Julio

[Eddie Grove]

Was there a worse decision last year than TEN trading for Julio Jones?
It's not as if his perennial hamstring problems were inside information.

TEN gave up a 2nd and a 4th and $17.3M and his total contribution was
434 yards and 1 TD.

[observer]

(corrected re-post as I erroneously stated
Amari Cooper went to the Broncos - NO,
he was traded to the Browns, fixed below)

On Wednesday, March 16, 2022 at 5:24:32 PM UTC-5, Eddie Grove wrote:

.> Was there a worse decision last year than TEN trading for Julio Jones?
.> It's not as if his perennial hamstring problems were inside information.
.>
.> TEN gave up a 2nd and a 4th and $17.3M and his total contribution was
.> 434 yards and 1 TD.

Well, the following website grades appear
to include recent 2022 decisions & has the
Julio Jones trade grade for Julio Jones as
a 'C' for Tennessee.
https://walterfootball.com/nfltrades.php

However, the following article is critical of
the trade before his meager contributions
in the 2021 season happened:
https://www.sportscasting.com/harsh-truth-julio-jones-trade-makes-titans-look-foolish-investing-declining-asset/

Here's a list of all 2021 trades, & I haven't pon-
dered all of those, so I'm in no position to com-
ment on whether the Julio Jones trade was the
worst or not.
https://nfltraderumors.co/list-of-2021-nfl-trades/

Regarding the Amari Cooper trade, for some
reason, walterfootball.com gave the Cowboys
a 'B+' & the Browns a 'B-' on that trade.

As for the Cowboys in 2022, they've lost Randy
Gregory (per Gregory's agent, the culprit was
the Cowboys including clauses in the contract
that the Broncos didn't include), Cedrick Wilson,
& Connor Williams in free agency thus far.

The following article gives the Broncos a 'C+' for
signing Randy Gregory, the Dolphins an 'A' for
signing Connor Williams & a 'B' for signing Ced-
rick Wilson.
https://walterfootball.com/freeagentsigninggrades.php

--- --- ---

[Eddie Grove]

observer <prohumanis...@gmail.com> writes:

> On Wednesday, March 16, 2022 at 5:24:32 PM UTC-5, Eddie Grove wrote:
>
> .> Was there a worse decision last year than TEN trading for Julio Jones?
> .> It's not as if his perennial hamstring problems were inside information.
> .>
> .> TEN gave up a 2nd and a 4th and $17.3M and his total contribution was
> .> 434 yards and 1 TD.
>
> Well, the following website grades appear
> to include recent 2022 decisions & has the
> Julio Jones trade grade for Julio Jones as
> a 'C' for Tennessee.
> https://walterfootball.com/nfltrades.php

There was a time I checked out all the different websites doing power
rankings and kept a list of the ones I thought were best. I remember
that walterfootball made the cut as one of the few I thought were worth
looking at.

When I look at that page, I do not think it is current. I think it is an
archive of what he thought of each trade at the time it happened. With
hindsight it is now clear that the Julio deal was much worse than it
initially appeared to people unaware of his hamstring.

> However, the following article is critical of
> the trade before his meager contributions
> in the 2021 season happened:
> https://www.sportscasting.com/harsh-truth-julio-jones-trade-makes-titans-look-foolish-investing-declining-asset/

Again, that was rating the trade at the time it happened.

It doesn't mention his hamstring directly, but said
"Tennessee has essentially tied itself to an aging receiver who has
significant wear and tear on his body."
That is some serious understatement.

> Here's a list of all 2021 trades, & I haven't pon-
> dered all of those, so I'm in no position to com-
> ment on whether the Julio Jones trade was the
> worst or not.
> https://nfltraderumors.co/list-of-2021-nfl-trades/

Too bad. My memory is toast. Dumpster fires are fun.
I was hoping to hear of even worse trades I've forgotten about.

> Regarding the Amari Cooper trade, for some
> reason, walterfootball.com gave the Cowboys

> a 'B+' & the Broncos a 'B-' on that trade.

They hardly gave up anything. They got 3 optional years at $20M per.
No money is owed yet. I'm not sure the trade is even worth grading.

The real decision(s) needing a grade will be whether to cut him before
the league year starts and then each additional year. They could also
wait until the other teams have spent their free agency money, and then
ask him to take a pay cut. They won't, because it would kill the locker
room, but technically that is within their power.

> As for the Cowboys in 2022, they've lost Randy
> Gregory (per Gregory's agent, the culprit was
> the Cowboys including clauses in the contract
> that the Broncos didn't include), Cedrick Wilson,
> & Connor Williams in free agency thus far.

Clauses matter. So-called guarantees that void for circumstances the
player has already encountered are not guarantees. The difference was
that the Broncos deal included guaranteed money, but the Cowboys deal
did not.

> The following article gives the Broncos a 'C+' for
> signing Randy Gregory, the Dolphins an 'A' for
> signing Connor Williams & a 'B' for signing Ced-
> rick Wilson.
> https://walterfootball.com/freeagentsigninggrades.php

These forward looking grades are generally useless.

E.g. it was crystal clear at the time that when the Raiders traded
Khalil Mack to the Bears, the Bears got fleeced. Yet every pundit was
prasing the Bears and crushing the Raiders. It is crazy how people do
not understand the concept of limited resources enforced by the salary
cap system.

https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/bears/analytics-conference-says-raiders-trading-mack-bears-was-best-transaction-2018

Oh, the draft grades are equally useless. I remember the draft when the
Raiders got Mack at 5 and Carr at 36. For some strange reason relating
to talk radio, the Raiders were my favorite team that year. Going into
the draft, Mack was described as the safest pick in the draft, a can't
miss star. Carr was the QB I was hoping they could get. I thought they
nailed the draft and deserved an A or A+. Consensus draft grades at the
time were C or C+. I haven't paid attention to draft grades ever since.

The QB picks from 2014 before Carr were all disappointments, but I think
all of those got higher draft grades at the time. Keep this in mind the
next time you post some list of draft grades in May.

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2019/03/19/derek-carr-is-the-last-quarterback-still-in-place-from-the-2014-nfl-draft/