A heated debate on the Washington Redskins first-day draft choices roiled the media work room at Redskin Park Saturday night.

The Redskins took three players on the first day of the draft, all are receivers, and two of them are essentially the same receiver.

Good day or bad day for the Redskins?

First, the players: Devin Thomas, a wide receiver from Michigan State was selected in the second round, 34th overall; Fred Davis, a receiving tight end from Southern Cal, was taken in the second round, No., 48 overall; Malcolm Kelly, a wide receiver from Oklahoma, was taken in the second round, No. 51 overall.

Thomas, 6-3 216, and Kelly, 6-4 219, are almost idential. There is no question about Thomas’ speed. Kelly’s 40-yard dash time, probably dropped him out of the first round.

In fact, all three of these guys dropped out of the first round for a reason. The questions concern pure speed vs. playing speed, attitude and work ethic.

Good day or bad day for the Redskins?

Sometimes, players drop on draft day when they shouldn’t. Sometimes teams take chances on players, and it pays off handsomely. The Redskins wanted one big receiver and got two. If one doesn’t work out, the other might. The problem will be if both fail to work out. Davis has talent. The challenge will be getting everything out of him that he has to give. But that’s a challenge with a lot of players.

Good day or bad day for the Redskins?

The real answer is that it’s impossible to tell. When Richie Petitbon was the defensive coordinator for the Redskins, he once said, “Sometimes you call the wrong coverage, but you get a sack, and it doesn’t matter.”

Sometimes teams draft players early and they don’t work out, but guys drafted later do, so it doesn’t matter.

At some point during the season, we’ll have an idea of how good or bad the first day of the draft was for the Redskins. That the Redskins took three offensive players, all essentially receivers, is not the problem. The problem will be if none of them work out.