Ernest Wilford signed

According to the Miami Herald, WR Ernest Wilford has been signed.

Wilford (6'4", 223 lbs.) was a fourth-round draft pick of the Jaguars in 2004. He is 29 years old.

Wilford provides a big, tough target to start opposite Ted Ginn, and his skill set compliments Ginn nicely. Wilford has demonstrated an ability to go over the middle and consistently catch the ball, and he is also a solid run blocker.

Here are Wilford's career stats:

==========

YEAR	TEAM	G	REC	YDS	AVG	LNG	TD	FD	FUM	LOST
2004	JAC	15	19	271	14.3	46	2	11	0	0
2005	JAC	16	41	681	16.6	39	7	35	0	0
2006	JAC	16	36	524	14.6	41	2	27	1	1
2007	JAC	16	45	518	11.5	35	3	35	0	0
Career		63	141	1994	14.1	46	14	108	1	1

==========

Here's a chart I've organized, using the Football Outsiders metrics, to analyze Wilford's performance over his career. To put it simply, "DPAR means a wide receiver with more total value. DVOA means a wide receiver with more value per play.":

	DPAR	DPAR Rank	DVOA	DVOA Rank	Targets	Catch %
2004	2.5	--	-5.4%	--	35	54%
2005	18.8	21	22.8%	8	74	55%
2006	2.3	63	-10.7%	63	74	49%
2007	11.9	48	9.1%	31	74	61%

Wilford wasn't targeted enough in his rookie season to qualify for a ranking, but he was incredibly good in his sophomore season. His 2005 metrics certainly surprised me. He slipped a bit in 2006, but last year may be the best representation of Wilford's abilities, as it falls in the middle of his two extremes. If that's the case, then Miami got itself a top-35 receiver to start opposite Ted Ginn. Those metrics reinforce that this was a good move by the team.