PA Season Ticket Holder
04-26-2003, 10:26 AM
(April 22, 2003) -- What goes around in the NFL does not always come around. That axiom, however, is true in the case of Super Bowl quarterbacks Rich Gannon and Brad Johnson.
In 1987, the Patriots and Raiders made a multi-pick trade on draft day in which the Patriots moved down to get the Raiders' fourth-round pick. New England used that pick to draft Gannon ... who eventually made his way to the Raiders and led them to the Super Bowl. (The Raiders, by the way, used the third-round pick they got from New England that year to select Penn State running back Steve Smith.)
In 1992, Tampa Bay thought nothing of sending Minnesota its ninth-round draft choice in exchange for veteran linebacker Jimmy Williams. The Vikings used that late-round pick to select Johnson, who would later find his way to Tampa Bay in time to help them win Super Bowl XXXVII.
These quirks of draft history prove one thing: Teams never know exactly what they're getting into when they trade draft picks. Still, that doesn't stop them from trying to make it as exact a science as possible.
The art of draft-day trades has evolved over the years. At the 1961 draft, it was as simple as 49ers coach Red Hickey walking over to the Colts' table at the hotel ballroom where the draft was being held. "I'll give you one of our tight ends, Monty Stickles or Dee Mackey, in exchange for your first-round pick," Hickey proposed to Colts head coach Weeb Ewbank. In a matter of 10 minutes, Ewbank decided he'd take Mackey, and the deal was done. Hickey calmly walked back to the 49ers' table and then used the acquired draft pick to select quarterback Billy Kilmer.
http://nfl.com/draft/story/6330687
In 1987, the Patriots and Raiders made a multi-pick trade on draft day in which the Patriots moved down to get the Raiders' fourth-round pick. New England used that pick to draft Gannon ... who eventually made his way to the Raiders and led them to the Super Bowl. (The Raiders, by the way, used the third-round pick they got from New England that year to select Penn State running back Steve Smith.)
In 1992, Tampa Bay thought nothing of sending Minnesota its ninth-round draft choice in exchange for veteran linebacker Jimmy Williams. The Vikings used that late-round pick to select Johnson, who would later find his way to Tampa Bay in time to help them win Super Bowl XXXVII.
These quirks of draft history prove one thing: Teams never know exactly what they're getting into when they trade draft picks. Still, that doesn't stop them from trying to make it as exact a science as possible.
The art of draft-day trades has evolved over the years. At the 1961 draft, it was as simple as 49ers coach Red Hickey walking over to the Colts' table at the hotel ballroom where the draft was being held. "I'll give you one of our tight ends, Monty Stickles or Dee Mackey, in exchange for your first-round pick," Hickey proposed to Colts head coach Weeb Ewbank. In a matter of 10 minutes, Ewbank decided he'd take Mackey, and the deal was done. Hickey calmly walked back to the 49ers' table and then used the acquired draft pick to select quarterback Billy Kilmer.
http://nfl.com/draft/story/6330687