It felt like from the moment Washington Redskins completed their trade with the St. Louis Rams which ultimately saw Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III land in D.C as the franchise savior, Redskins fans wanted their team to add a Baylor teammate to the ranks. Most fans called for wide receiver Kendall Wright, Griffin's top receiver in college, while others called for his center, Philip Blake. But almost everyone appeared to like the idea of bringing in another Baylor player to accompany Griffin III.
Obviously, Mike Shanahan and Bruce Allen chose to go in a different direction. But next Thursday, July 12, the supplemental draft gives them another chance to add a former Baylor Bear to the roster. If you're unfamiliar with the supplemental draft, I'll point you in the direction of my post over on Mocking The Draft for a longer explanation. But it's essentially a separate draft, that allows players who missed filing deadlines or were ineligible for the NFL draft to still get drafted.
One of the prospects in this year's supplemental draft, receiver Josh Gordon, was with Baylor back in 2010. He caught 42 passes from Griffin that year, churning out 714 yards and seven touchdowns from those receptions. The 6-foot-4, 225 pound receiver has rumored 4.3-4.4 40 yard dash speed, and scouts say he has solid hands with surprising fluidity given his large frame.
The downside of Gordon is that he was suspended with drug related issues and subsequently transferred to Utah; where he never even played a down due to NCAA transfer rules. That's two huge red flags right there. We already know what it's like to have players with drug problems (I'm looking at you Fred Davis and Trent Williams); and to go from having not played a down of football in over a year, to the NFL level is a big adjustment to make. They say that it can take up to three years for a college receiver to fully adjust to the NFL, now throw in the fact the guy hasn't played for a year and it's all up in the air.
More after the jump.
To land Gordon, the Redskins would have to give up a draft pick next year. Gordon has been valued anywhere between the fourth and seventh round of the supplemental draft, so the Redskins would have to give up the equivalent in next year's draft. Having already lost their first round pick next year in the deal to get Robert Griffin III, to lose another pick would be risky. It could bring back memories of the Cerrato years where draft picks were extremely expendable.
But overall, the risk could be worth it. It's not often a guy with Gordon's size and athleticism can be had on the cheap. The fact that he is familiar with RG3 could help speed up the adjustment to the NFL. And maybe, optimistically speaking, Fred and Trent can pass on the downside of drug use from their experience (I know, I know, not going to happen).
So what's your opinion? Do you fall on the side of caution and think he's too much of a risk; or do you think it'd be great to have a familiar target for RG3 to throw to, especially one with rare size and athleticism? State your view in the comments below.