Gone with a whimper was the much talked about NFL trade deadline. One of those times you realize just how different the NFL is than the NBA and MLB trade deadlines where players switch teams for prospects and draft picks wildly as losing teams prepare for the future and winning teams look to stock up for the stretch run.
NFL teams value their draft picks far more than NBA teams do and has no minor league prospects like MLB does. Mainly because the method of signing a ‘Big 3’ and surrounding them with role players has proven to be the formula in the NBA and any player outside of the lottery is a complete crap shoot.
More than any other league, the NFL’s philosophy is to build through the draft. They have larger rosters than the other two leagues, is far more of a team sport, and much more propensity for injuries that require reliable depth.
As we neared the trade deadline, there were all kinds of trade ideas and suggestions out there, many of which involved the Raiders. This included the suggestion that they send a first round pick to get a defensive tackle.
Not since the two big deals that Hue Jackson made to bring Carson Palmer and Aaron Curry to Oakland have the Raiders been active at the trade deadline. Parting with draft picks for players midseason is just not something Reggie McKenzie is crazy about. He instead does most of his team building in the offseason during free agency and the draft.
Goodbye 2016 trade deadline. We hardly knew ye.
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