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21 - number of teams with one shot at picking a wide receiver during the first round, but choose not to due to a greater position need or best player available: Arizona, Baltimore, Buffalo, Chicago, Cincinnati, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Jacksonville, Miami, New England, New Orleans, New York Giants, Oakland, Pittsburgh, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa Bay and Tennessee.
5 – ditto number of teams with at least two chances at adding a wide receiver during the first round, but choose not to (e.g. most telling number in my opinion): Atlanta, Carolina, Kansas City, New York Jets and yes, Dallas.
6 – number of teams which either aimed at selecting a wide receiver in the second round only or not at all:
Cleveland surrendered its first rounder to Dallas last year for Brady Quinn. The Browns next opportunity was during the fourth round and made zero effort to move up into the first round for anyone, much less a wide receiver.
Indianapolis relinquished its 1st rounder to San Francisco last year for Tony Ugoh. Wide receiver Dexter Jackson was selected by the Buccaneers one pick earlier at #58. If the Colts really wanted Jackson, a package could have been conceived to move up one slot, but it wasn’t. Instead, the Colts stayed put and selected offensive tackle Mike Pollak.
Philadelphia traded out of the first round with Carolina, who grabbed offensive tackle Jeff Otah at #19. The Eagles proceeded to trade Carolina’s 43rd to the Vikings for their 47th pick (more on this later). Reid & Co. (eventually) choose defensive tackle Trevor Laws with that pick.
Green Bay slide out of the first round by swapping picks with the Jets, who drafted tight end Dustin Keller at #30. By moving down, the Packers used New York’s pick and snatched up wide receiver Jordy Nelson at #36.
Minnesota used its first round selection in a trade package with the Chiefs to land defensive end Jared Allen and fell out of the first round. The Chiefs packaged a deal with Detroit, moved up to #15 and picked offensive guard Branden Albert. In turn, the Lions used the Chiefs’ #17 and took offensive tackle Gosder Cherilus off the board. Returning to the Eagles/Panthers trade, the Vikings choose safety Tyrell Johnson at #43.
Wide receiver poor Washington bolted out of the first round by trading with Atlanta, who used their pick for offensive tackle Sam Baker. Commanders used the first Falcon pick to select wide receiver Devin Thomas at #34. Even though they already had Chris Cooley and wide receivers like DeSean Jackson, Malcolm Kelly, Limas Sweed and Dexter Jackson still on the board at #48, they used the second pick which they swapped with the Falcons and drafted tight end Fred Davis. Of course, they owned the 51st overall pick and choose Kelly over Sweed and Jackson.
Who knows where the wide receiving class of 2008 will eventually end up? Maybe some or all will land in Canton, but one thing is for certain. This year, in the here-and-now, ALL NFL teams did not consider even ONE wide receiver as a first-round candidate and that undeniable truth is as relevant for the Dallas Cowboys as it is for the 31 other teams in the league. A first round wide receiver was never in the cards for the Dallas Cowboys.
5 – ditto number of teams with at least two chances at adding a wide receiver during the first round, but choose not to (e.g. most telling number in my opinion): Atlanta, Carolina, Kansas City, New York Jets and yes, Dallas.
6 – number of teams which either aimed at selecting a wide receiver in the second round only or not at all:
Cleveland surrendered its first rounder to Dallas last year for Brady Quinn. The Browns next opportunity was during the fourth round and made zero effort to move up into the first round for anyone, much less a wide receiver.
Indianapolis relinquished its 1st rounder to San Francisco last year for Tony Ugoh. Wide receiver Dexter Jackson was selected by the Buccaneers one pick earlier at #58. If the Colts really wanted Jackson, a package could have been conceived to move up one slot, but it wasn’t. Instead, the Colts stayed put and selected offensive tackle Mike Pollak.
Philadelphia traded out of the first round with Carolina, who grabbed offensive tackle Jeff Otah at #19. The Eagles proceeded to trade Carolina’s 43rd to the Vikings for their 47th pick (more on this later). Reid & Co. (eventually) choose defensive tackle Trevor Laws with that pick.
Green Bay slide out of the first round by swapping picks with the Jets, who drafted tight end Dustin Keller at #30. By moving down, the Packers used New York’s pick and snatched up wide receiver Jordy Nelson at #36.
Minnesota used its first round selection in a trade package with the Chiefs to land defensive end Jared Allen and fell out of the first round. The Chiefs packaged a deal with Detroit, moved up to #15 and picked offensive guard Branden Albert. In turn, the Lions used the Chiefs’ #17 and took offensive tackle Gosder Cherilus off the board. Returning to the Eagles/Panthers trade, the Vikings choose safety Tyrell Johnson at #43.
Wide receiver poor Washington bolted out of the first round by trading with Atlanta, who used their pick for offensive tackle Sam Baker. Commanders used the first Falcon pick to select wide receiver Devin Thomas at #34. Even though they already had Chris Cooley and wide receivers like DeSean Jackson, Malcolm Kelly, Limas Sweed and Dexter Jackson still on the board at #48, they used the second pick which they swapped with the Falcons and drafted tight end Fred Davis. Of course, they owned the 51st overall pick and choose Kelly over Sweed and Jackson.
Who knows where the wide receiving class of 2008 will eventually end up? Maybe some or all will land in Canton, but one thing is for certain. This year, in the here-and-now, ALL NFL teams did not consider even ONE wide receiver as a first-round candidate and that undeniable truth is as relevant for the Dallas Cowboys as it is for the 31 other teams in the league. A first round wide receiver was never in the cards for the Dallas Cowboys.
