A look back at the 2008 draft

[GTripp0012]

Fred Davis should be a really valuable part of our offense. Granted, we have no idea how he can be an every down player for us, but the best offenses (Saints and Patriots) are getting it done with TEs. We have two good ones, and Paulsen is good enough as a rookie to justify using some 3 TE formations. Our plays to get Davis the ball aren't really read based...they're just designed to put the ball in his hands. He's not really part of our offense.

It will be interesting to see if Malcolm Kelly is finally healthy. If he stays healthy ALL offseason, I think he's going to be our leading receiver next season. If he gets hurt in the offseason, I doubt he makes the 53 man roster.

We didn't notice when we took him, but Kelly and Armstrong have excellent complementary skill sets.

[NYCSkin]

Here are 8 players picked within 10 spots after each of those 2008 Skins picks. They are all starters:

2-Curtis Lofton, LB
2-DeSean Jackson, WR
2-Ray Rice, RB
4-Tyvon Branch, FS
4-Jacob Tamme, TE
6-Geno Hayes, LB
6-Nick Hayden, DT
6-John Sullivan, C

Here's three starters that weren't even drafted: Gary Guyton, BenJarvus Green Ellis, and Danny Woodhead. All play for the Pats...

[CultBrennan59]

Originally Posted by NYCSkin

Here are 8 players picked within 10 spots after each of those 2008 Skins picks. They are all starters:

2-Curtis Lofton, LB
2-DeSean Jackson, WR
2-Ray Rice, RB
4-Tyvon Branch, FS
4-Jacob Tamme, TE
6-Geno Hayes, LB
6-Nick Hayden, DT
6-John Sullivan, C

Here's three starters that weren't even drafted: Gary Guyton, BenJarvus Green Ellis, and Danny Woodhead. All play for the Pats...

All those guys make me sick to think that we could have had one of them and we got a bunch of average guys that aren't even on the team any more.

I still remember that 2008 draft real well.
I remember hearing from the news, espn, washingtonpost, this website, and other draft places "the redskins need to get that big wide receiver they've been missing" I also remember thinking "we should get calais campbell the freakish DE from Miami, or we should get DeSean Jackson because he sure is fast and explosive...size really doesn't matter" The I saw that we got Devin Thomas, and I was like "Ok nice! we got that big WR, now lets get that good DE or that fast WR to replace moss...but NOOOOO lets get ANOTHER FREAKING TE!!! what is this teams obsession with TE's?!?!

I remember also watching the draft and Chris Berman and them being like "whose going to draft this kid Danny Woodhead?" and when no one got him and they were showing his stats and plays I was like "he sure looks quick and like a guy that will show up and play week in and week out we should sign him to our practice squad."

I also remember this being the draft that we wanted to draft Jerod Mayo, but Belicheat beat us to him.


anyway, heres our draft from this year and who we should have drafted according to SI's don banks. 2010 NFL Draft redux has Dez Bryant to Raiders - Don Banks - SI.com

[GTripp0012]

I will also consider the fact that, with two down receiving years in a row, Cooley may simply be a player who is declining earlier than expected.

I do not think this is the case, I am merely watching for it. He might not be one of the 10 best receiving TEs in football anymore.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by GTripp0012

I will also consider the fact that, with two down receiving years in a row, Cooley may simply be a player who is declining earlier than expected.

I do not think this is the case, I am merely watching for it. He might not be one of the 10 best receiving TEs in football anymore.

Despite being under utilized this year his numbers are still on pace to be the 2nd highest of his career (catches, yards) so how is he declining exactly?

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by Mattyk

Despite being under utilized this year his numbers are still on pace to be the 2nd highest of his career (catches, yards) so how is he declining exactly?

Well, his catch rate, which peaked at 75% in 2008, dropped to 64% in 2009, and now sits around 60%, which is acceptable for a WR, but low for a TE.

That could simply be a product of his usage pattern, although, right now, his usage is "blocking" because we feel like we have better options to throw to, but no better options to protect with.

He also stopped scoring around 2007. Tight ends need to be red zone monsters. The last TD reception Cooley had inside the 10 yard line happened in this game. Or, not quite as recently as a Carlos Rogers pick six.

Early in his career, he was a money receiver from that close. It's safe to say now that Cooley is not a help to this team in terms of scoring TDs. We've struggled in the red zone for years, and unfortunately, our best red zone performance post-2005 came in the 10 games Cooley missed in 2009.

Still, we need to keep Cooley for what he can do, but he's not the guy you want to be throwing to deep in the red zone.

[GTripp0012]

Interestingly, 6 of 7 of Fred Davis' career TDs have come from short distance, or inside the range I was looking for in terms of Chris Cooley's TDs.

These guys complement each other well, and though you might not have realized it, they're going to combine for more than 1,000 receiving yards this year. They're just not going to get near 8 combined TDs, and it's because of not enough Fred Davis at the goal line (though, he dropped that one on Sunday).

[MTK]

Tough to blame CC when he's getting doubled in the RZ or when DM is skipping balls to him.

In 2008 his scoring dropped off, not sure you can say he started declining in just his 5th year. Scoring is a function of the offense and QB.

Witten doesn't score much either.

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by Mattyk

Tough to blame CC when he's getting doubled in the RZ or when DM is skipping balls to him.

Well, it's been longer than just the McNabb-era. Cooley scored 3 TDs while Zorn was the head coach and Campbell was the QB. And Campbell threw to the TE religiously. So does McNabb, really.

I think, to an extent, he's been the victim of being a last option dump-off under duress, where before he was a first-option type. At least, I feel that's the argument against personal decline. Maybe he's just finally succumb to offensive suckitude around him.

Like I said, I think we need to have two good TE's to be a strong modern offense. Cooley and Davis are both very good TEs. But, who knows, Cooley may never have positive trade value again, and Logan Paulsen could be an excellent complement to Fred Davis capable of going for 350 yards and 4 TDs a season as a no. 2 to Davis. It could happen.

I would NOT trade Chris Cooley in this offseason. But if he's actually in decline, the Falcons, Dolphins, Packers, and Cardinals all need a strong TE to run their offenses. There might be a market for him. And Paulsen's presence makes me not afraid anymore of stretching ourselves thin at the TE position with a trade. With Yoder, that was a different story. He was bad. Paulsen, I think, is a good player who will be in his second season next year. We just can't afford to increase his role beyond goal line and short yardage if Cooley and Davis are both still here.

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by Mattyk

Witten doesn't score much either.

Agreed. Although Witten has scored 6 times this year, he could be in decline as well, but he clearly is more of a blocker now than he was ever used as before. He's also a victim of too many weapons.

But I don't think he's a top three receiving option in the Dallas attack anymore.

[CrazyCanuck]

Originally Posted by Mattyk

Tough to blame CC when he's getting doubled in the RZ or when DM is skipping balls to him.

In 2008 his scoring dropped off, not sure you can say he started declining in just his 5th year. Scoring is a function of the offense and QB.

I'm with Matty on this one. Cooley is fckn great. Definitely our best offensive player. That being said I'm at the point where I think we have to trade him if the price is right. We have too many holes to fill.

I hate Fred Davis. Slowest TE I've ever seen. I'd take a 5th for him and be thrilled.

[Gmanc711]

Originally Posted by CrazyCanuck

I'm with Matty on this one. Cooley is fckn great. Definitely our best offensive player. That being said I'm at the point where I think we have to trade him if the price is right. We have too many holes to fill.

I hate Fred Davis. Slowest TE I've ever seen. I'd take a 5th for him and be thrilled.

Well, I dont think anyone we'll get in the 5th will replace these guys. I am all for trading guys who are worthless or we're not going to bother using (Hayensworth, McNabb)...but if we got a guy like Cooley, who can actually fill a need, I dont see the point in trading them, if it's just going to open up another hole... I think one of our biggest mistakes was not unloading Davis last year, when his stock was pretty high.... I know you're not screaming for Cooley to get traded or anything like that...but I just dont see the point in trading him for the sake of getting a 3rd or 4th round pick; when he's one of the few picks that has panned out.

[SirClintonPortis]

Originally Posted by CrazyCanuck

I'm with Matty on this one. Cooley is fckn great. Definitely our best offensive player. That being said I'm at the point where I think we have to trade him if the price is right. We have too many holes to fill.

I hate Fred Davis. Slowest TE I've ever seen. I'd take a 5th for him and be thrilled.

Slowest relative to what? Corners and safeties?

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by CrazyCanuck

I'm with Matty on this one. Cooley is fckn great. Definitely our best offensive player. That being said I'm at the point where I think we have to trade him if the price is right. We have too many holes to fill.

I hate Fred Davis. Slowest TE I've ever seen. I'd take a 5th for him and be thrilled.

Hey, he might very well be our best player this year on offense. That would say more about the Redskins than about Captain Chaos, but I don't want to act like "maybe in decline" is the same as "he sucks and has no value".

In the past (2006-2008), Cooley clearly was the best player on the offense. The fact that the offense is at all time lows and Cooley might NOT still be the best player would suggest a decline. But this all just could be a mis-usage of a guy who is still our best offensive player. I'm just throwing it out there.

[GTripp0012]

And I want to point out that Cooley's blocking this year has been beyond phenomenal. He's basically been of the quality of an offensive tackle out there. He's been a big part of the recovery of our OL's pass protection from 2008-09.