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Revisiting the 2nd Round of the ‘08 Draft
By Jamie Mottram | December 1, 2009
Maybe these guys aren’t so shitty after all.
There was drama when Vinny Cerrato spent all three 2008 second-round picks on receivers. That drama became a dark comedy when the trio combined for 21 receptions, 165 receiving yards and 0 receiving touchdowns in its first season. And when Devin Thomas, Fred Davis and Malcolm Kelly combined for 18, 144 an 0 in the first six games of this season, that dark comedy turned into the second half of Cable Guy.
Over the past five games, though, things have changed. Their numbers since Oct. 26:
Davis: 20 receptions, 221 yards, 2 TD
Thomas: 12 receptions, 161 yards, 1 TD
Kelly: 5 receptions, 108 yards, 0 TD
Fred Davis is averaging 44.2 yards and .40 TD per game over this span. For his career, Chris Cooley averages 43.6 and .35. Devin Thomas is averaging 32.2 and .20. For his Redskins career, Antwaan Randle El averages 35.5 and .14. Malcolm Kelly still isn’t doing much.
This is not to say that I’m happy Vinny spent three second-round picks on receivers. Believe me, I’d prefer that he took three linemen. Or two linemen and DeSean Jackson (who also went in that round). Or maybe one lineman, DeSean and Ray Rice (who also went in that round).
But it is to say that these three amigos may not be a total failure. They may turn out okay. And that would be fine, so long as it doesn’t save Cerrato.
Topics: Devin Thomas, Fire Vinny, Fred Davis, Malcom Kelly, Redskins, Stats Are Cool | 3 Comments »
December 1st, 2009 at 10:10 AM
I don’t think the issue was really that these guys sucked, it was that we drafted three receivers when we had much more urgent needs at other positions.
But yes, nice to see them finally contributing to our high-powered offensive attack. I’d still like to see what Marko Mitchell can do though.
December 1st, 2009 at 10:26 AM
The issue was that there were more urgent needs and they sucked, hence the post.
December 1st, 2009 at 10:30 AM
What remains interesting to me about those choices is how much Vinny had rabbit ears for the fans. For years, people had been clamoring for big receivers who could be real redzone threats instead of all these short guys (remember, they were reportedly picking between Thomas and the 6′3 Jordy Nelson who went two picks later to Green Bay and has had a relatively mediocre career thus far).
Vinny passed on the two best receivers in that round, Eddie Royal and DeSean Jackson, because they were both 5′10. Sometimes, being a good GM means telling the fans to shut the hell up.
BTW, it could be worse: in that same 2008 2nd round, the Packers drafted Brian Brohm and the Bucs drafted Dexter Jackson, both of whom ended up on the practice squad and then cut outright. Feast and famine.