Twelve months ago, Devin Thomas was making his way up draft boards after an outstanding junior season at Michigan State and impressive combine and Pro Day performances. The previous fall, he had hauled in 79 passes for the Spartans, and then busted out a 4.40-40 in Indianapolis in February. By April, He would be the second wide receiver selected, going 34th overall to the Redskins.
In the weeks leading up to the draft, NFL Network's Mike Mayock admitted that Thomas had all the physical attributes teams look for in a wideout -- deep speed, the ability to get off the line of scrimmage and a knack for coming down with jump balls -- but he also cautioned that Thomas' junior season could be an anomaly.
Four months ago, the Redskins used their three second-round picks on skill-position players. Specifically pass catchers, presumably in an effort to bolster a pretty pedestrian offense. Makes sense and unlike previous Danny-tastic personnel moves, selecting Devin Thomas, Malcolm Kelly and Fred Davis was understandable (if excessive).
Well, Washington's season begins Thursday night against the Giants, and both Thomas and Kelly have been supremely ineffective. This makes Jason Campbell very, very sad.
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed about that," he said about Thomas and Kelly. "We had so much expectation for those guys contributing to our offense. I thought we'd grow together quickly. I went over to their place and visited with them about everything. I told them this was the real deal. They needed to show up on time for meetings and to study. We need them out there."
Hear that? It's the pitter-patter of fantasy football season approaching. Fantasy FanHouse is here to get you ready by previewing every team from a fantasy perspective.
Meet The ... New look offense! Out with Al Saunders and Joe Gibbs and in with Jim Zorn's high-powered west coast offense. The offense Zorn is installing is the one used in Seattle under Mike Holmgren and has made fantasy stars of numerous players through the years, including Brett Favre, Shaun Alexander, and Matt Hasselbeck. This has caused everyone to expect that Clinton Portis -- since he's arguably more talented and much tougher than Alexander -- to become an absolute beast. That's all well and good ... just remember that Portis isn't following Walter Jones and Steve Hutchinson on one side of the line.
The Breakout Jason Campbell has shown flashes of being a productive QB, but been derailed by injuries and inconsistency. He has plenty of tools and weapons to become a fantasy starter (top 12ish) in this offense. The Skins even tried to overload the receiving corps during the draft by selecting TE Fred Davis and WRs Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly with upper round selections. He did throw for 215, 348, 301, and 216 yards in the last four full games before he was injured. Be ready to pounce on Campbell as a quality backup with the chance to become a starter at some point in '08.
So, yeah, Redskins rookie tight end Fred Davis likes to sleep. Unfortunately, his raging case of narcolepsy struck during last weekend's minicamp. This is generally frowned upon, particularly when starting a new job.
The Washington Post's Jason Reid writes that "some draft evaluators reported that USC tight end Fred Davis exhibited poor work habits and made questionable decisions at times." The Redskins considered him too much of a talent to pass up, and three days into his NFL career, Davis missed practice. The team reported that Davis had overslept, and his brother, Kedran, confirmed as much ... before adding: that he overslept after a late night on Saturday.
"The biggest thing is, as long as they learn from their mistakes, that's the biggest thing," Cerrato said. "The kid felt awful. Jim got a chance to talk to him and Jim's handling it internally. I've talked to his agents and the kid feels horrible, which he should.
"Anytime you miss anything, to me it's important. Especially when you're here to ... he's making his first impression. Do what's right. He made a mistake. Now, he's got to fight back from the mistake."
In the scheme of things, this is nothing. Of course, that's what people said when Brandon Lloyd first starting acting out. If there's a lesson in all of this, it's this: make Davis start a blog. It builds character.
Thomas and Kelly are those big possession type receivers that Washington was looking to vault their new West Coast Offense. Both are strong, great hands, can break tackles and make big plays. Ya know, things we were looking for in Chad Johnson.
As Hogs Haven points out, this should help QB Jason Campbell out tremedously. He now has three big targets to look at the ability to spread this team out to four or five wideouts (Santana Moss and Antwaan Randle-El are no slouches). Davis projects to be like a Chris Cooley type player which gives Washington the ability to use two tight ends in the running game.
The Washington Redskins traded out of the first round and actually *gasp* picked up some extra picks. The deal goes down like this:
Redskins deal away their first round pick (#21), third round pick (#84) and fifth round pick (#154)
Falcons deal away their two second round picks (#34 and #48) and fourth round pick (#103)
That means that Washington gets three second round picks and it may have been a great move. Washington is looking for a big-time receiver and there were ZERO selected in the first round (many mock drafts, including ours) which had them looking in that direction.
UPDATE: Washington selects WR Devin Thomas with that first pick. Outstanding pick! Many people figured he'd be somewhere in the middle to late first round and would have been a nice pick at #21. He's a nice addition to the West Coast Offense (strong, great hands, breaks tackles, turns small catches into big gains).
UPDATE: Washington selects TE Fred Davis with the other second round pick. Eh!?! Dude is a beast but we already have a Pro Bowl tight end in Chris Cooley. Now, Davis is a former running back who was turned into a great pass catching tight end and is another good pickup for a West Coast Offense.
UPDATE: Washington selects WR Malcolm Kelly ... and I am ecstatic! I had Kelly going to the Redskins in the FanHouse mock draft so it is obvious that I love his talent. This is that big receiver with great hands that Washington desperately needs.
The USC Trojans opened up their quest for a sixth consecutive Pac Ten title on Saturday, hosting the Washington State Cougars to a wet but spirited Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Just like the last two Trojangames, we were there to bring you the full pageantry of the day--and some insights on the game.
Heisman Candidate John David Booty lived up to the reputation, distributing the ball evenly among nine receivers while throwing for 279 yards and four touchdowns with just one interception. That tight end Fred Davis was his leading receiver shows that Booty was able to make progressions and check off receivers--something he seemingly had failed to do in previous games.
The Trojan running game was slowed a little compared to their 313-yard performance against Nebraska, rushing for but 215 yards. Nonetheless, USC was able to work in both Freshman Joe McKnight and sixth-year Senior Hershel Dennis late in the game and neither disappointed.
Notable highlights include great performances on the ground by running-backs Herschel Dennis and Chauncey Washington and some huge hits from the defense. Desmond Reed, injured by the ankle-high grass in South Bend two years ago, is looking better than ever and is being used in more versatile positions than last year--running and catching from scrimmage again, unlike in 2006, when you knew that Reed was the #1 receiver every time he entered the game.
Forgettable was the play of quarterbacks John David Booty and Mark Sanchez, who chased the record for most turnovers in the Spring game. Booty no longer has Steve Smith and Dwayne Jarrett on the field, so he has decided to lock in on Fred Davis and Patrick Turner--the receivers he has had the most experience with in practice over the years. Some things will never change--even if they put the shotgun to good use.
More pictures and more Song Girls after the jump...
Twelve months ago, Devin Thomas was making his way up draft boards after an outstanding junior season at Michigan State and impressive combine and Pro Day performances. The previous fall, he had hauled in 79 passes for the Spartans, and then busted out a 4.40-40 in Indianapolis in February. By April, He would be the second wide receiver selected, going 34th overall to the Redskins.
Hear that? It's the pitter-patter of fantasy football season approaching. 
Last week, reports came out that the 
The Washington Redskins traded out of the first round and actually *gasp* picked up some extra picks. The deal goes down like this:
