[KB24]

Ultimately, I'm looking at the "big" picture. Again, I'm not doubting his talents and his abilities. I agree that he's an elite wide receiver. I also agree that he'd help our offense. And I can admit that I'm biased towards him because his touchdown celebrations turn me off. To me, he makes himself look like he did everything himself to get the touchdown instead of it being a TEAM effort (re: Faux Hall of Fame jacket). But, my main problem with this deal is what the Redskins are going to have to give up to acquire him.

Most of the people who want to trade for Chad Johnson most likely are the same people who feel we're just one player away from being a Super Bowl contender. Ever since Snyder took over the team, the attitude has been blast the future and win now. Give up draft picks to get established star players. That's all well and good. But, giving away all those draft picks the way we do comes at the cost of much-needed depth that could be filled by young, hungry players with something to prove. Ultimately, when we have a rash of injuries -- like we did last season -- it's more devastating to the Redskins because there's no proven commodity to plug in that hole and they're forced to scramble to find talent off the scrap heap instead of going to someone whom we've groomed for moments like this and, ultimately, to take over the position(s). This makes EVERY draft pick that much more crucial because the Redskins have a team full of stars with very little in the way of "proven" back-ups. Again, I go back to how well teams like New England, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh and the Giants have performed in the draft. The Giants won the Super Bowl with ALL of its 2007 draft picks and the other three teams have seen MOST of their draft picks become solid contributors to their championships.

Giving up two more picks -- potential, long-term solutions -- to win now with someone who, in three years, if not sooner, may start to decline is a price this team cannot afford to pay. What difference will having an elite wide receiver make if the aging, injury-prone offensive line gets nicked again and there are no quality back-ups to pick up the slack? What difference will having an elite wide receiver make if we have no pass rush outside of Andre Carter and a secondary with LOTS of question marks. While Chad Johnson may put up GREAT numbers while he's here and be a model citizen, other than selling more shirts and putting more fannies in seats, he won't address the long-term solutions this team needs to start addressing if it wants to return to the days of being a consistent winner. I also look at the fact that, for all his great numbers, the Bengals haven't been to the playoffs since 2005 while the Skins have appeared in the post-season twice during that time without him. If the Bengals were a legit Super Bowl contender, maybe I'd pull the trigger on this deal.

The Redskins are FULL of holes and they need EVERY draft pick they can get to fix those holes and build for the future. Giving up a first and conditional third is too steep a price for this team.