I am 60/40 on this trade. Here is why:
The people talking like backups don't matter, and that we are out of contention if Wilson gets hurt, etc etc, they are missing a vital piece of the argument. Yes, I agree that almost any team would be sunk if their QB goes down, and they have to rely on their backup for the majority of the season. What if that stud QB gets hurt, and only misses a handful of weeks? IMO, you don't have a backup on the team to step in and take over for the season. That successfully occurs so rarely we can affectively rule that out of the conversation. But having a backup that can come in and win 2-3 games in a 4-5 game stretch CAN be the difference between making the playoffs or sitting at home in January. It seems to me that people are writing off having a decent backup much too quickly, without looking at the all the factors that might come into play.
It remains to be seen who they replace Flynn with, so I reserve full judgment until that point. If we replace Flynn with a Thigpen, Leinart, or anything from the bargain bin (Young), I think it would be a mistake. Hopefully this means we will draft a mid to late round QB, and start the process of building our own QB factory.
The compensation aspect of this trade is neither here nor there, IMO. Anyone who thought we would get more than a couple of late round picks was delusional. Two 5ths is about where I figured it would be, if they did pull the trigger. Fortunately, I have complete confidence that our FO will be able to hit on at least one of those picks, and ultimately make this trade worth it.
In order for me to think this was a win across the board for the Hawks, they would have to draft a competent QB, and make good on one of the two picks. I think the likelihood of those things happening is quite high, so I am cautiously optimistic about this trade. It is not without some risk though.
