Did The Cowboys Put A Claim In For Josh Gordon?

With a couple of weeks before training camp, there is a lot of time spent on evaluating prospects for the NFL Supplemental Draft held every summer. For those who love the draft, the Supplemental Draft offers one more taste of the draft experience. Even though it comes in a much smaller dose, itdoes offer some unique talent from time to time.

This year's hot name was former Baylor wide receiver Josh Gordon. Now there has been talk that I "love" every prospect, and sometimes I do get too caught up on some prospects, but Gordon just never did it for me. While Gordon is a great athlete with some upside, I never felt that he would have been the wide receiver the Cowboys are looking for.

Josh Gordon was the hot name of the summer who had his 15 minutes of fame. Some draftniks really got caught up in the Gordon hype, while others refrained from partaking in the hype. For the past few weeks, Gordon was the talk of the NFL mainly due to the fact that there isn't too much news circulating throughout the league right now. Every year there is a new Supplemental Draft, and every year there is a new name who headlines the event. Last year it was BYU running back Harvey Unga, this year it was Gordon.

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In 1989 the Cowboys used a first-round pick on Miami quarterback Steve Walsh. Even though the franchise had used the first overall selection in the 1989 NFL Draft on Troy Aikman, the Cowboys decided to bring in another quarterback to compete with Aikman. Walsh was later traded for draft picks, and only one of those picks was actually used. That was used on the man who put Reggie White on smash, offensive tackle Erik Williams.

The most successful Supplemental Draft pick for the Cowboys since Walsh has been Josh Brent. Brent was a player would have went in the third-or fourth-round of the 2010 NFL Draft, but the Cowboys managed to get him for just a seventh-round pick in the 2010 Supplemental Draft. While Brent has a promising future with the Cowboys as the "beefier" nose tackle they need on the defensive line, nothing is certain or set in stone.

According to Matt Mosley, the Cowboys "did their homework" on Gordon prior to the Supplemental Draft. The Cowboys' scouts also attended his pro day where Gordon ran a 4.52 40 yard dash and produced a 36 inch vertical jump. The 6'3, 224 pound wide receiver apparently tweaked his quad while running the 40 yard dash, so the 4.52 number is impressive.

There were too many red flags for me when I considered Gordon for the Cowboys. His best season at Baylor only resulted in 42 receptions for 714 yards and 7 touchdowns. After I read this Tim MacMahon article, I was totally turned off by the idea of using a high draft pick on Gordon.

However, Gordon comes with character risks. He left Baylor last summer after being indefinitely suspended following an arrest for marijuana possession in a Taco Bell drive-through. He transferred to Utah but never played for the Utes, entering the supplemental draft due to financial reasons.

He never had a lot of experience and production in college, but Gordon also came with character concerns. Does that sound like anything Jason Garrett would want to associate with and bring into the Cowboys' locker room? When it was all said and done, the Cleveland Browns won the Gordon auction by surrendering a second-round draft pick, which was way too much in my opinion.

According to Josh Ellis, the Cowboys did put a claim in on Gordon this Thursday.

UPDATE:The Cowboys' bid for Gordon is believed to have been in the third round. However, the team had a second-round grade on the receiver, according to a source.

Honestly, I am stunned right now. I cannot believe that the scouts in this organization actually liked Gordon enough to give him a second-round grade. Had the Cowboys actually given up anything higher than a fourth-round pick, I would have had a lot of issues with that. Gordon may have tremendous upside, but giving up a potential top 100 draft pick for a player who hasn't played organized football since 2010 is exactly what this organization does not need right now.

It is possible that the front office may not be totally convinced with the young wide receivers they have on the roster right now. If they truly have faith in their young receivers, then why would they bring in another inexperienced wide receiver? I have pressed this #3 wide receiver issue since Laurent Robinson left in free agency, and now I am even more concerned.

So BTB community, did the Cowboys make the right decision by putting in a third-round claim for Josh Gordon? Is this a case of the Cowboys seeing a great value in Gordon, or do they not feel like the #3 wide receiver is on the roster? Everything may not be settled at the wide receiver position, and this news definitely heightens the concerns that I have had about the position all along. Have at it in the comment section...

Hat tip to Allan Uy who had a FanShot up about the Josh Ellis article