Here's an off the wall idea. I came up with a truly NBA-On-The-Eve-Of-The-Trading-Deadline style "blockbuster" trade that would net us both Taylor and Winslow. Impossible? No way! Far fetched? Hell yeah! But it's really sly, like a fox!
Here's where we stand right now...
1. San Diego. Will probably take a QB, though may not want to pick #1. Schotty is said to really be enamoured with Big Ben.
2. Raiders. Probably standing pat. Either Roy Williams or Gallery. If Gallery is picked here, this whole thing goes down the tubes. Al Davis makes me nervous.
3. Cards. Fitzgerald is Denny Green's boy.
4. Giants LOVE Eli Manning and want to trade up.
5. Skins, Baby!
6. Lions. See whole Taylor/Winslow/Belichick Drama.
7. Browns. The final and most interesting piece of the puzzle. They are rumored to really want Gallery and want to trade up to get him.
So here it goes:
We start this out with a first, fifth, and sixth round pick in 2004. Suprisingly, we still have all our picks in 2005 (wow!).
1. Trade our #5 overall and sixth rounder to the Browns for their #7 and third round pick. Browns will get their man at #5, no sweat.
2. Trade the #7 overall, our third rounder from the Browns, and Rod Gardner to the Bolts for the #1 overall. Puts us in the driver's seat and removes SD from "The Ryan Leaf Spolight". If we think a third is the best we can get for RG, then a plenty high draft pick and essentially two thirds should be plenty of incentive for the Bolts. Gardner's a Mart guy. Marty may overinflate his worth. At number seven, the Chargers can easily get Roethlisberger.
3. Now the fun part. Giants want Manning. We have the number one. What to do, what to do.. BAM! Trade the number one overall, plus maybe a player (Betts? they need RB help) and next years forth for the Giants first and second this year. I think even the Vikings could pull off drafting Manning at this point.
4. And the coup de gras... The Lions want picks, so let's give them picks! They need defense, so let's give them defense! Trade our number one next year, second rounder from the Giants, our fifth round pick this year, and Mr. Trotter for the number 6 overall pick this year. No number one next year, but it seemed like Gibbs almost never had first round picks in the 80's.
So now the draft order is...
1. Giants (Manning)
2. Raiders (Roy Williams)
3. Cards (Fitzgerald)
4. Redskins (Taylor)
5. Browns (Gallery)
6. Redskins (Winslow)
7. Chargers (Roethlisberger)
Pick wise, after the first round, we would have no picks left this year and would be down our number one next year. But we'd get our Hurricanes and could go play golf the rest of the weekend.
See? Easy as pie! I should be a GM!
Actually, the only reason I know this would work is that an anagram of "Rodney Gardner" is "Darn Yer Red Dong". If that doesn't make everything crystal clear, nothing will!
Whoops! My bad! That was STUPID like a fox, not sly!