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National Football League
Draft King Analysis
April 2, 2009
Lou Pickney, DraftKing.com
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It finally happened: after weeks of discord and a flurry of rumors and activity in the past two days, the Denver Broncos have traded QB Jay Cutler and a fifth round pick to the Chicago Bears for two first round picks, a third round pick, and QB Kyle Orton. Denver will receive Chicago's 2009 first round pick (#18 overall), 2010 first round pick, and 2009 third round pick (#84 overall).
This news came after the latest twist earlier today, an indication out of Denver that receiving a quarterback in exchange for any trade involving Cutler was *not* a necessity. But it apparently helped for the Bears, who, as my brother Matt (a Bears fan when the Titans aren't playing) put it, "This is the first top-notch quarterback the Bears have had since Jim McMahon."
The market starting price being floated earlier today two first-round picks, but it ended up growing to even more tan that.
From all indications, the Redskins are very interested in Cutler, so much so that they were reportedly shopping incumbent QB Jason Campbell for a second-round pick. It will be interesting to see if that creates an awkward situation in Washington for Campbell, who now will presumably move back into his role as the starting quarterback for the Redskins.
 | Mike Shanahan spent 14 seasons as Denver's head football coach. (Icon SMI)
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Why do I get the suspicion that, somewhere, Mike Shanahan was smiling at all the chaos going on in Denver. As an aside, it won't be the same this fall without Shanahan on the sidelines looking like he is practicing for a tight face contest against Duke men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski. All jokes aside, I have a feeling that Shanahan will be able to return to the coaching scene in 2010 if he feels so inclined, potentially in another GM/coach role like he had in Denver.
For what it's worth, a team trading two first round picks for a young quarterback is not unprecedented in the NFL. In 1986, the Houston Oilers traded the NFL rights to Jim Everett, the #3 pick in the 1986 Draft, to the Los Angeles Rams for two first round picks (along with one other pick and two players). That was a different situation in that Everett was a rookie who hadn't yet signed with the Oilers, whereas Cutler has had three years of NFL experience and has an existing contract with three years remaining on it.
I had an interesting tip in my e-mail box today regarding the story of Akron RB Andrew Johnson, who is said to have run a 4.32 40 yard dash in a private workout. Johnson has good size for the position at 5'11" 235 pounds, and he seems to have overcome a torn ACL he suffered in 2004. He is an interesting case in that he spent his first three seasons at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio (they *hate* being called "Miami of Ohio"), then transferred after 2006, sat out 2007, and played his senior year at Akron.
This is particularly noteworthy due to the success achieved by lightning-fast East Carolina RB Chris Johnson for the Titans in 2008. The NFL is a copycat league, and Andrew Johnson could end up getting a shot at some playing time. If he can stay healthy there may be some opportunities for him somewhere.
As a result of the Jay Cutler trade, the mock draft on here obviously needs to be redone. Hopefully I'll have an opportunity on Sunday to make that happen.
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