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Top 10 NFL draft-day blockbuster trades
Ricky Williams came to the Saints for a multitude of players in a draft-day trade with Washington.
STEPHEN J. CARRERA / Associated PressPublished: Monday, April 20, 2009 at 8:01 p.m.
Last Modified: Monday, April 20, 2009 at 8:01 p.m.
With all due respect, your mock draft is toast — and it has nothing to do with your evaluation of defensive tackle B.J. Raji, or your intuition regarding the mindset of Bill Parcells.
What ruins every NFL mock draft is that no one knows the order in which the teams will be drafting. We think we know. But the order will certainly change — and maybe dramatically — by the end of Saturday, thanks to draft-day trades.
Just look at last year. By the time the dust cleared on the first day of the 2008 draft, overall picks Nos.7, 8, 10, 15, 17, 18, 19, 21, 25, 26, 28 and 30 had changed hands via trade.
Trades can reshape a draft, and they can affect a team’s prospects for years, laying a foundation for Super Bowl glory or shackling a club with a high-salaried bust.
Here are the 10 biggest trades of the past decade, and an opinion on who got the better of each deal.
Oh, before you blow a gasket because we omitted the mega-deal that wound up involving Michael Vick and LaDainian Tomlinson in 2001, remember that it didn’t happen on draft day. It occurred the day before, sparing your mock draft.
1. 2004 THE SWAP: Chargers trade QB Eli Manning to Giants for QB Philip Rivers, third-round selection in 2004, and first- and fifth-round choices in 2005.
THE FACTS: Everyone expected the Chargers to trade the No.1 overall pick when Manning said he wouldn’t sign with them out of Mississippi. They couldn’t get a deal done by the time the Giants picked at No.4, so the two teams wound up trading the players rather than the picks. San Diego took K Nick Kaeding with the third-round selection, and LB Shawne Merriman with the 2005 first-rounder.
THE WINNER: Don’t bother weighing Manning’s Super Bowl win vs. Rivers’ production. Merriman easily swings the balance of power to the Chargers.
2. 1999 THE SWAP: Redskins trade first-round selection (No.5) to Saints for first- (No.12), third-, fourth-, fifth-, sixth- and seventh-rounders in 1999, and first- and third-rounders in 2000.
THE FACTS: New Orleans took RB Ricky Williams with its coveted No.5. Washington bundled four of the picks, plus its own fourth-rounder, to Chicago for the No. 7 overall, eventually taking CB Champ Bailey. The Redskins used the Saints’ fourth-rounder on LB Nate Stimson, traded the sixth- and seventh-rounders to Denver for a fifth-round choice (which they used on T Derek Smith), drafted LB LaVar Arrington with the first-rounder in 2000 and took DB Lloyd Harrison with the third-rounder that year.
THE WINNER: Saints coach/GM Mike Ditka was universally mocked for trading virtually his entire draft slate, not to mention the next year’s No.1. It actually doesn’t look as one-sided from this vantage point (Arrington was mostly a dud), but Bailey is the game’s premier cornerback, so give it to Washington.
3. 2000 THE SWAP: Jets trade WR Keyshawn Johnson to Buccaneers for two first-round selections (No. 13 and No. 27).
THE FACTS: New York used the No. 13 on LB John Abraham, and the No. 27 on TE Anthony Becht.
THE WINNER: Johnson caught 298 passes (including 106 in 2001) for 3,828 yards and helped Tampa to a Super Bowl title, but eventually became Jon Gruden’s nightmare. Abraham spent six years with the Jets and left with 53 ½ sacks. Becht is a solid tight end, but hasn’t caught more than 18 passes since 2003. It’s the Jets, by half a sack.
4. 2003 THE SWAP: Cardinals trade first- (No. 6), second- (No. 37) and fourth-round selections to Saints for two first-rounders (No. 17 and 18) and second-rounder (No. 54).
THE FACTS: With its picks, New Orleans took (in chronological order) DT Johnathan Sullivan, T Jon Stinchcomb and G Montrae Holland. Arizona drafted WR Bryant Johnson, DE Calvin Pace and WR Anquan Boldin.
THE WINNER: Cardinals, without a doubt. Stinchcomb has become a valuable lineman for the Saints, but Sullivan was a bust and Holland has bounced around. Pace and Boldin, meanwhile, were big reasons Arizona reached the Super Bowl in January.
5. 2003 THE SWAP: Bears trade first-round selection (No. 4) to Jets for two first-rounders (Nos. 13 and 22) and a fourth-rounder.
THE FACTS: New York pounced on DT Dewayne Robertson with the No. 4 overall. Chicago re-gifted the No. 13 to New England, and in return got the No. 14 and a sixth-rounder; the Bears took DE Michael Haynes at No. 14 and sent the sixth-rounder to Jacksonville as part of the package that landed WR Justin Gage. They took QB Rex Grossman at No. 22 and DT Ian Scott in the fourth round.
THE WINNER: Here’s a trade that really worked for nobody. Robertson, while he had his moments, was cut after a succession of injuries; Denver has cut him, too. Grossman and Haynes have been disappointments, and Haynes is gone now. So is Scott, who hasn’t started an NFL game in two years. It’s a soccer-style nil-nil tie.
6. 1999 THE SWAP: Bears trade first-round selection (No. 7) to Redskins for first- (No. 12), third-, fourth- and fifth-rounders in 1999, plus a third-rounder in 2000.
THE FACTS: Everyone remembers the Ricky Williams trade, saluted here as the biggest of the past 10 years. Did you recall that Washington immediately turned around and shipped the bulk of its bounty to Chicago? As noted above, the Skins landed Champ Bailey. The Bears drafted QB Cade McNown in the first round, WR D’Wayne Bates in the third, LB Warrick Holdman in the fourth, G Jerry Wisne in the fifth and TE Dustin Lyman in 2000.
THE WINNER: Holdman (who, funnily enough, also wound up with the Redskins) turned into a pretty good linebacker. The rest of Chicago’s haul was weak, however. Washington was the Champ, twice in one day.
7. 2008 THE SWAP: Eagles trade first-round selection (No. 19) to Panthers for second- (No. 43) and fourth-rounders, plus first-rounder in 2009.
THE FACTS: Carolina converted the No. 19 into T Jeff Otah. Philadelphia sent the second-rounder to Minnesota, along with a fifth, and netted DT Trevor Laws and DB Quintin Demps. The Eagles got G Mike McGlynn in the fourth round, and will have the No. 28 overall on Saturday.
THE WINNER: It’s too early to tell, though Otah started right away at right tackle. Philly will have to find some value at No. 28 to even this one out.
8. 2001 THE SWAP: Rams trade QB Trent Green and a fifth-round selection to Chiefs for first-rounder (No. 12).
THE FACTS: Kansas City’s fifth-rounder became RB Derrick Blaylock. St. Louis used the first-round choice on DT Damione Lewis.
THE WINNER: Green passed for 21,459 yards and 118 touchdowns during seven seasons in KC, helping the Chiefs to two playoff appearances. And even Blaylock was a valuable backup for a couple seasons. Lewis, meanwhile, has started fewer than half the NFL games he’s played. Chiefs win.
9. 2008 THE SWAP: Ravens trade first-round selection (No. 8) to Jaguars for first-rounder (No. 26), two thirds and a fourth.
THE FACTS: Jacksonville converted the No. 8 into DE Derrick Harvey. Baltimore packaged the No. 26 with one of the newly acquired thirds and a sixth for Houston’s first-rounder (No. 18) and drafted QB Joe Flacco. The Ravens subsequently picked up LB Tavares Gooden and traded the fourth-rounder to the Raiders for CB Fabian Washington.
THE WINNER: You don’t know for sure after a year, especially since Harvey showed some potential as a rookie. But this looks like a steal for Baltimore after rearranging its side of the ledger to get the poised Flacco. And even Washington wound up starting.
10. 2001 THE SWAP: Bills trade a first-round selection (No. 14) to Buccaneers for first- and second-rounders (Nos. 21 and 51).
THE FACTS: The No. 14 became T Kenyatta Walker. The No. 21 turned out to be CB Nate Clements. Buffalo traded the No. 51 to Denver for the No. 58 and a fourth-rounder, which in turn were used on RB Travis Henry and LB Brandon Spoon.
THE WINNER: No contest. Walker was a primary starter in Tampa Bay for five seasons, mostly at right tackle, but he never hit his ceiling, and currently plays in Canada. In contrast, Clements became a Pro Bowl pick. Henry has become a poster boy for bad citizenship, but did rush for 1,200 yards or better three times along the way.
You can reach Staff Writer Phil Barber at 521-5263 or phil.barber@pressdemocrat.com
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