[johno]

Originally Posted by BigHairedAristocrat

when i look at the trade, i look at it in terms of what we'd have used our 2nd round pick on.

1. I certainly like McNabb over any QB we could have drafted at 37 for several reasons - We traded MUCH more to acquire Jason Campbell and looked how that turned out for us. After 5 years, we've gotten nothing from the deal. McNabb will start immediately and play at a high level for 3-4 years. We have every reason to expect McNabb to play better than any QB we've had in almost 20 years.

2. If we hadnt drafted McNabb and stayed at 4 and 37, we very likely would have gone Clausen at 4 and an OT at 37. Now, if we stay at 4, we very likely will go Okung/Bulaga at 4. NO sane person is going to say that Clausen and a 2nd round OT is a better tandem than Okung/Bulaga and McNabb.

3. Bradford and Clausen are both vastly overrated in my opinion. Taking a gamble on either of them would have been very very risky.

4. We all knew that Campbell was not going to be the long-term QB of this team. By signing Mcnabb, we've taken the top QB available via trade off the market. By all appearances, the Rams are going to take Bradford. Somebody will take a gamble on Clausen. That leaves other teams wanting a franchise QB left with three choices: Jason Campbell, Colt McCoy, or Tim Tebow. McCoy and Tebow are long-term projects. Campbell can start right away. It may seem counterintuitive, but by signing McNabb, I think we've dramatically increased Campbells trade value. I'd be shocked if Campbell didn't yield a low 2nd or high 3rd rounder at this point.

5. This is the best yet - Bradford will freefall if he doesnt sign a contract with the Rams prior to the draft.... which means he'll sign with the Rams and be the #1 overall selection in the draft. That means one of Okung, McCoy, or Suh will be available at 4. If its Suh or McCoy, then SOMEONE is going to want to trade with us for the #4 pick. By signing McNabb, we've almost ensured that we can move out of the #4 pick and acquire more picks in the draft.

Lets look at the situation before and after this trade.

BEFORE: Jason Campbell, two picks in the first three rounds.

AFTER: Donovan McNabb and likely trades yielding atleast three picks in the first 3 rounds.

BOTTOM LINE: When we look back on this trade in context, the Skins did very very very well here. Its what Michael Scott would call a "WIN/WIN/WIN." Kudos to Bruce Allen and Mike Shanahan here.

Great post BHA, and a solid Office reference to boot.