[skinsfan_nn]

A little concerning.


Malcolm Kelly and Devin Thomas are down the depth chart

Wide receiver Joey Galloway is 38. In the last two seasons, he has a total of 20 receptions for 205 yards with no touchdowns. Roydell Williams has been out of football the past two seasons.

At the outset of Redskins training camp, however, Galloway and Williams are listed as co-starters at the X receiver, or split end, position. Former Redskins high draft picks Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly are further down the depth chart.

Obviously, the Redskins are only getting started. Thomas and Kelly, who injured his hamstring before camp, will have opportunities to impress in camp and throughout the preseason schedule. But it appears they have a lot of work to do.

"What we do is we get a depth chart at the end of OTAs [organized team activities], and Joey, we had him as the no. 1 guy along with Roydell Williams," Coach Mike Shanahan said. They were "kind of tied at the X receiver position. We felt those two guys had played the best through the OTAs and that's why Joey was listed along with Roydell as the No. 1 X."

The coaching staff moved top wideout Santana Moss from the X spot to Z, or flanker, during the offseason. It appears the 10-year veteran has a firm grip on his position, so the battle for playing time will be at the spot opposite Moss.

Washington traded its first-round pick in the 2008 draft and selected Thomas, Kelly and pass-catching tight end Fred Davis with its three second-round picks. Davis impressed while starting in place of injured Pro Bowler Chris Cooley last season.

After struggling with maturity issues as a rookie, Thomas improved his work habits last season, bumped Kelly from the starting lineup in Week 6 and had a seven-catch, 100-yard, two-touchdown performance in a Week 13 loss to the New Orleans Saints. But he sat out the final two games in 2009 because of an ankle injury.

Kelly missed most of his rookie season because of knee issues the Redskins were aware of when they drafted him. He worked hard to recover from microfracture surgery and impressed during the 2009 preseason, but was demoted in favor of Thomas because former head coach Jim Zorn was dissatisfied with Kelly's route running.

Thomas and Kelly were slowed again by injuries during Shanahan's offseason program. "Both guys were hurt," Shanahan said. "Devin had some problems with his legs and so did Malcolm, and you can't really impress anybody if you're not practicing."

Redskins officials did their due diligence in discussing whether to sign former free-agent wideout Terrell Owens, who this week joined the Cincinnati Bengals, but Shanahan didn't want Owens. A trade for San Diego Chargers wideout Vincent Jackson remains a possibility. A lot may depend on how Thomas and Kelly fare in the preseason.

"They will get their chances," Shanahan said of the third-year players. "This is where we start. It's a starting point. It's surely not where we're gonna finish. It could be. There's gonna be competition. There was competition today. Devin had a very good [first] practice today and made some good catches. It's part of an evaluation process. But you have to start somewhere."