Hakeem Nicks is the top wide receiver on the market after Eric Decker signed with the Jets and now the Indianapolis Colts, Carolina Panthers, San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders appear to be the best destinations for the Giants star, especially in Carolina after the release of WR Steve Smith this week.
Nicks come into free agency after having two down seasons after putting up over 1,000 yards each of the seasons before that besides his rookie year and while the Giants would love to keep him, the star appears ready to move on. According to ESPN.com, Nicks is visiting both the Colts and Panthers this week and he also could add the Chargers and Raiders to that and if he looks towards Oakland, he could join one of his former teammates in Justin Tuck, who signed with the Raiders on a two year deal.
Nicks looks like a logical option in both Indy and Carolina, as both teams have young star quarterbacks and both have glaring needs at wideout. The Panthers have Brandon LaFell as a free agent and with Smith gone, the team is without its top two options from last year and that could clear the way for Nicks, who played his college ball in North Carolin and is from the state. Cam Newton throwing him balls is another plus, while having Andrew Luck in Indy could be just as good.
Nicks and TY Hilton for the Colts would be a fearsome duo and with Reggie Wayne also in the mix after an injury last year, that could be one of the best trios in the NFL. Nicks has some major decisions to make and so do teams, as they have to wonder whether last season's struggles were about injuries or more, as in: is Nicks a good team player? For the most part he was in New York until the injuries started piling up and he was a key player for the Super Bowl run in 2011 and now it remains to be seen whether he can get back to that point.
Nicks had 56 catches last season for nearly 900 yards and the season before he had 53 catches for 692 yards in 13 games and making matters even worse last season, he has zero touchdowns and zero red zone catches all season. The season before and the year before that he had over 1,000 yards and at least 70 catches in both years and now he will be trying to get back to that. Smith was released and he already has attention and he is coming off a year with 64 catches for 745 yards and four touchdowns
