Monday, March 23, 2009

Satele traded to Oakland

The Dolphins completed what has become a swap of starting centers with the Raiders by trading Samson Satele to Oakland for the Raiders' sixth-round pick and a swap of fourth-round picks.

Miami now has the 8th pick in round 4. They previously held the 26th pick in that round.

I recently wrote that I didn't think Miami could recoup the second round pick they initially invested in Satele, and that a fourth-round pick would probably be the best they could expect, but also a realistic goal.

But a swap of fourth-round picks and sixth-round pick? Seriously?

According to Pro Football Prospectus' new Actual Draft Value Chart, which has greatly improved upon the conventional draft value chart, Miami received 653 points of value from Oakland while sending them 365 points of value. That results in a net gain of 288 points of value - or about the 8 or 9th pick in the fifth round.

To me, it seems like Miami really jumped the gun with this deal. Not only did they lose the only viable insurance they have at the center position (which is now manned by the almost comically fragile Jake Grove) but they got mere pennies on the dollar in return.

I realize Satele doesn't have the greatest value, but Miami could have waited until the Draft to work out this deal and perhaps get other teams involved in the bidding. At this point, it just seems like they took whatever they could get, and that isn't always the best way to go about your business in the NFL.

As it is, here is a list of Miami's current draft picks (9 total, Note: one of the three 7th round picks has been traded to Jacksonville, but it is still unknown which one):

DAY ONE (Rounds 1 and 2)

Round 1 (25th overall)
Round 2 (44, from Washington)
Round 2 (56)

DAY TWO (Rounds 3-7)

Round 3 (87)
Round 4 (8th pick in round, from Oakland)
Round 5 (25th pick in round)
Round 6 (8th pick in round)
Round 7 (5th pick in round, from Cleveland)
Round 7 (23rd pick in round)
Round 7 (28th pick in round, from Carolina)

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