Who'd You Rather Have, Dez Bryant Or Brandon Marshall?

The past few weeks have brought some much needed life to the NFL Offseason. The recent trade of Brandon Marshall has been seen as a steal for the Broncos by some and a steal by the Dolphins by others. A good deal of one’s opinion relies on how heavy one values their draft picks. For someone like Daniel Snyder, he’s probably applauding the deal Miami made. Ted Thompson on the other hand would give the advantage to the Broncos. However, with the hit-or-miss draft prospects that the position brings, the question then becomes who is of more value – Brandon Marshall or Dez Bryant?

Having just completed his third straight season of at least 100 receptions, we know Brandon Marshall can play football. He averaged 1,230 yards a season and accumulated 23 TDs over those three years, putting an end to the skeptics about how good he can become. Just ask Jay Cutler, who dropped 9.2 points in QB rating and 900 yards as a result of losing him out wide; or Kyle Orton, who improved by 900 yards and 7.2 points in QB rating. He is seen as a widely regarded as a top five wide receiver in the league today based on his performance on Sundays. However, he drops down a lot of lists in the league who look at the off the field issues that have grown over the years, particularly as a result of the coach-quarterback issues last offseason.

Dez Bryant is viewed as the top WR in this year’s draft. Some scouts compare him to Andre Johnson with his size-speed combination and above average athletic skills. He could easily develop in to the same asset that the Texans have in their offense. However, he could just as easily become the next Charles Rogers. Like Marshall, Bryant also comes with some off the field baggage, highlighted by the suspension for lying to investigators. More so than any other fact, just remember he has yet to catch a pass in the NFL. Period.

Brandon Marshall set the market value of what it takes to acquire a prime time wide receiver. He was traded for two 2nd round picks. One of those two is locked into the 43rd pick of the draft this year while we’ll have to wait and see how well the Dolphins perform next season to see where they’re slotted. For the purpose of the article, let’s say they slightly improve to a .500 record and finish with the 16th best record in the league. That would set the value of those two picks at 880 or 890, depending on what website’s draft value chart you look at. Together, they equal the 18th pick in the draft.

If Bryant were to fall to that pick, the debate would be simple. Would you rather want Brandon Marshall or Dez Bryant on your football team? But pegged as a top-10 talent, ESPN currently has him going #7 to the Browns. If drafted that high, Dez Bryant would be seen as worth Marshall plus a low first round pick. To me that just doesn’t sound right. So the question becomes, is the market setting the right value for these players, is Dez Bryant overrated, or was the Brandon Marshall trade a steal for the Dolphins?