So, do we count it as a success that Devin Thomas actually caught a pass in his first NFL game? After all, it was looking pretty recently like Washington would head into the regular season without either of their second-round receivers.

The news on Washington 's rookie wideouts has been overwhelmingly bad since the beginning of training camp, when both Thomas and Malcolm Kelly made the exact wrong impression by failing the team's conditioning test. It's absurd for any player to fall short on such basic barometers, and that's only truer for a pair of draft picks who have not proven anything at the pro level and are supposedly just a few months removed from having to get themselves into top shape for pre-draft workouts. Then again, maybe that's when red flags should have been heeded more strongly.

Thomas was a one-year wonder coming out after his junior season at Michigan State . After transferring from a junior college, he went from catching just six passes in his first season as a Spartan to grabbing 79 for 1,260 yards and eight touchdowns in 2007. His ability and size intrigued scouts, and he didn't do anything to hurt his stock by ranking among the top performers at his position in the 40-yard dash and the broad jump at February's scouting combine.

Concerns about whether he'd had enough time to prove he could repeat such production seemed to be what pushed Thomas into the second round, and Washington made him the second receiver selected with the 34^th choice overall after trading out of the 21^st spot in Round 1.

Kelly, on the other hand, was kept from working out at the combine because of injury, and then ran disappointing 40 times during his pro-day workout. Even more disappointing (and detrimental), however, might have been his furious overreaction to questionable running conditions. In the aftermath, rumors began to spread that some teams lost all interest in the former Sooner — who also left school a year early — and that he might linger on the board into Round 3.

Seventeen slots after selecting Thomas (and three after taking USC tight end Fred Davis), though, Washington plucked the 6-foot-4 receiver from the board. Although Kelly drew early praise for the talent he displayed in workouts, injuries quickly sidelined him after he showed up less than fully prepared for camp. He struggled early with a hamstring injury before undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left knee early in August. The injuries kept him out of all five exhibition games and helped lead to questioning comments from teammates and coaches.

"With Malcolm, we're not sure about everything that's going on," quarterback Jason Campbell told the Washington Post recently.

Thomas isn't faring much better, as he also battled some injuries and still apparently doesn't have a grasp of the playbook.

"One guy can't get on the field, and the other, he's not ready yet," Coordinator Sherman Smith told the Post.

The early struggles of the two receivers that brought question marks with them from the start has to make you wonder if it was wise for Washington to pass on opportunities to draft players such as corners Mike Jenkins, Antoine Cason, Brandon Flowers and Tracy Porter; defensive ends Lawrence Jackson, Philip Merling, Calais Campbell and Quentin Groves; or even other receivers such as Donnie Avery or Jordy Nelson. 

The corner prospects could have added depth to a position that was already shallow and then had to make it through Thursday night's opener without starter Shawn Springs . The ends could have shored up a position of weakness and possibly made the Jason Taylor unnecessary (or at least less necessary). The two other receivers both entered the draft with longer records of college production and fewer questions.

It's certainly far too early to tell whether Washington chose wisely in adding Thomas and Kelly back in April. The two may well turn into top producers and fight for starting jobs next season. Maybe one will even force his way into the lineup later this year. The early returns, however, can be labeled nothing other than disappointing.