There were an incredible amount of trades in this year’s NFL
Draft, some of them good, some of them not so good. I will stay positive for
now and go over my favorite moves of last weekend’s draft.
The Redskins mortgage their future to get Robert Griffin
III:
 |
| Robert Griffin III has been compared to Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young, but he has a long road to get to that elite level. |
The expression goes, “You can never give up too much to get
a franchise quarterback.” Griffin has a lot of work to do in order to become a
franchise quarterback, but he has all the skills, and more, to become one of
the top quarterbacks in this league. He also has the benefit of a solid defense
and an owner who spent a ton of money in free agency to get some offensive
weapons to surround him with.
It may take longer than most people think for Griffin to get
up to speed in the NFL, since people are already talking about a Cam
Newton-esque rookie campaign. Let’s not forget how rare it is to see that type
of a performance from a rookie signal caller. Expectations need to be tempered
a bit for 2012, but I have very little doubt that Griffin will have a long and
successful career.
With Morris Claiborne falling to the sixth pick, the
Cowboys make a bold move to land the corner they coveted all along:
People are questioning this move simply because it is the
Cowboys making this move. If Bill Belichick traded up with both of his first
rounds pick, people would be saying it was the move of the draft to land
possibly the best defensive player of this rookie class. Let’s not forget how
incredibly talented Claiborne is and how badly the Cowboys needed to improve
their defensive backfield after another disappointing season.
 |
| No one is happier than Rob Ryan about the Cowboys' move to land Morris Claiborne. Maybe he will have less to be angry about in 2012 thanks to a much improved defensive backfield. |
Rob Ryan’s defense needs
cover corners just to be able to function. We saw that last season when his
defense gave up huge play after huge play, causing them to miss the playoffs
yet again. The Cowboys gave a large contract to Brandon Carr in free agency,
but even Jerry Jones admitted that they over paid him because corner was such a
glaring need for his team. That is not much of a ringing endorsement from your
owner, so they were clearly looking to add more talent at the position.
While giving up a valuable second round pick to get
Claiborne is a heavy price, Claiborne has the potential to be a shutdown corner
in this league for a long time. I am pretty sure the Jets do not regret trading
up to grab Darrelle Revis in the first round. I do not think the Cowboys will
be disappointed either.
