The New England Patriots' trade of Matt Cassel and Mike Vrabel back in February raised a lot of eyebrows. A rising star quarterback and a proven veteran linebacker for just one second-round pick? It sounds like a shady deal—and maybe it is. After all, the Patriots gave up a lot of proven talent for a single second-round pick. They did not even snare Kansas City's No. 3 overall first-round pick. It sounds like New England screwed themselves over.
Nothing is farther from the truth, however. A first-round pick is not the commodity it once was. In fact, the first-round pick is more of a liability in a number of cases. To put it in perspective, only 18 of the 51 quarterbacks who started NFL games last season were first-round picks. Those 18 do not include the likes of Alex Smith, J.P. Losman, Matt Leinart, Joey Harrington, Tim Couch and Akili Smith, all of whom managed to do little more than eat up millions of dollars worth of salary cap money and fade into oblivion.
And that's just quarterbacks. Think about the number of running backs, wide receivers and defensive linemen who have been busts throughout the years, doing little more than eating up money because of where they were picked in the first round.
History shows that first-round picks are not getting any cheaper. Back in 1997, the St. Louis Rams signed No. 1 overall pick offensive tackle Orlando Pace to a seven-year, $25.6 million dollar contract that included a $6.3 million signing bonus. Just ten years later, quarterback JaMarcus Russell signed a contract worth $61 million and was guaranteed $29 million, roughly $4 million more than Pace's seven-year contract was worth. The latest No. 1 pick, offensive tackle Jake Long, inked a contract that was worth a little less than the top contract from the previous year, but secured even more in guaranteed money than Russell.
No NFL team with a solid core of players wants to spend that much money on an unproven player at the professional level. Unless you are the lowliest team in the league with no chance of improvement save a big boost from a sure-fire player at the top of the draft list, the thought of having to pay a first-round salary to someone who amounts to nothing more than a decent rookie is annoying at best.
Case in point would be Kentwan Balmer, a defensive end selected No. 30 overall in last year's draft by San Francisco. Because he was drafted in the first round, the 49ers had the obligation of paying him a first round salary: $11.5 million over five years, with $6 million in guaranteed money. Unfortunately for the Niners, he produced anything but first-round results, tallying only seven tackles, no sacks and no forced fumbles despite playing in all 16 games. Hardly worth the money. Larry Grant, an outside linebacker that San Francisco drafted at No. 214 overall last year, had five tackles in just two games.
Teams like the Patriots need not bother with the rigmarole of negotiating the contract of another first-round draft pick when they can get a player with nearly the same quality skills in the second round. The Packers, though in need of a boost from last year's sub-par performance, have followed suit with some success.
In 2007, the Packers continually traded away high, supposedly quality picks for a greater quantity of lower picks, and ended up reaching the NFC championship game.
Last year, they traded away their first-round pick in favor of a high second round pick and saved a few million in the process. Six picks further down the draft ladder from Balmer, wide receiver Jordy Nelson cost Green Bay less than half the money—$4.7 million over four years—and was far more productive on the field, hauling in 33 catches for 366 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Not bad for the fourth-ranked receiver on the team.
The fact of the matter is, getting a second-round pick is a pretty sweet deal in the grand scheme of things. New England could not financially come to terms with holding onto both Tom Brady and Cassel. So why get rid of one man only to have to pay the first-round pick that takes his place the same amount of money? Second-round picks are truly the gem of the draft, as they produce the biggest bang for the buck, and the Patriots were wise to gobble one up.
Think the Patriots should have held out for a No. 1 pick, e-mail Andy at avansistine@wisc.edu.
