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Trading picks for top players is NFL GMs' seismic move

Tom Pelissero
USA TODAY Sports
Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Percy Harvin (11) jogs off the field after the game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Minnesota Vikings at CenturyLink Field.

To trade a first-round draft pick for a player, an NFL general manager needs absolute conviction that player is a fit on every level and can impact the franchise in a significant way.

"But you can also operate on the theory 'no guts, no glory,'" former Green Bay Packers GM Ron Wolf told USA TODAY Sports on Tuesday. "It depends on the confidence you have within yourself and your ability to, if it doesn't work, adapt and go get something else to make it work."

The Seattle Seahawks took that chance 19 months ago on volatile receiver Percy Harvin, whose anger issues and history of unpredictable behavior couldn't outweigh his unique playmaking ability on a team GM John Schneider surely believed might be one piece away from a title.

And Harvin helped the Seahawks get that title, albeit at the end of a season wiped out almost entirely by hip surgery the team didn't think he needed and frustration that boiled over in an altercation with teammate Golden Tate during Super Bowl week.

By Friday – days after Harvin pulled himself from a loss to the Dallas Cowboys – the Seahawks had come to the conclusion the team couldn't move forward under the persistent threat that something would set off a player whose skillset must be consciously integrated into the offense.

So, they shipped Harvin to the New York Jets for a conditional draft pick that's a fraction of the ransom they paid to the Minnesota Vikings to get him, leaving behind only a $7.2 million cap hit in 2015 and the question of how far back those lost picks could set the franchise.

"I think that's exaggerated, honestly," former NFL executive Joe Banner told USA TODAY Sports. "You never want to waste any draft pick, especially a number one. But the truth is about 50 percent of the number ones don't produce what you'd expect."

In other words, the Seahawks – who gave up first-, third- and seventh-round picks for Harvin in March 2013 – can chalk it up like any other draft bust. Every team will have them, increasing the pressure each time on other resources for building the roster.

Wolf, who gave Schneider his first NFL job as a summer intern with the Packers in 1992, can laugh now about his run of first-round misses because he also traded one to the Atlanta Falcons for a 22-year-old quarterback named Brett Favre.

"I always felt you could always maneuver and get another pick somehow," Wolf said. "Now, having said that, getting rid of that number one – that's hard to do, because theoretically, you're looking at a guy who's supposed to come in and play for you the next four years."

At least one team a year takes the risk on average, with results ranging from roaring successes (Jared Allen to Minnesota) to epic busts (Deion Branch to Seattle, Roy Williams to Dallas).

Sometimes, the trade can be right and everything around it goes wrong.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers traded their first-round pick last year to the New York Jets for Pro Bowl cornerback Darrelle Revis, who came back from knee reconstruction to have one of his best seasons. But the team went 4-12, GM Mark Dominik and coach Greg Schiano got fired and the new regime cut Revis after paying him $16 million as part of a year-to-year contract.

"All you can try to do in trades, whether you win it or lose it, is you try to protect your club as much as you can," said Dominik, who's now an analyst for ESPN. "I've had trades that worked and I've had trades that just haven't panned out. But it doesn't stop me from wanting to trade, because I look for more of a very unique situation."

In Philadelphia and Cleveland, Banner said, the philosophy was never to give up a first-round pick unless that player met specific criteria: young, Pro Bowl caliber, locked in contractually and playing the premier position of quarterback, left tackle or pass rusher.

Trent Richardson is just beginning to reward the Colts for trading for him last season.

In 2009, Banner was the Eagles' president when they packaged picks for star left tackle/ malcontent Jason Peters and appeased him with a new contract. Four years later, he was the Browns' CEO when they shipped running back Trent Richardson to Indianapolis for a one.

"You can overvalue the draft pick – especially if we're trading the 28th pick for Jason Peters, we have less than a 50 percent chance of hitting on that pick," Banner said. "But on the other hand, those draft picks are crucial in terms of managing your cap. You have to have a certain number of young players that you hit on, or you can't afford the veterans you need to compete."

The Seahawks envisioned Harvin being around a lot longer than a season and change when they gave him a $12 million signing bonus to complete the deal. But they fell into a trap many teams do – thinking they can fix the problems that made that player available in the first place.

Could the Seahawks have found a player at No. 25 overall in the 2013 draft that could impact the Super Bowl as Harvin did? Probably not. So to that end, the deal wasn't altogether a bust. Harvin's off the books cash-wise, Seattle has an extra $6 million in cap space this year and the vibe around the team already has turned in a more positive direction, even though they're 3-3.

Perhaps the lesson here is trading back isn't such a bad alternative to giving away a premium pick on a gamble. That's what every trade is to some degree, since you don't truly know a player's personality, or his study habits, or his general state of being until he's in your building.

But the Seahawks' decision to part ways with Harvin hammered home another lesson Wolf imparted on Schneider years ago: It's never too soon to admit a mistake.

"You can't compound it by crossing your fingers, hoping that suddenly lightning's going to strike," Wolf said. "You are what you are. Unfortunately, to me, that's what makes the game so exciting, is you never really know."

Follow Tom Pelissero on Twitter @TomPelissero.

VIDEO: Will Harvin be a distraction for the Jets?

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