This whole idea that we should trade away some of our players is based on the idea that we would use the resulting draft pick to get a better player.  But if that is true, why wouldn't the other team, the team that is supposedly going to trade the draft pick to us, feel the same way?  Why would they trade us that draft pick that they could also use to get a better player? 

One team (we) has to say, "I need a 5th round pick more than I need Jawaan Taylor."
The other team has to say, "I need Jawaan Taylor more than I need a 5th round pick."

You also have to have faith that you are actually going to get a better player with that 5th round pick.  You've created a hole in your roster, and you're going to fill it with a draft pick?  In a league where teams are considered very successful if they hit on 60% of their picks, how sure are you that you are going to be able to fill that hole you've created?  

This is why I am very skeptical of plans like this.  Trading players isn't going to improve your team very much, if at all.  If you have players who want to be here, why trade them away?  Work with them, try to make them better.  Because no other team is going to give you what they are worth.  

I know, it happens all the time, but it's a roll of the dice.  Why create a hole in an already very weak roster, and then roll the dice that that draft pick will not bust?

1. you'll never get a 5th round pick for Jawaan Taylor. If we get a conditional 7th round pick, that would be great. It's better than getting nothing at all when we cut him. He's useless. I don't wanna see him on the field for us. He's a straight up liability. 

2. Maybe another team would give something decent for a player who just doesn't fit this particular team. For instance, Myles Jack does not fit a 3-4 base defense. That is evident. Even a blind person can see this. He is a pretty good 4-3 OLB though. Maybe a 4-3 team would be willing to part with a 4th or 5th round pick to acquire him. That would be a win for us, because we could use that selection to draft a true 3-4 ILB. Jack benefits, because we can go to a team and play his true position where he might return to his old self and the 4-3 team benefits, because they get a good player at a position of need. 

3. It isn't creating a hole in the roster to trade away players who are either bad (Taylor) or don't fit your scheme (Jack) anyway. Taylor would get cut for his poor play anyway and Jack would be a major cut candidate, because his play has declined since we made the switch to a 3-4 base. These are players we would be replacing anyway. 

4. If we have players who want to be here, why would we trade them? Because we don't want them here. They aren't helping us, they are holding us back due to poor play. If they were any good, we would keep them. Isn't that obvious? We're not trading good players who benefit us if they stay. Our roster will stay weak if we keep bad players and never try to upgrade positions.

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I met Claypool at a hockey game last week here in Canada. Asked him to come and play for the jags. He said it was the worst team in the league.

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"There are no asterisks in this life, only scoreboards." - Ari Gold