Teams drafting QBs draft WRs/TEs too?

[dallasfaniac]

I posted this scenario in another thread a while back and I have been thinking about it a bit ever since. My question is, would it make sense for a team drafting a QB relatively high to also invest in their WR/TE college teammates? (ie. Clausen/Tate, Bradford/Gresham, McCoy/Shipley, Tebow/Hernandez/Cooper, Pike/Gilyard)

Obviously this isn't always possible either because a TE/WR doesn't enter the same draft or they just aren't good enough to break the top 3 WR spots on the team. However, this year there seems to be a large amount of QB/WR/TE players that could be taken within the first 1-4 rounds and possibly earn starting positions.

As an example, last year the Lions selected Stafford #1 overall. In the 2nd they took Delmas. 17 picks later in the same round, the Browns selected Mohamed Massaquoi who led the team in receptions, yards and TDs. Those numbers would have come in 2nd on the Lions, following only Calvin Johnson. Would they have better off taking Massaquoi, giving Stafford a familiar target while acclimating to the NFL?

 

[Cowboy Brian]

I wouldn't mind McCoy in the 6th or 7th and Shipley in the 2nd one bit.

 

[dallasfaniac]

I guess conversly, if you drafted a WR high, would you be more inclined to draft his college QB as a developmental project?

 

[rkell87]

shipley and mccoy on the same team could make both of their careers. cutler had an old teammate last year catchin balls for him and we saw how that worked so it would prolly depend.

its obvious that romo and witten have chemistry while romo and RW dont, so my thinking is that if you were teammates for a long time and had that special connection like mccoy/shipley and already have that established chemistry then it could be highly beneficial

 

[dmoore]

I don't think there's much to this theory. If you spend a high draft pick on a QB, you want him to be successful. That means surrounding him with the best talent available. Rarely is that going to be his college teammate. It takes a while for both WRs and QBs to contribute, and you're going to be looking at 2 guys struggling to get acclimated to the NFL. Plus, just because Shipley might have been McCoy's favorite target doesn't mean that's going to translate at the next level. If they go to a team that already has an established #1 WR, McCoy isn't going to be taking targets away from the guy to go to Shipley.

I can see maybe giving a guy's college target a look in the late rounds as kind of a favor, but when you're talking early picks on guys you want to shape your franchise, you go with the best available at the position.