Wow! This changes a rather boring FA season in a nanosecond. But here are the facts. Chandler Jones is a good football player, perhaps even a very good football player, but not a game changer in the way some DE's are. He was worth the $7+MM he was to make this year, but not the 8 figure deal /yr the market would have demanded in 2017.
However this deal is not without some risks. Sheard and Ninko both have to remain healthy..... again. Ninko has to defy father time....again. Either Flowers or Grissom have to become reliable rotational players at the position. A FA has to add reliable and quality depth. That is a lot of "has to's"
As far as the effect on the D, I'm more worried about the loss of Hicks than Jones to the overall. Easley is actually better than Hicks.....when healthy, and an Easley Brown DT pairing could be one of the better pairs in the league. But Hicks added depth at the position that is often needed in a top defense. If last season taught us one thing, it is never just about your starters.
Cooper has been a disappointment for the Cardinals, but there was no denying his talent coming into the NFL and most "experts" thought he was worth a top 10 pick. So with Cooper we have a case of unfulfilled talent at a position of need. I file it under worth a shot. IF he can develop into his full potential it will be a huge win. Most likely Scar can turn him into a decent NFL offensive lineman, and he can add depth and experience where it is sorely needed. But it most likely will send Ryan Wendell into retirement since Cooper adds size and athleticism at the 2 positions he can play.
As for the draft pick, I have mixed feelings that go beyond the bitterness and anger of losing our #1 pick so unjustly. Maybe I'm just so tired of picking in the bottom 4 of every friggin' round every friggin year. The 2nd round pick plus a good prospect is excellent value for Jones. Perhaps better that we could have expected. But now we have 11 draft picks in a year where we have a roster full of solid young players. It reminds me of our 2007 draft where we did have a #1 pick, but after that a boat load of 5th, 6th, and 7th round picks, which pretty much were wasted in the end because we had a loaded roster.
I can't help but think that the reason the NFL decided NOT to let teams trade comp picks until NEXT year has a lot to do with the fact they knew the Pats were going to have a lot of comp picks THIS year.
At any rate, I have no idea how deep this draft goes. But given the roster we already have, I'd rather go quality over quantity. I'd love to see us package one of the 2 second round picks with 2 of the lower picks to move up to mid forties, so we'd have 2 picks in the 2nd, and would likely come out of that scenario with at least one guy who would eventually become a starter.
BOTTOM LINE - I fully agree with the great majority of the people here. This was a fair deal for both teams. Initially AZ looks to be ahead right now, given they got a proven good player for a very talented player who hasn't met expectations and a draft pick in the 60's. If I'm a Cardinal fan, I'm loving this deal. But I'm a Pats fan and I'm "liking" this transaction. Hopefully over the next 12 months I will grow to love it
