Trading a draft pick for a vet

[Box_O_Rocks]

With talent getting pushed down by all the kids ditching school, yes, I agree, even into the mid rounds, picks will be quite valuable.

I'm going to throw the challenge flag on the early declaration notion (I know you aren't the originator, but I think this is a good time to nip this one before it grows much further). Per NFL Draft Scout analysis, the average number of underclassmen declaring early each year (three year analysis) is 48. NFL Draft Scout's list currently has 39, I believe tomorrow is the final day to declare. NFL Draft Scout projects as many as 16 of those may be taken in round one, a nice pool to push talent down for NE, but insufficient to truly impact the depth of this draft if there hadn't already been a good pool of seniors. That said, I still believe this is a strong draft class and would be more inclined to shop here or to trade picks forward before trading them for a veteran.