Mohamed Sanu was expensive, but will be worth it
The Atlanta Falcons knew they needed to find a complementary option to wide receiver Julio Jones, so they signed Mohamed Sanu to a five-year deal worth $32.5 million.
That being said, it still hasn’t been one of the most praised offseason moves, but rather one of the most criticized. For one, here’s what ESPN’s Bill Barnwell had to say about the contract signing:
“It made sense for Atlanta to move on from Roddy White, who wasn’t an NFL-caliber receiver at this point of his career, but it’s hard to see Sanu making the sort of impact his contract suggests.”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Jeff Schultz also widely panned the move:
“I’m not suggesting Sanu is a mediocre receiver. He’s above average. He had 56 receptions with an average of 14.1 yards per catch and five touchdowns in 2014. He also can be used in different roles, be it running reverses or lining up as a quarterback in the wild cat formation.
But there is nothing to suggest he is worth this kind of money — money that the team could have been spent on a player to strengthen the defense in general and the pass rush in particular.”
Let’s get this out of the way: Sanu was definitely overpaid, but we are in an era four all major sports where general managers have to pony up more than market value to land top players. It’s that simple.
Sanu’s stats weren’t great because he had to play with elite wideout A.J. Green, star tight end Tyler Eifert and Marvin Jones, another solid weapon for the Cincinnati Bengals. Now with Julio Jones sure to demand more attention from other defenses, Sanu will get plenty of targets.
Atlanta really, really needed a second wide receiver. With Roddy White released, there was no one to complement Jones in the passing game. Sanu is only 26-years-old and should fit along nicely with Jones.
Yes, it was a ridiculous price to pay for someone who hasn’t come close to 1,000 receiving yards in a season, but it will be worth it when he has a breakout year in 2016. Just watch.
The post Mohamed Sanu was expensive, but will be worth it appeared first on Cover32.
