After two days I think I've gotten my anger and annoyance out with the last two posts. Considering Roger Goodell is judge, jury and executioner, it appears there is no chance of an appeal. The Chicago Stoolies will get theirs and that's all we need to say about that for now.
So now the time has come to move on and figure out how the 49ers will rebound from this little setback. Maiocco had an interesting post this afternoon throwing out trade options. It was clearly just throwing some options out there, but one example was trading down with the Atlanta Falcons for their 2nd round pick. Based on the trade value chart, the difference between our 1st and their 2nd round pick would be sufficient to possibly get the Falcon's high 4th and 7th round picks. Before we go further I have one question that I believe was asked here before. Since New England does not have a first rounder, there are only 31 first round picks. Does every other pick move up in value then, or do we just pretend they have a pick for the purposes of the value chart? Logically every pick after the Patriots voided pick should move up, but as was proven this week, the NFL rarely acts logically.
So one way to approach a question of trading down is to consider some of the hypotheticals in terms of players available at different spots. Where they're currently at, people are suggesting Gosder Cherilus or Quentin Groves as potential draftees, although there are plenty of other options. Say, for argument's sake, the 49ers traded down to the Falcons pick. Would either Cherilus or Groves be there? If the team had been focused on Cherilus, maybe after a trade they go with Sam Baker in the second round.
The next question generally speaking is whether losing out on a guy we like at 29 is worth picking up a 4th and 7th rounder. We'll use the same names mentioned for purposes of maintaining the flow. If the consensus is that Baker is a lesser option than Cherilus, is the decrease in talent worth the 4th and 7th rounders? Of course, maybe the difference between Cherilus and Baker (or any other offensive lineman considered here) is not so great and picking up the picks is worth it. The problem with all this is that it's all speculation since we don't really know for sure how the 49ers view the potential draftees or what needs they would prefer to fill at the existing draft spots. Furthermore, maybe they feel free agency addressed enough needs that a trade would not be necessary. There are numerous issues that affect this sort of decision.
The simplest way to handle this is to ask the question: Because of the tampering punishment, should the 49ers trade down at some point in this year's draft to pick up extra picks later in the draft? It doesn't have to be the first round, but that's certainly the most high profile. I'm gonna throw up a new poll to see what the pulse of NN is on this subject.