Scot McCloughan’s sneaky-good trade with Seahawks

Chase Stuart of footballperspective.com writes that Redskins GM Scot McCloughan worked a hellava NFL Draft deal in that trade with the Seahawks.

Washington traded the 69th pick to Seattle for the 95^th (3^rd), 112^th (4^th), 167^th (5^th), and 181^st (6^th) picks.

McCloughan achieved his goal of snagging 10 Draft picks. He did it without trading down from the Redskins’ first round pick, a must in Hog Heaven’s opinion. Talent-starved teams must not trade out of high Draft positions. I think it’s a law or something.

Stuart liked it because the Redskins got insane value in return for the 69^thpick. He reached this conclusion using his own chart, instead of the Draft value charts floating around the Internet.

He also liked the deal for the talent-rich Seahawks. Players selected in those slots were unlikely to crack Seattle’s roster anyway, writes Stuart.

Someday, the Redskins may again be so fortunate, but I digress.

Here is Stuart’s write-up from his May 1, 2015, story, Analyzing the trades from Rounds 1-3 of the 2015 NFL Draft.

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“According to my chart, Washington picked up an absurd 180 cents on the dollar; yet on the traditional chart, Washington actually lost the trade, gaining just 95 cents. That said, I don’t hate the trade for Seattle, who went all in to get Tyler Lockett, a wide receiver who could be one of the steals of the draft.  Given the depth of the Seahawks, they are one of the few teams that can trade up, knowing the likelihood of getting one of these late picks into their starting lineup is pretty low.  Washington, in desperate need of picks, still hit a home run on this deal, though.”
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Here’s how the ‘Skins used those picks:

95^th Overall – Matt Jones, RB, Florida

112^th Overall – Aria Kouandjio, G, Alabama

167^th Overall – Traded to Saints for 2015 and 2016 sixth-round Draft picks

181^st Overall – Kyshoen Jarrett, S, Virginia Tech

187^th Overall (from Saints) – Evan Spencer, WR, Ohio State

Kyshoen Jarrett will absolutely help Redskins on special teams http://t.co/mkgOYhwhHB via @John_Keim

— Anthony Brown, The RedsCommander (@RedsCommanders) May 2, 2015

There are low expectations of low Draft picks — anyone selected after the third round. Seattle gave up four picks it couldn’t use to tag receiver Tyler Lockett. That does not say much for Evan Spencer. (Hog Heaven is a Big Ten fan. We like Spencer.)

The point is that beggars cannot be choosers. The Snyderskins roster has always been top heavy and hampered by thin cap room. Cap room is the owner’s best friend. Draft picks are his second best. The Redskins’ owner has been blind to both.

Scot McCloughan, looking for nuggets

The one thing that Bruce Allen has done well is manage the salary cap. Now, McCloughan worked his deal from the low end of the Draft pool rather than the top end. His next mission is to acquire more picks well ahead of Draft day for ammunition to trade UP. Acquiring picks in advance has been a best practice of the New England Patriots throughout the Belichick era.

If McCloughan can become McBeathard when it comes to mining gold from low-end talent, the Redskins could be a legit contender by 2017.