Cromartie is Deion Sanders?
That is so absurd it doesn't even qualify as a myth.
First thing you do...well, second thing. First you stop comparing Cromartie to Sanders. Second thing you do is learn to evaluate talent based on production, not original draft position. If Maroney was an UDFA we would all be signing his praises. So disabuse yourself of the need to justify draft slot, and look at production. Look at 4 ypc and admit that if Sammy Morris could somehow elevate himself to 4 ypc he'd be awesome. He can't. He isn't that good, but from there it's a small step to saying a guy making the minimum who can gain 4 ypc is okay to have on the team.
Sheesh. Draft slot means nothing after the first training camp.
? Morris and Taylor both had higher YPC than Maroney last year.
This is not even close for me. If we could have Cromartie for Maroney, I would do it in an instant. Laurence is a talented back but he just hasn't produced that much in NE. As seen with the success of Taylor and Morris, it is much easier to find a RB who can replace Maroney's production than it is to find a CB who has the skill set of Cromartie.
When Maroney went down in 08, Morris filled in perfectly fine. He averaged nearly 5 YPC. When Asante left, we replaced him Delthea O'Neal in the secondary. Draft picks were used on Wheatley and Wilhite who haven't proven to be anything special, yet I do see promise with Wilhite.
If we lose Bodden to someone who is willing to pay him top dollar, I don't see why trading for Cromartie is a bad idea. He'd be an adequate replacement at a cheap price with one year left on his deal. He's shown the ability to be a ball hawk and is very good in man coverage. He's only 25 years old and had a pretty solid bounce back season this year. RB's are a dime a dozen. They are much easier to replace. Good CB's are a lot harder to replace. Trading for Cromartie would be a prime opportunity to get a good replacement for Bodden if he leaves. If Bodden left, would you rather have a secondary of Springs, Butler, Wilhite, Wheatley, Arrington, possible JAG FA/late round CB and Maroney at RB OR a secondary of Cromartie, Butler, Springs, Wilhite, Wheatley, Arrington and Taylor/Morris/FA/Draftee at RB? It's not even close in my eyes.