Blockbuster Eagles-Bills trade?
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I probably shouldn’t report on this considering it’s unsubstantiated nature, but I’m going to anyways because it’s pretty interesting! I’ve heard some whispers that the Eagles are looking to move up in the draft with the Bills being a possible trade partner, and there is some evidence to possibly back it up.
The two teams have had a recent history of talking trade. In 2009, the Bills shipped franchise LT Jason Peters to the Eagles for their 1st & 4th round picks in ’09, along with a 6th in ’10. The Eagles were rumored to check on the availability of RB Marshawn Lynch after starting tailback LeSean McCoy had gotten dinged up. Could there be a big-time deal in the works as soon as trades are allowed again?
Here’s the rundown. From what I’ve vaguely heard, the Eagles are looking to move up to 3rd overall, presumably to select LSU CB Patrick Peterson. It is not really a secret that the team needs another corner opposite Asante Samuel and, if a cap eventually goes back in place, there is no way they can afford to sign former Raider Nnamdi Asomugha to pair with him like some have suggested [I stand corrected, thanks to some help from my intelligent readers. They have plenty of cap room! ]. I suppose they also could be targeting Auburn DT Nick Fairley to pair with Mike Patterson up front, but youngster Antonio Dixon was doing alright last season. He showed some upside. I’m also not convinced they’re ready to completely give up on 2006 1st rounder Broderick Bunkley. I gave them Miami corner Brandon Harris in my most recent mock, so I’m sticking with the theory they’d like to add another guy on the outside.
The Eagles are sitting 23rd, which is a very expensive trade up. According to the now relevant value chart, that would be a 1,440 point move. The Bills would move down to 23 and probably pick up the 54th selection (360). I was trying to think who the Bills could be targeting at 23 if this was true. I figured Gabe Carimi could be a possibility, because I was wondering why we worked him out anyways. There’s no way a team is taking him in the top 5, but it’s just as likely he wouldn’t be there at 34. Moving around would make more sense on that front. During his State of the Bills event, Gailey randomly alluded to a possible scenario where the team would trade down and maybe take a LB. Georgia DE/OLB Justin Houston, who just recently visited and fills a major team need, is a good player and could be there when that pick rolls around. Why he would announce that doesn’t make a lot of sense, but I don’t really understand why that scenario was more specific than it had to be.
This would leave us with a 1,080 point gap, though. In theory, Philadelphia could give up a 1st next season that would make that difference, but I cannot see Andy Reid trading away that pick. He’s not the type to risk the future like that. He likes hoarding picks for a rainy day, so to speak. I also wouldn’t expect a Ditka-ish move of trading a plethora of their 10 picks in 2011 to move up (they have 5 picks between the 3rd and 5th round). What about a player? This is where it could get interesting.
Reid says he already has one offer for Kevin Kolb in the first round, but he’s looking for a higher selection. If Buddy Nix is a Kevin Kolb believer, what are the chances the Bills trade the 3rd overall pick for the 23rd, 54th, and QB Kevin Kolb (for essentially a mid-1st round pick value)? I’m not really sold on Kolb’s ability myself, but he does fit the Chan’s style of offense.
My disclaimer here is that this is completely speculation and there is little fact involved here. I just thought it was an interesting scenario that I’d like to share. Chan admitted that most of the stuff said around this time is BS anyways and Buddy doesn’t like the idea of trading around too much. This is the time of year when stuff like this starts getting thrown around.
If this is actually what the Bills really feel the need to do (which I’d rather they didn’t, to be honest), I would select Peterson (assuming he is who the Eagles have their eyes on) and sit on his rights until the Eagles are on the clock 23rd overall to make sure our targeted player is still on the board.
So what do you think? If there is any truth to this, would you welcome it or hate it? Let’s get some feedback about a potentially franchise-altering trade!
[If we really wanted to stockpile picks, another development could enable Nix to have quite a haul. If we trade down to 23, we could pick up the Eagles 54th pick among a handful of other picks or possibly Kolb. Maybe a 3rd this year and another 3rd next year. Anyways, we could then parlay that pick into two more second rounders if we wanted to. There is a report out of Denver that Elway is not sold on Tebow and the team is possibly looking to trade into the back-end of Round 1 for FSU QB Christian Ponder. The Broncos have the 36th and 46th picks. That equates to 980 points. The 23rd pick is worth 760. Denver may want to haggle a bit, but there is a premium to trading back up with us. Buddy doesn’t want to mess around too much, but that is a deal he probably wouldn’t pass up. When it’s all said and done, the Bills would have the 34th, 36th, and 46th pick, along with whatever else gets thrown in with the Philly deal. With all the uncertainty in this year’s class, it might not be the worst thing in the world to stockpile 2nd round picks as opposed to putting everything on the 3rd overall pick.]