats the type of players I really like.