Patrick Causey, on Twitter @pcausey3
Now that the regular season has ended, we have a better understanding of just how much the Eagles traded to acquire Carson Wentz when we factor in their subsequent trade of Sam Bradford to the Minnesota Vikings. Indeed, the latter trade was made as a result of the former, and will forever be linked in determining the foreseeable future of this franchise. Here is a breakdown of the picks the Eagles sent out and received as a result of both trades:
| Year | Traded | Received |
| 2016 | 1st (8)
3rd (77) 4th (100) |
1st (2) |
| 2017 | 1st (12) | 1st (14)
4th |
| 2018 | 2nd | 4th |
If we look at this from a pure draft pick perspective, the Eagles only traded Sam Bradford, a 1st, 2nd and 3rd round pick in exchange for Carson Wentz and 4th round pick.
Seems like a no brainer — right?
But the Eagles got an even better ROI once we consider the actual value of each pick involved in the trade. According to the draft value chart, the number 2 overall pick the Eagles used to draft Wentz is worth 2,600 points. The number 8 overall pick they traded to acquire him was worth 1,400 points. That’s a net difference of 1,200 points.
Meanwhile, the Eagles first round pick this year that is heading to Cleveland is #12 overall, and is worth 1,200 points, while the pick they acquired from the Vikings for the Bradford trade, #14 overall, is worth 1,100 points. Meaning they lost 100 points in draft value.
Subtract that 100 points in lost value from the 1,200 in points gained as a result of moving up from 8 to 2, and the Eagles had a total net gain of 1,100 points. That is the functional equivalent of the #14 overall pick in the draft.
I might have lost some of you there with the math, so let me make this simple. The Eagles essentially traded Sam Bradford, a 1st, a 2nd and a 3rd in exchange for Carson Wentz, the #14 overall pick and a 4th round pick.
The math will change slightly as we learn the value of the other picks involved in this trade, but overall, that is unbelievable value, especially if Carson Wentz ends up being as good as we think he can be.
UPDATE: Dave Mangel of Bleeding Green Nation pointed out that we should also factor in that the Eagles traded Kiko Alonso, Byron Maxwell and DeMarco Murray. This is true, although we also need to consider what the Eagles received in return for moving these players. And that is where we start to open the Pandora’s Box a little bit.
The Eagles were able to move up from 13 to 8 thanks to trading Alonso and Maxwell, which is worth the 4th pick in the 3rd round, according to the Draft Value Chart. The Eagles also moved up to the top of the 4th round thanks to the pick swap involved in the Murray trade. Both picks were included in the Wentz deal, so both trades should be considered. Of course, we should also consider that the Birds received significant cap space as a result of all of the trades. Maxwell still had approximately $55 million remaining on his contract, $13 million of which was guaranteed. Murray had $9 million remaining in guaranteed money on the $42 million contract he signed. And trading Bradford removed his $18 million in salary that he was owed in 2017 (although $5.5 million in guaranteed salary from 2016 carries over to the 2017 cap). Parsing through the exact relief is a little bit tricky, but suffice it to say, the newfound cap space helped the Eagles retain Lane Johnson, Fletcher Cox and Zach Ertz, and freed up cap space to address holes on the Eagles roster in the next two seasons (as opposed to paying Bradford, Murray, and Maxwell).
I think we are extending this analysis too far, but I won’t argue if you want to take this analysis as far back as you can go. If we did that, the end result looks something like this: Bradford, #13 overall, Murray, Maxwell, Alonso, a 2nd and a 3rd for Wentz, the #14 overall pick, a high 3rd, a 4th and approximately $35 million in cap space that helped retain Cox, Johnson and Ertz.
Bottom line: the Eagles were able to minimize the cost of acquiring their franchise quarterback of the future thanks to a series of smart trades by Howie Roseman. That the Eagles traded players they had no intentions of keeping on their roster long term is just icing on the proverbial cake.
Eagles Rewind 
I take that trade any day of the day.
Me too!
In addition to leaving out the players other than Sam, you left out the 1st round pick the Eagles started off with in 2016, which was used to draft LRemy Tunsil I think.
A better way to look at it is, ignore the 2 2017 picks and the 2 3d rounders, all of which more or less offset. They traded Bradford, Alonso, Maxwell, Murray, a 1st & 2d for Wentz, a 4th and cap space.
Whether that’s good or bad depends on how you value the guys, not the picks on a chart. The Eagles clearly did not value Alonso, Maxwell or Murray very high any more. But MIA and TEN are probably thrilled with their side of the trades. I don’t think there’s an objective answer. It’s possible all teams are happy with where things turned out, which is win-win-win-win-win.
I think you are right that the 1st needs to be considered that went out if I count Wentz. But the question becomes which first. If we count #8, we can’t use Alonso, Maxwell and #13, since that is what the market told us they were worth. So we can either say 2nd, 3rd, Bradford, Maxwell, Alonso and #13, or we say #8, 2nd, 3rd and Bradford.
Let’s go with the former: #13, a 2nd, 3rd, Bradford, Maxwell, Alonso and Murray, for Wentz, a 1st, a 4th and $35 million in cap space used to re-sign key players. That’s a net win in my book. Especially since they had no plans for keeping Alonso, Maxwell or Murray.
Amazing post.
Think is te first time any team minimize the cost of aquiring a FQB like that.
Tremendous move by Howie.
Thanks!
If people still hate on Howie Roseman after this trade they’re truly just blind at this point. The Eagles traded all the way up to the 2nd pick in the draft to acquire a true franchise QB, when they were nowhere near striking distance to do so and were able to accomplish this feat without sacrificing the future. And, really, when you consider the salary cap ramifications, they essentially improved their future outlook rather than mortgaged their future like you’d expect with such a move. If that’s not the type of wizardry that you pay a GM millions of dollars a year to pull off, I don’t know what is. Easily the best GM move I’ve seen pulled off in my lifetime and it isn’t even close.
hi, love reading your blog, but i think you’re missing the #12 heading out in your net-net summary
“Sam Bradford, a 2nd and a 3rd in exchange for Carson Wentz, the #14 overall pick and a 4th round pick”
sam, #12 overall, 2nd, 3rd for wentz, #14 overall, 4th
“Bradford, Murray, Maxwell, Alonso, a 2nd and a 3rd for Wentz, the #14 overall pick, a high 3rd, a 4th and approximately $35 million in cap space that helped retain Cox, Johnson and Ertz”
sam, dm, bm, ka, #12 overall, 2nd, 3rd for wentz, #14 overall, 4th, $35 mm cap space
actually, if we’re going to have wentz in the equation, then the number 8 from last year also need to be included in the going out side
Thanks for the comment. It either needs to be #13 or #8, we cannot count both. If we use #8, we cannot include Alonso and Maxwell, since they were used to trade up from #13. So I think the better analysis is to include #13, that way we can factor in the net benefit to the Eagles of getting out from under Maxwell’s enormous contract.