The Trading Up Factor
April 19th, 2017
Analyzing trading up.
Several Bucs fans have one simple request for Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht:
Go get Dalvin Cook.
Now you may want to insert another favorite running back’s name here who will be a first round pick, whether it be Leonard Fournette or Christian McCaffery or — gasp! — notorious Oklahoma woman-punching running back Joe Mixon.
So Monday in his pre-draft briefing for the local pen and mic club, Licht was asked for his philosophy of trading up in the first round.
“You’d have to feel very confident that he’s going to come in and make an immediate impact,” Licht said. “You’d have to feel – no player is safe in this draft. All players, it doesn’t matter who it is, how clean they are, they all come with a risk, but you want to be as risk free as you can possibly get in order to mortgage your future and give up those assets; your draft picks.
“It also depends on whose there and how high you have them on your board to justify moving up. So, if you had him slotted around the 19 pick and you’re picking 19, you probably don’t want to move up, but if you had him slotted a lot higher, you’d be tempted to do that.”
The thing about mortgaging the future is an interesting line to Joe. On face value, Licht is correct. However, Licht’s current contract runs out at the end of this season. And we all know how in the past decade, Team Glazer has had an awfully itchy trigger finger. In the immortal words of winning Bucs coach Dirk Koetter, “The only thing people give a s(p)it about are wins.”
Licht and Koetter don’t know what their futures are. So if the duo believes a running back (Cook) is that final piece of the puzzle for a dynamic offense, then go get him!
As Joe always asks his cherished readers, do you know of any Dixie Chicks fan who speed bags his refrigerator at night in rage because Atlanta traded up to get Julio Jones?
The future is now.
April 19th, 2017 at 7:09 am
Save your draft picks.
Make Mixon a Buc
April 19th, 2017 at 7:11 am
Trading up….giving up even one extra pick for Cook would be STUPID!!!!! I wont be that suprised if they take him at 19 bug anyone who thinks to trade up for him needs theyre head scanned immediately.
April 19th, 2017 at 7:18 am
Both of you guys are exactly right! No running back is worth giving up a first and second round pick for. And if we’re going from 19 to say….11? We’re giving up that second round pick…could be Evan Engram, or Chris Godwin, or Demarcus Walker, or Budda Baker….is Fournette or Cook worth that?
Not in a million lifetimes. And I’m a Seminole!
April 19th, 2017 at 7:19 am
This isn’t a typical draft. After the first 4-5 players things really get tight all the way to player 60 or so with starters all the way to pick 100. By trading up here, you are trading away projected starters.
April 19th, 2017 at 7:24 am
“That Would Be A Dumb Decision”
April 19th, 2017 at 7:28 am
Licht is not worried one bit about his job. That will not play into draft strategy at all. Quit grasping at straws making excuses for them to do anything and everything to go up and grab a freaking running back in the 1st round.
April 19th, 2017 at 7:31 am
Unless Howard or Corey Davis is there, trade down!
April 19th, 2017 at 7:33 am
Hasn’t the NFL become a “passing league”??????
Just askin’
April 19th, 2017 at 7:44 am
I’d move up for Howard or Davis long, long before I’d even consider taking Cook at 19. The falcons traded up for Jones because he was a unique talent at an important position. Cook is neither. He’s an above average but not amazing running back. He’d be a fine pick – in the second round.
April 19th, 2017 at 7:48 am
8 days cant go by fast enough. And please, can we stop comparing Cook to Julio Jones.
April 19th, 2017 at 7:56 am
Tom you are correct, “Hasn’t the NFL become a “passing league”??????” Didn’t I just read this in the previous article.
April 19th, 2017 at 7:58 am
Lol! No need to tradeup. Cook is going to drop to the 2nd round if we dont grab him
GMs are scared to death of Cooks thug life and his crew of felons down in miami. Give a kid 10 mill in that environment and bad things going to happen
1 Buc Mole
April 19th, 2017 at 8:00 am
Make Mixon a BUC
April 19th, 2017 at 8:00 am
Sign AP, trade Martin, make Mixon a Buc.
April 19th, 2017 at 8:11 am
I’m ok if they go with Cook, just do it at 19. We need all of our picks.
April 19th, 2017 at 8:12 am
tnew is right. There are at least 50 players with first round talent in this draft and many of them will fall to the 2nd round (obviously). Trading up sounds unusually costly this year.
April 19th, 2017 at 8:16 am
How about u prefix Cook with weapon toting, animal abusing… Hmm
I don’t want weapon toting ON campus, animal abusing Cook on my team. That Joe would be fair journalism to all prospects.
One Joe wants RB
One Joe wants DE
WE ALL WANT TO WIN
April 19th, 2017 at 8:20 am
Trading up for a running back is as wise as trading up for a kicker. Do. Not. Do. It.
April 19th, 2017 at 8:30 am
With this class so deep with talent, trading up seems like a sure way for Licht NOT to get extended IMHO
Feeling offended by the GUN TOTING ON CAMPUS ANIMAL ABUSING COOK? well give it back to Joe! Sorry Joe but so many are fed up with your wordplay. I know I know, I don’t have to come here. JBF is BUCS and I love that, just not the BS propaganda that you guys sometimes push. Innocent? Let’s see… Students on campus, animals that only seek love from humans…. That Joe is innocent
April 19th, 2017 at 8:48 am
I call BS on trading up in the first……..and on the premise that either Licht or Koetter has any issues (themselves or with the Glazers) with job security. Total BS that either our coach or GM would be making personnel decisions based partly on the length of years remaining on their own contract. Both have been on a consistent rise in their NFL careers and their stock is as high as ever and still rising. ANY talk about their job security is BS.
April 19th, 2017 at 8:55 am
Every mock and every pick on the board right now… IS WRONG except maybe Myles Garrett… this draft will play out differently than expected, just like last year and the year before that and the year before that… to say Cook is already gone is makes no sense.. 7 teams are in the market for qbs, as soon as the first one comes off the board which will be at least top ten the other teams will scramble to select the others, cook very well could be sitting there at 19… all this other news is a smokescreen where y’all been ??? Did you just get here?? Football wasn’t invented yesterday.. the draft is crazy
April 19th, 2017 at 9:05 am
Trade down!!! I’d love us to have pick #27 or even #33. As the talent level in this draft is so deep there is literally no difference between #15 and #64. Therefore it would be huge to have three or even four picks in the first two rounds.
April 19th, 2017 at 9:15 am
“I want to be a buc for a long time” hey DB – EAT IT BITC$. Such a damn fool. Go read Jenna laines post on ESPN about Winston getting better and how he wants to improve for the team and said me and Mike are gonna be here for a long time. No surprise the same moron hating on McCoy calling him average(beyond laughable) is saying Winston is going to NY. All I know is we bout to do it big
April 19th, 2017 at 9:17 am
Joe stop being so relative for the love of God. Speed bagging over Julio and going to get cook. It’s become too clear Ur searching for posts. I won’t even read another cook article and debate in comment section. Love to hear more about Baker and. Company
April 19th, 2017 at 9:33 am
If you can trade up for a kicker, you can trade up for an immediate talent like Cook.
April 19th, 2017 at 9:57 am
Trading up for McCaffrey!
April 19th, 2017 at 11:03 am
@Broy34
Agreed. I would love to drop far back into the first and scoop up Baker while scooping up some extra picks. I would also like to hear about the other possibilities later in the first and early rounds. Especially safety cause I feel that is our largest need. If we were going to trade up to get someone I would want it to be Malik Hooker which aint gonna happen. Been tired of listening to this Cook BS for a long time now Joe.
April 19th, 2017 at 11:36 am
DON’T do it Jason. No trading up this year in the 1st round – especially for a RB! Pick the highest rated player on your board that meets a need at 19 or preferably try to find a trade partner to move down. We need MORE picks in this deep draft – not less.
The only trade up in the 1st I would be in favor of would be trading a 4th rd pick to move up 2 spots (in front of Tennessee) to draft OJ Howard if he were to somehow make it to #17.
If Cook falls to 19 – great – draft him. He’s a dynamic talent and getting him at 19 would be reasonable value. Otherwise – just let the board come to you.
Now the 2nd round – that’s a different story. You have my full blessing Jason and even my encouragement to trade up in the 2nd for Budda Baker if he lasts long enough to make it feasible.
April 19th, 2017 at 11:47 am
Several MORE Bucs fans have a even simpler request for Jason Licht! Don’t waste a valuable pick by reading up to grab a RB, when RB is one of the deepest positions in the entire Draft!
If a guy you want is there at 19….go for it! But don’t waste picks we will need to finish stocking the pantry with offensive weapons! Doesn’t make sense!
April 19th, 2017 at 12:55 pm
Pickgrin
I pretty much share your strategy except for the safety….not a position that get’s me turned on right now compared to another…WR…DL…OL…then perhaps safety.
Not that I think our relative need at safety is not as great as some other positions….just that other positions…DE..RB have more impact than a S.
April 19th, 2017 at 1:06 pm
Repetitive **
April 19th, 2017 at 1:38 pm
Trading up for a RB in this draft is idiotic. Trading up at all in round one sounds kinda dumb, given that the ammo we give up could be a future starting WR or S or DE. Sorry, this team needs several players to come through in this draft, namely a WR, TE, DE, S, and RB. That’s too many needs to be giving away picks.
April 19th, 2017 at 1:43 pm
Joe would’ve traded up for Johnny Football… So, when Joe says trade up, he has no credibility. Plus, this team isn’t one player away. It’s about 5 players away.
April 19th, 2017 at 5:27 pm
Generally speaking, I think trading up would be a horrible idea but it all depends on who falls. If we have a guy rated in our top 10 and he falls to 15-16, yeah trade up.
But trading up for an injury prone, fumbling running back seems like a way to not get that contract extension
April 19th, 2017 at 9:11 pm
As the old Spanish expression goes; “no”!!!!!!!!!!!