We must draft better...

[Schneed10]

On draft picks, the "risk" of missing on players you pick is part of the reason it makes sense to trade picks away. For example, we traded a 5th round pick for James Thrash. What are the chances that you're going to find a guy in the draft with a 5th round pick to become more of a sure thing than Thrash is? He's a known commodity, you're getting a good special teams player for a pick that would likely turn into a nobody of a player.

Same thing can be said for the Cooley trade. Gibbs was so confident that Cooley was a sure thing, that he felt comfortable giving up a 2nd rounder the next year. He felt Cooley was more certain to be effective than a player he might find in the 2nd round next year. And so far, we can't complain on that one.

The Campbell trade appears dubious because we gave up so much. But the same line of thinking applies, Gibbs apparently feels that Campbell really is that much of a sure thing to develop into an effective player. Enough that he'll be worth what all those picks could have turned into. To be fair, we have to wait and see on that one.

Champ and a 2nd rounder for Portis seems like a lot though. I'll agree that was a wasted pick.