Maximum-Puns Fri 6/7/13 9:49 AM

There's been some buzz this offseason about Jimmy Graham's next contract, and whether the Saints would have to franchise him as a WR instead of a TE due to the amount of time he lines up in the receiver position.

How does flea flicker determine whether a player is a RB/WR/TE. I recall on some systems that Dexter McCluster was listed as both a RB/WR and James Casey both a RB/TE. What would happen if Jimmy Graham was franchised as a WR?

Thanks!

FleaMod Admin Fri 6/7/13 11:47 AM

This has always been an issue with NFL players wanting the more desired salaries. For instance, Terrell Suggs with the Ravens wanted to be considered a Defensive End, when he was really a Linebacker in the system. Fleaflicker takes a lot of things into account when doing position changes, but the most prominent one is where the player is listed on the depth chart and on the roster. This link will help show you how we determine positions:

fleaflicker.com

With all that said, Graham will be a TE. We make position changes up until around the second week of the preseaosn (but no later). We rarely will on a case-by-case basis. For instance, Joe Webb on the Vikings was changed to a WR a week ago, but we did not change him 3 years ago when they were thinking about moving him and many sites jumped the gun (it was a good reason we didn't, because he ended up starting a handful of games for them -- similar situation with C.J. Spiller when we correctly did not move him to WR). So regardless of how the NFL and their Management Council rewards positions, we don't take that into a huge effect (we have a team of former NFL employees that worked in this department helping us here and agree with our sentiments). Your input is valued though, so we would like to hear it as well. Thanks.

[Deleted User] Fri 6/7/13 12:13 PM

Hal... What happen to playing so many games at a position before another tag is added??? My famous line of saying a players name is SLASH lol

[Deleted User] Fri 6/7/13 12:15 PM

@Hal... Or is this like saying Ware is going to be a DE not a LB due to a scheme change??

phatspds1 Fri 6/7/13 12:46 PM

[Deleted]

FleaMod Admin Fri 6/7/13 12:47 PM

He was referring to football. Baseball eligibilities are determined differently and can be found here: fleaflicker.com

In terms of your second comment, the scheme change most likey always dictates where the player lines up, yes. It would be unfair to list Woodley or Worilds on the Steelers as a DL even though he lines up down on many occasions.

[Deleted User] Fri 6/7/13 4:01 PM

so in football, no mandatory games played then for position change right?

FleaMod Admin Fri 6/7/13 4:13 PM

Correct

Maximum-Puns Tue 6/17/14 11:11 AM

Bumping this up, considering it is Jimmy Graham franchise tag decision day. If he gets franchised as a WR, do you have a sense of how you'll act? Thanks guys.

FleaMod Admin Tue 6/17/14 11:17 AM

We heavily weigh and base decisions for NFL players on the team's depth chart and scheme.

Even if players like Graham receive franchise tags and are "considered" a WR/TE (like Suggs in 2008), he'll still be a TE not a WR.

All players are taken on a case-by-case basis, though. The staff's decision is not really dependent on NFL's management council's decision for salary purposes. It's more on the team's scheme and where they'll list him for fantasy football purposes. Graham will almost 100% be a TE, not a WR and will not have dual eligibility, regardless of the decision.

For further questions on position eligibility, our staff can better respond at fleaflicker.com and can help better than here on the forums.

Thanks.

Maximum-Puns Tue 6/17/14 5:27 PM

Fantastic, thank you!