The thing that still bugs me about the draft...

[packers11]

T.T. didn't take the cleveland deal ...

They will most likely give Dallas a top 5 pick, imagine having McFadden on the packers...

With so much depth at DT I just don't see why T.T. didn't do it...

Not trying to "beat a dead horse" but after seeing cleveland play, that pick could be very valuable...

[VanPackFan]

This deal (was it ever actually confirmed that it existed?) would have had the Packers trading out of this year's first round entirely?
Migawd, I can just imagine how the 'win now for Farve' crowd would have reacted to that. At least Harrell could and should be a contributor in the back half of this season. But if TT had failed to provide this team with a first round pick at all in what could be Farve's finale, I think a few heads would have exploded around here.

[Lurker64]

Re: The thing that still bugs me about the draft...

T.T. didn't take the cleveland deal ...

They will most likely give Dallas a top 5 pick, imagine having McFadden on the packers...

With so much depth at DT I just don't see why T.T. didn't do it...

Not trying to "beat a dead horse" but after seeing cleveland play, that pick could be very valuable...

I think it pays to remember that the deal Cleveland ended up accepting for the Quinn pick was sweeter than the deal that Cleveland offered Thompson. The deal Cleveland offered Thompson was just "Your first this year for our first next year, plus we swap 2nd and 3rds this year". Based on the customary method of calculating points for future draft picks, this was a very lopsided deal in Cleveland's favor so I don't fault Thompson for not taking it. I actually would have been mad at him if he took that deal. In retrospect, since Harrell was inactive on Sunday "going without a first rounder" doesn't seem awful, but not knowing who we'd pick I would have been upset if he lost his first round pick in a trade that he lost by by 100 or more points.

The deal that Cleveland offered Dallas was "Your first this year, for our first next year and our second this year" which is a significantly better trade. My understanding is that Cleveland tried to lowball every team for the pick, but they got progressively more desperate because KC (who was picking 23) came out and said "If Quinn's there, we're picking him", so when pick 22 came around they either had to give the Cowboys what they wanted (and they made out like bandits on the points), or pass on Quinn.

[MasonCrosby]

This deal (was it ever actually confirmed that it existed?) would have had the Packers trading out of this year's first round entirely?
Migawd, I can just imagine how the 'win now for Favre' crowd would have reacted to that. At least Harrell could and should be a contributor in the back half of this season. But if TT had failed to provide this team with a first round pick at all in what could be Favre's finale, I think a few heads would have exploded around here.

that is a very good point. imagine the reaction from the fan base and even favre. do we sacrifice our draft pick today for something next year?

[Brohm]

That's essentially what the trade would have been, zero this year for the Browns pick next year. The swap of 2nd and 3rds is irrelevant as TT wheels and deals those down anyways (and his "list" is a bit different from others as far as who he picks , so the player(s) he wanted would have been there anyways).

[cheesner]

A lot of variables in this one. No telling where Cleveland's pick is going to end up.

Ideally, we could have traded down with Dallas, picked up their 3rd, and then traded with the Browns for their 2nd and 1st next year. No doubt, those three picks would offer the Packers more likely impact than Justin. I hope Harrell and the rest of this draft class work out - I doubt if any team will ever have the perfect draft. It is all too easy to 2nd guess the draft later.

[wist43]

We really don't know what the deal could have ended up being b/c TT heard their proposal and basically hung up on them.

It wasn't until later when Phil Savage spoke about his efforts to try to trade up, that any details about what was offered to Green Bay came out.

If the reports are accurate that it was next years #1, and a swap of this years 2's and 3's... that's just an initial offer. I'm convinced that the Browns will be picking top 10 next year, probably top 5. Pry one of those two picks - the 2nd or the 3rd rounder, move up with the other, and you might have the makings of a deal.

We'll never know... but, I agree with the premise of the thread. If I'm a GM I'd always, always, be interested in a future #1 from a bad team.

[Patler]

Why obsess so much over something that DIDN'T happen? There are a lot of reasons why trades fall through, FAs go elsewhere, contract extensions never materialize, etc. We never know all of the reasons behind those "failures".

You also never can fully appreciate what else would have or wouldn't have happened if those failed scenarios had gone differently. For example, having Walker would have been great, but the trade was really a key to all of TT's draft day maneuvers. How differently would that have gone without the trade of Walker? Maybe it would have been better, maybe worse, who can say with any certainty?

Who knows how differently things might have gone if the trade with Cleveland had happened? Maybe Harrell would have still been there in round 2, and TT would have taken him. Maybe not. If so, maybe no Jackson. Then maybe a RB later and no Jones. Maybe Jones, but later? Again, who knows?

Interesting things to discuss, but certainly not worth agonizing over.

[b bulldog]

I was going to say this at years end when the Browns have a top 5 pick

[the_idle_threat]

This deal (was it ever actually confirmed that it existed?) would have had the Packers trading out of this year's first round entirely?
Migawd, I can just imagine how the 'win now for Favre' crowd would have reacted to that. At least Harrell could and should be a contributor in the back half of this season. But if TT had failed to provide this team with a first round pick at all in what could be Favre's finale, I think a few heads would have exploded around here.

Welcome to the forum, and this is an outstanding point.

Only in hindsight---knowing that the 1st round pick was Harrell and he's not ready to go yet---does this trade work for the win-now folks.

[RashanGary]

That missed deal looks worse every day. TT can have a fine career without getting another top 5 pick but damn, that could have given him the type of freebe that most GM's don't have a luxery of recieving.

Imagine Rodgers stepping in with the mature OL, the young WR's entering their prime and McFadden/Jackson as the one two punch at RB as well as a top 5 defense.

As it stands we don't get the freebe. TT said he was not prepared for that type of a trade. I remember thinking at the time that it was one of the few times TT seemed like he was out of his element and prone to a mistake.

Like I said, TT can do just fine without this deal but damn, that could have been the final lucky piece to put this team over the top.

[b bulldog]

This truely was a nobrainer

[Lurker64]

I still think, that if the deal the Browns was offering was such a no brainer, why did five teams other than us pass on it? Couldn't Cincinnatii, Denver, Jacksonville, Tennessee, or the Giants use McFadden?

Thompson wasn't the only GM to pass on the "generous deal" that Cleveland was offering. This strongly leads me to believe that Cleveland was low-balling a lot of people.

[Bretsky]

This deal (was it ever actually confirmed that it existed?) would have had the Packers trading out of this year's first round entirely?
Migawd, I can just imagine how the 'win now for Favre' crowd would have reacted to that. At least Harrell could and should be a contributor in the back half of this season. But if TT had failed to provide this team with a first round pick at all in what could be Favre's finale, I think a few heads would have exploded around here.

Welcome to the forum, and this is an outstanding point.

Only in hindsight---knowing that the 1st round pick was Harrell and he's not ready to go yet---does this trade work for the win-now folks.

I'm a win now guy who was not fond of Harrell from the second his name was announced.

I'd have jumped at this deal in a second; what a no brainer.

It may have brought us a franchise back next year, and boy that would have set us up for the future.

[b bulldog]

Could you imagine next year getting McFadden early and somebody like Ike in the middle of round one.