I'm a bit late to the party, but I didn't want to let this event pass without a comment on just how remarkable a deal this truly is. It's nothing short of historic, actually.
Several weeks ago, Kearly began a "If you had the #1 Pick, what would you do?" thread ... and several posters said that they would look to trade it. While I completely agreed with that sentiment, I also pointed out that I believed that it would be highly unlikely that the Titans would be successful in doing so. Why did I say that?
Well -- the last time that the #1 pick was traded prior to yesterday was in 2004 (12 years ago). The Chargers traded it to the Giants for Eli Manning. The Giants traded the Chargers their #4 Pick (became Phillip Rivers) ... the #65 Pick ... their 1st Round pick in 2005 (#12 overall, which became Shawn Merriman) ... and the #144 pick in 2005.
12 years -- that's a long time. I'm a history teacher by trade, so in the spirit of history let's take a brief tour of the history of #1 Pick trades ...
In 2001 the Chargers traded it to the Falcons for Michael Vick. The Falcons gave up their pick at #5 ... and also traded away their #67 pick ... and their 2nd Round pick in 2002 (#48) to get him.
In 1997 the Jets did successfully trade the #1 overall pick to the Rams who selected Orlando Pace. The Jets not only got the Rams pick at #6 ... they also got the #67 Pick ... the #102 Pick ... and the #207 Pick.
1995 -- the Panthers traded the #1 overall pick to the Bengals. Bengals selected Ki-Jana Carter ... the Panthers got the Bengals pick at #5 ... and also the #36 pick as well.
1991 -- the Patriots traded the #1 overall pick to the Cowboys. The Cowboys selected Russell Maryland. The Patriots got the Cowboys pick at #11 ... and also the #41 pick as well.
1990 -- the Falcons traded the #1 Overall pick to the Colts along with the #83 Pick and a conditional 1991 pick. The Colts selected Jeff George with the #1 Pick. In order to make that deal, they traded away Pro Bowl Tackle Chris Hinton, the #83 Pick, and the #121 Pick.
Those are the deals. Prior to yesterday, it had happened just 6 times over the course of the last 25 years! It should be noted that Jimmy Johnson's trade valuation chart didn't start to become popularized, well known, etc. until the late 1990s or so.
When it's happened, trades like that have usually occurred because (in the mind of the team that's going after the #1 Pick) there is 1 player who is just so far and above the rest -- whose skills just leap off the page and is seen as a can't miss kind of player (usually a QB, ala Michael Vick). Looking at this draft class, I don't know that I can say that. I mean Jared Goff and Carson Wentz are good, but I don't see either one of those guys as being Peyton Manning or Andrew Luck type of #1 Pick talents. Given that reality right there, I highly doubted that Titans would be able to pull it off. Obviously the Rams disagree with me.
So again, history was made yesterday, as this deal marks just the 7th time in the last 26 years that the #1 Pick has been traded. This is a deal that I believe we and NFL pundits will be talking about for years, as looking at deal and what the what the Titans got back in return ... I would argue that this looks like a Herschel Walker type of trade for them. Unbelievable haul of draft capital for the Titans. In judging the deal today, I would say that the Rams just fleeced themselves. Only time will tell if I'm right or they are.