I am quoting myself from a prior post. This has been something that keeps circulating in my head.
OL is always brought up as a priority, which I 100% agree with but I feel like WR talent is often overlooked. How much of the development of the above guys is due to the talent available to them?
Most of those guys (Watson and Burrow) had terrible OLs to begin their careers. Calling them bottom 10 would be generous.
For Fields to take the next step, OL would be a tremendous boon, but we HAVE to get skill players on the edges for him. FO will need to go all in here.
I could add more QBs to this list who had success early like Dak, but how did have a fantastic OL and WR talent. He was able to start off with a boom.
The stone cold reality is this - even WITH better WRs, what difference does it make if your QB isn't given time to throw to them?
Priority one for any good GM is to protect their QB. The sage wisdom of always start building in the trenches is sage for a
reason.
That doesn't mean WRs are NOT important - they absolutely matter as well.
But you take the same QB, and put him behind a stud O-Line and average receivers, and then put him behind a bad O-Line with great receivers, I guarantee you, he will have a much better year behind the stud O-line.
Fans like WRs because they like excitement. Flash. Explosive plays. But that is an element you add when you have a solid foundation laid down. If you try to add it without that solid foundation, you may find yourself with an overpaid WR who is frustrated because the QB can't get him the ball - because that QB is spending too much time running for his life...
Fix the O-Line first, always. Once your QB is protected, then focus on the weapons to take the offense to the next level.