Rams and Redskin draft pick trade thoughts

I know this is way off topic but I thought the trade between the Redsknins and Rams was really interesting, mostly because of just how much the Redskins gave up to get the #2 pick (and presumable RG3), but then also some other questions that followed from that.  The trade that has been agreed upon (but hasn’t been finalized by the league office) will send the #2 pick to the Redskins in exchange for the #6 overall pick this year, a 2^nd round pick this year and 1^st round picks in 2013 and2014 to the Rams.  This is a TON to move up 4 spots.

-From the Redskin’s perspective:  it almost doesn’t matter how good your team is unless you have an elite quarterback and between Rex Grossman and John Beck they certainly don’t.  If you look at the really good teams from last year almost all of them had elite quarterbacks (the notable exception being the 49ers who had a great team other than their quarterback and play in what has been by far the worst division over the last 5 year).  So if they think Robert Griffin III is going to be a franchise quarterback then why not do whatever it takes to get him, as the Patriots and Colts showed this year (in very different ways) a truly elite quarterback can take a bad team and make them a legitimate Super Bowl contenter.

-From the Rams perspective: it’s it great to have a team like the Redskin who continue to try to make that big, flashy move, typically it’s been signing an aging free agent to a big contract, this year it’s overspending for young quarterback.  For moving back 4 spots in the draft they get 2 more potential top-10 picks in the next two drafts (do you really expect the Redskins to be very good with a really young quarterback), not to mention they also get a 2^nd pick early in the draft this year, for a pick that they weren’t going to use to pick a quarterback with.

I think each team’s perspective makes sense (especially from the Rams perspective). But it brings up a couple more interesting questions:

-Would the Redskins have had a better chance of landing an elite quarterback with three 1^st round picks and a 2^nd round pick than the #2 overall pick?  I know using 4 really high draft picks on quarterbacks over 3 or 4 drafts would get you accused of being Matt Millen on crack, but that’s essentially what the Redskins did by doing the trade they did.  Yes many of the elite quarterbacks were drafted really high in Round 1 but about as many didn’t (Tom Brady, Aarron Rodgers, Ben Rothlithberger, and Drew Brees).  So why not try taking a quarter back in the first or second round every 2 or 3 years until you find your quarterback if you’re going to spend that much on a quarterback that might not pan out (see Tim Couch, Akili Smith, Ryan Leaf, and Alex Smith pre-2011).

-What could the Colts have gotten for the #1 pick (Andrew Luck), I would think an extra 1^st rounder or at the very least an extra 2^nd rounder?  If this is the case would they have been better paying Peyton Manning his roster bonus and using those 4-6 high draft picks over the next couple years to make one last push with Manning and build up a stronger team for after he retires?  I think probably, I realize this comes with big risks: will Manning be able to be the Peyton Manning we’ve known again and how will those picks turn out?  I guess my answer to the first question relates back to my previous paragraph, even if he isn’t able to come back at all I think you’d have a better chance of getting an elite quarter back with 4 or 5 high picks than with the number 1 overall pick.  The second question is a little more complicated but if you’re running a team either as an owner or GM wouldn’t you think that you could get at least 2 really good players with all those picks?  I would think so or I think you should be looking for a new GM and/or owner.