I shared a take on Twitter regarding the Chicago Bears‘ fourth-round trade with the Buffalo Bills, and I figured our WCG readers would have some thoughts about it as well.
For a recap, the Bears sent the 109th overall selection to Buffalo in exchange for the 132nd and 169th overall selections. The classic Jimmy Johnson trade chart had the Bills with the edge, which has some fans distraught.
We won’t know how the trade works out for a few years, but in the moment, all some fans see is the Jimmy Johnson point value loss.
Trading back is all about a team’s specific draft board. It’s purely a numbers game. The Bears must have a big group of similarly graded players clustered on their board, so they were comfortable trading back 23 spots.
We’ll never know how the Bears’ board looks, but it’s possible they may have a bunch of fourth-round graded players left feeling they can get them further down the board, which is why the trade made sense for them. Buffalo’s board may not have had as many fourth-round graded players, which is why the move up was so important for them.
It’s also possible that the Bears have a lot of fourth-round grades on players, thinking they may be able to acquire them in the fifth round, which is why acquiring the extra fifth-round pick this year was important for them.
Draft “value” isn’t gauged solely by the Jimmy Johnson draft chart; it’s gauged team by team depending on their yearly board.