Wide Receivers Taken in the 1st Round

[jem88]

Since 1998 (the year we passed on Randy Moss, as good a place to start as any!) there have been, by my count, 30 WRs taken in the first round:

Kevin Dyson, Randy Moss, Marcus Nash, Torry Holt, David Boston, Troy Edwards, Peter Warrick, Plaxico Burress, Travis Taylor, Sylvester Morris, R.J. Soward, David Terrell, Koren Robinson, Rod Gardner, Santana Moss, Freddie Mitchell, Reggie Wayne, Donte Stallworth, Ashlie Lelie, Javon Walker, Charles Rogers, Andre Johnson, Bryant Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald, Roy Williams, Reggie Williams, Lee Evans, Michael Clayton, Michael Jenkins, Rashaun Woods.

Of those 30, I'd say that 7 of them have become or look likely to become, bona fide #1 WRs: Randy Moss, Torry Holt, Javon Walker, Andre Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald, Roy Williams, Michael Clayton.

Another 6 have become strong #2 WRs: David Boston (at times he's looked like a #1, at other times he's disappeared completely, so we'll call him a #2), Plaxico Burress, Rod Gardiner (am I being too generous here?), Santana Moss, Reggie Wayne (he had #1 numbers last year, but so did Brandon Stokely), Lee Evans.

Of course the jury is still out on Charles Rogers and the other rookies from last year and Stallworth and Lelie have had their moments. Nonetheless, from the 30 WRs selected in the 1st round since 1998, only 13 have really lived up to their 1st round billing.

Furthermore, it's worth looking at which of those receivers were/have been seen as having attitude problems (bad attitudes seem much more prevalent in the receiver position than anywhere else. Perhaps we just notice it more there because it is the one position where 'free-lancing' and/or a lack of discipline can be really costly to the team, unlike at RB, where it can actually be a positive asset.)

So the receivers with attitude problems: Randy Moss, David Boston, Troy Edwards, Plaxico Burress, R.J. Soward, David Terrell, Koren Robinson, Freddie Mitchell (last year claimed he was the best WR in the league!) That's 8 by my count. Of those eight, four have been busts/disappointments: Edwards, Soward, Terrell, Mitchell with Robinson fast on his way to making it five. That leaves Moss, Boston and Burress. Boston is fast heading to oblivion. As for Moss and Burress, would you be willing to give up a 1st for either right now? (I know some would for Moss, but probably just as many wouldn't give up a 2nd for him.) In other words, receivers with attitude problems are dicey propositions in the 1st round. Guys like Terrell Owens and Joe Horn have attitudes but they arrived in the league with something to prove, so first they had to become good before they could display their sizable egos.

Factoring in all of the above, would you be willing to risk our #11 on Braylon Edwards if he were available? I haven't seen much of him but I've heard that attitude could be a problem with him. Given that this is one year where we absolutely must draft well, I'd exercise extreme caution.

[GTaylor]

I wouldn't draft Edwards simply because he played at Michigan, I know - scientific reason, but have they had anyone worth a darn at WR since Anthony Carter??

To me drafting a Michigan WR would be like drafting a QB from U.Miami

[Chuck 54]

I'd have no problem drafting Edwards or Williams....not saying we need them more than a CB or DL or LB, but if that's the way the coach went, I'd be excited to have either of these WR's....I would not be happy if he spent his top pick on Mark Clayton, who's very quick, not fast, has great hands, and is very small.

[TDHND]

Edwards is a talented WR and I wouldn't mind having him although he's from Michigan and I'm a huge Notre Dame fan. We need a good young WR to come in here and play right away and he has the skills to do so.

[Jimz31]

Now, you would have to go back and see which ones were available when WE drafted.

I see alot of posts like this...making it look like we passed on alot of players when the fact is they weren't even available when we drafted.

Also, did we have a more pressing need at another position where it made sense to draft who we did?

[TDHND]

Get Quincy back and put him at WR.

[Common Sense]

Originally Posted by Jimz31

Now, you would have to go back and see which ones were available when WE drafted.

I see alot of posts like this...making it look like we passed on alot of players when the fact is they weren't even available when we drafted.

Also, did we have a more pressing need at another position where it made sense to draft who we did?

Wooo, there goes the point... see that? It's sailing right over Jimz31's head....

[Jimz31]

Originally Posted by Common Sense

Wooo, there goes the point... see that? It's sailing right over Jimz31's head....

OK, I went back and read it more thoroughly. I was assuming it was another one of those "Look at who we passed on...." threads.

[Jimz31]

Originally Posted by TDHND

Get Quincy back and put him at WR.

What does he have to do with this?

Geez, some people just have to bring his name up for everything.

[CoCo1]

Originally Posted by Common Sense

Wooo, there goes the point... see that? It's sailing right over Jimz31's head....

I think the premise of the question is somehwat incomplete however.

His premise is that WR's in Round 1 are a gamble and are you willing to gamble? But what are our other options? To not go WR means we draft some other position. Where is the research that shows picking a LB, DE, CB or any other position is LESS of a gamble than WR.

Just what position IS a sure thing?

[Hollywood Henderson]

Teams run into problems when they draft soley for need...

We will be fine if we draft the best impact player!

That being said, I would love to have ether Williams or Edwards, as I think we need a "impact type WR" with size to complete our offensive go to guys...

Jones & Witten are already playmakers & Hensen will need a guy to develop with at WR ala Troy & Mike...

Other then a quality back to backup J.Jones, the offense will only get better...I don't think its far off right now!

We can focus on restocking the D with 3-4 impact players in the draft & FA's...

[Cajuncowboy]

Originally Posted by jem88

Since 1998 (the year we passed on Randy Moss, as good a place to start as any!) there have been, by my count, 30 WRs taken in the first round:

Kevin Dyson, Randy Moss, Marcus Nash, Torry Holt, David Boston, Troy Edwards, Peter Warrick, Plaxico Burress, Travis Taylor, Sylvester Morris, R.J. Soward, David Terrell, Koren Robinson, Rod Gardner, Santana Moss, Freddie Mitchell, Reggie Wayne, Donte Stallworth, Ashlie Lelie, Javon Walker, Charles Rogers, Andre Johnson, Bryant Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald, Roy Williams, Reggie Williams, Lee Evans, Michael Clayton, Michael Jenkins, Rashaun Woods.

Of those 30, I'd say that 7 of them have become or look likely to become, bona fide #1 WRs: Randy Moss, Torry Holt, Javon Walker, Andre Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald, Roy Williams, Michael Clayton.

[View Full Quote]Another 6 have become strong #2 WRs: David Boston (at times he's looked like a #1, at other times he's disappeared completely, so we'll call him a #2), Plaxico Burress, Rod Gardiner (am I being too generous here?), Santana Moss, Reggie Wayne (he had #1 numbers last year, but so did Brandon Stokely), Lee Evans.

Of course the jury is still out on Charles Rogers and the other rookies from last year and Stallworth and Lelie have had their moments. Nonetheless, from the 30 WRs selected in the 1st round since 1998, only 13 have really lived up to their 1st round billing.

Furthermore, it's worth looking at which of those receivers were/have been seen as having attitude problems (bad attitudes seem much more prevalent in the receiver position than anywhere else. Perhaps we just notice it more there because it is the one position where 'free-lancing' and/or a lack of discipline can be really costly to the team, unlike at RB, where it can actually be a positive asset.)

So the receivers with attitude problems: Randy Moss, David Boston, Troy Edwards, Plaxico Burress, R.J. Soward, David Terrell, Koren Robinson, Freddie Mitchell (last year claimed he was the best WR in the league!) That's 8 by my count. Of those eight, four have been busts/disappointments: Edwards, Soward, Terrell, Mitchell with Robinson fast on his way to making it five. That leaves Moss, Boston and Burress. Boston is fast heading to oblivion. As for Moss and Burress, would you be willing to give up a 1st for either right now? (I know some would for Moss, but probably just as many wouldn't give up a 2nd for him.) In other words, receivers with attitude problems are dicey propositions in the 1st round. Guys like Terrell Owens and Joe Horn have attitudes but they arrived in the league with something to prove, so first they had to become good before they could display their sizable egos.

Factoring in all of the above, would you be willing to risk our #11 on Braylon Edwards if he were available? I haven't seen much of him but I've heard that attitude could be a problem with him. Given that this is one year where we absolutely must draft well, I'd exercise extreme caution.

Nice evaluation and pretty much dead on. To answer your question though, I would not draft Edwards. But I would spend the #11 pick on Mike WIlliams. And I would have the card up to the podium before the even said "The Cowboys are on the clock".

[LeonDixson]

I've only seen Edwards play in one game so I can't evaluate him fairly. I saw him play in the Rose Bowl this year and, although he did end up scoring multiple TD's, he looked like Todd Pinkston on the 1st two passes thrown to him. He was looking for the defenders and trying to avoid being hit rather that catch the passes. Both of which were very catchable.

Is this a problem with him? Does he do it often? I'm not slamming him here because like I said, I only saw him play once and he did end up putting the points on the board. I'm just curious as to whether he has a tendency to be "gun shy".

[mr.jameswoods]

I don't believe in drafting for need either. Yes, we need a wide receiver but the reviews of Edwards have been mixed. I wouldn't gamble on that player. I would rather select a player who has better reviews and can impact this immediately regardless of what position he plays.

[jem88]

Originally Posted by CoCo

I think the premise of the question is somehwat incomplete however.

His premise is that WR's in Round 1 are a gamble and are you willing to gamble? But what are our other options? To not go WR means we draft some other position. Where is the research that shows picking a LB, DE, CB or any other position is LESS of a gamble than WR.

Just what position IS a sure thing?

My point was that the WR position seems to be a gamble, especially when you factor in the high number of 'attitude cases' who play the position. Perhaps there are as many players with bad attitudes at other positions but a negative attitude seems to have a worse effect on WRs. For example, Charles Haley had a questionable attitude but his position allowed a certain amount of freelancing and in some ways his anger seemed to spur him on, whereas a guy like Antonio Bryant with a similar attitude, caused a lot of problems with his freelancing and couldn't find a way to channel his anger in a positive manner.

That being said, it would be interesting to do a similar study on other positions and check the success rate.