Wednesday was a day for wide receivers news. NFL-wide, it was the trade of Stefon Diggs to the Texans, a move that puts the Bills squarely in the draft hunt for wide receivers in a WR-rich draft and puts the Texans in a spot to -- conceivably -- challenge for the AFC title.
Closer to home, Greg Dortch did the inevitable and signed his tender offer (once the Cardinals extended the exclusive rights tender to Dortch early last month, he was locked into playing with them again).
And, when you mix in all the inevitable draft talk around the position for the Cardinals, where this unit stands remains a big part of the conversation this offseason.
The trade of Rondale Moore -- and the departure in free agency of Hollywood Brown -- have opened a big door for Dortch, whose passion and play style has endeared him to Jonathan Gannon. Second-year player Michael Wilson is going to play a large role. But the only other players with serious experience on the roster are Zach Pascal and Chris Moore, guys who have had solid seasons as offensive targets but are likely seen as special teams help that can provide depth at wideout.
The draft has a lot of options, as has been mentioned many times before. Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers and Rome Odunze are the top three of that list -- all figuring to be picked in the top 10, if not the top 6 or 7 -- but there are a lot of others who would be good pieces to the puzzle.
The question for Monti Ossenfort is, how does that puzzle come together? Taking one of those top three guys would seem to answer the question of the No. 1 receiver. But if another receiver is drafted, is Wilson that guy and not the rookie? Is tight end Trey McBride that guy anyway, with the wideouts serving more of a supporting role?
It's hard to know exactly how Monti/JG view the position too. It could be more like the Steelers, where they prefer to take non-first-round receivers and develop them into higher-profile roles.
Gannon's favorite answer when asked about what he seeks in a receiver or what a good one does well, is some version of "gets open and catches the ball." That widens the options. But it's a position of need.
