A Show of Hands for Redskins

Thomas, 21, was projected to go higher in many mock drafts, but appears to be in a good situation with Washington. He will be among the biggest wide receivers on the team, and there is an opening at the position behind Moss and Randle El -- who each are 5-10. With the addition of Thomas, Davis and Kelly, Cerrato said Washington's pursuit of veteran receivers via trade was over (the Redskins made another offer to the Bengals for Johnson on Friday, according to sources, but were rebuffed again).

"I feel I'm a bigger receiver," Thomas said in a conference call with reporters. "When it comes to going for jump balls and shielding defenders from the ball, I definitely can do that.

"I know it's a West Coast style that Coach Zorn s bringing in. I know they've got [good] personnel right now and I'm just trying to add to it."

As a senior at USC, Davis, 22, had a personal-best 62 receptions for 881 yards (a 14.2-yard average) and eight touchdowns. The Redskins also had a first-round grade on Davis, who won the Mackey Award as college football's top tight end last season.

Davis said he has studied Cooley, and he envisions working well with Cooley as Washington uses formations featuring multiple tight ends. "I watch him a lot, that's one of my favorite tight ends to watch, number 47," Davis said.

"They have a West Coast offense," Davis said. "I'm sure there's a lot of things they're going to do with Cooley, they'll move him around, and he does everything for them. I'm sure they'll have a place for me to be on the team, too."

Kelly, 21, slid down several draft boards because of his disappointing performances in the 40-yard dash (he posted times as high as 4.69 seconds in recent workouts) and questions about his maturity. But Kelly is second on the Sooners' all-time list with 2,285 yards receiving and fifth with 144 receptions. With 21 career touchdown receptions, Kelly is tied for seventh in Big 12 Conference history.

After having his character questioned by NFL teams, Kelly acknowledged he has a lot to prove.

"Oh, yeah, I definitely have something to prove," he said. "A lot of teams go by, a team who don't select you, but I'm just grateful being with the Redskins. I'll just help them. We'll go out as a team every weekend and show everybody."

The Redskins and Falcons began talking trade early in the week, with Washington eying the Falcons' pair of second-round picks. The Redskins explored options with other teams as well, but Atlanta called Washington's war room during the 16th pick to attempt to move up, and when the Redskins were on the clock to make the 21st pick the deal was consummated, with Atlanta moving up to draft USC tackle Sam Baker, a player many teams had valued lower.

Cerrato hoped to amass as many second- and third-round picks as possible, believing that's where the best value could be found.

Thomas, who is also a gifted kick returner, was considered the top receiver available by many clubs, but no wide receivers were selected in the first round. With so much similar talent available at that position, the Redskins figured they could trade down and still get a wide receiver they wanted.

The team spent the days before the draft working out wide receivers Jordy Nelson and Kelly -- not anticipating Thomas to be available. The other player they evaluated on Thursday, Clemson defensive end Phillip Merling, whose recent sports hernia surgery was a concern for the Redskins, sources said, ended up selected 32nd overall by Miami, leaving Washington to choose any receiver it desired.

"If we could get those two picks from Atlanta we thought that would be an outstanding deal for us," Cerrato said. "Basically, the same guys we were considering at 21 were the guys who were there at 34, minus Phillip Merling."