On National Tight Ends Day, it was fitting in the end that the Hummers got the better of the Ferraris.
Some gaudy stats in Sunday’s nightcap indicate that superstar speedster CeeDee Lamb outperformed tortoise-like George Kittle. The most important numbers say otherwise.
The final score had Kittle’s 49ers beating Lamb’s Cowboys 30-24 (again). But in the big picture, the disparity was much greater.
You see, Lamb is a part of a growing problem in the NFL. Simply stated: Wide receivers make too much money.
You pay a wideout $34 million — like the Cowboys do Lamb — you wind up with a defense that gets run over by a third-string running back.
Not always, but enough that some forward-thinking NFL teams are changing the way they model a roster.
Take the Bills. When it came time to dole out big bucks to Stefon Diggs last offseason, the Bills told him to take a hike … and take sidekick Gabe Davis with him.
Rookie Keon Coleman would suffice … especially at about a $15 million-a-year savings.
Don’t look now, but the Bills are playing arguably the best football east of Detroit all after allowing someone else — thank you, Browns — to pay the bulk of their almost No. 1 receiver Amari Cooper.
The Chargers took the concept one step further when Jim Harbaugh turned his newest NFL project into a college economics class.
Simply stated: You recruit top talent on the cheap, ride it to riches for four years, then wave goodbye and start the process over again, all the while investing heavily in line depth on both sides of the ball.
Few, if any, in the NFL would understand this concept better than Harbaugh, who employed it all the way to a national title at Michigan. So you can’t really be surprised that the first thing he did upon getting the Chargers gig was tell Keenan Allen and Mike Williams to hit the pike.
In came Ladd McConkey at a massive savings, and while many projected Harbaugh’s first season would be a disaster, the club currently has a better record than, well, the Cowboys.
And a savings account that indicates a heckuva better future as well.
National Tight Ends Day brought us nine catches, 81 yards, and two touchdowns from Cade Otton; 91 yards and two scores from Kyle Pitts; nine receptions and 124 yards from Trey McBride.
Guys named Adam Trautman, Josh Oliver, Tucker Kraft, Tyler Conklin, Brock Wright, and Nate Adkins scored six more touchdowns Sunday than A.J. Brown, Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Davante Adams, D.J. Moore, and Deebo Samuel. Feel free to throw in Justin Jefferson, kept out of the end zone Thursday night, and retain the shutout.
David Njoku, Sam LaPorta, Dalton Kincaid, and Evan Engram even got into the big-man scoring act Sunday. Michael Pittman, Calvin Ridley, Terry McLaurin, and even Cooper didn’t.
Some tight ends make decent money; don’t get me wrong. But on their day, they were well worth it.
Kittle had six catches, 128 yards, and a touchdown, and Travis Kelce had 10 catches, 90 yards, and a score. Sam LaPorta and Mark Andrews also had touchdowns.
And rounding out the $20 million-a-year wideout group, the aforementioned Diggs and Allen laid goose eggs.
Oh, let’s not forget: Hummers are not only cheaper, but they’re a lot more durable than Ferraris.
Injuries kept Dallas Goedert and T.J. Hockenson from rooting on their brothers Sunday. Meanwhile, flat tires prevented Brandon Aiyuk, Nico Collins, D.J. Metcalf, Tee Higgins, and Mike Evans from earning their bloated paychecks.
It wasn’t posted on any scoreboard, but the real final score Sunday was this: Tight ends 17 touchdowns, the 22 members of the $20 million wide receiver club: 4.
Note to Ja’Marr Chase: It’s probably not a good time to press the negotiations.
Then again, maybe that’s Jerry Jones on Line 1.
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