Section 215
Fansided

LeSean McCoy Does Not Hold More Trade-Value Than a First-Round Pick

By Tim Kelly

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Sports radio is great. It provides some sort of outlet for the fans to connect with an expert, or someone who is supposed to be an expert, on the their favorite sports teams. The hope is that the host is a cross between a mouthpiece for the fanbase and an expert that helps make the fanbase smarter as a whole. Or at least, that’s what they teach you in college.

Over the past few months, it has become impossible to not grow tired of talk about the Eagles trading LeSean McCoy. McCoy is a 26 year-old running-back (27 before next season), who is scheduled to have the highest cap-hit in the NFL next year, assuming Adrian Peterson isn’t retained by the Vikings. He had another very good season in 2014, but he is not coming off another year like he had in 2013. It is hard to put an exact value on what his hypothetical trade-value would be, but it is not more than one draft pick, and probably nothing higher than a second-round pick (if that).

Sports radio hosts in Philly, at both stations, should stop spreading the idea that McCoy somehow has the value for the Eagles to go get Marcus Mariota, if paired with the Eagles first-round pick this year. He doesn’t. McCoy is 27 years-old in football terms, with perhaps (likely) the best season of his career in the rearview already.

In late October, just prior to the NFL’s trade-deadline, ESPN’s Greg Garber published an article entitled “What if: LeSean McCoy to the Raiders?“. The article proposed the Eagles trade McCoy, Brandon Graham, a second-round pick and a fifth-round pick for the Raiders first-round pick, which seemed likely to end up being the number one overall pick at that time. (It ended up being the fourth pick, a spot where the Eagles very well could have missed out on both Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston.)

The post was an article that was messing around with unrealistic trade scenarios around the trade-deadline, because that is fun to do. It wasn’t designed to serve as a report that making that type of trade was actually possible. The problem was that while the regular title wasn’t misleading, the SEO title (what shows up on Google, Facebook, Twitter, etc.), read “LeSean McCoy to Raiders?”, which sure looks like a report if you don’t actually read the article.

So this one article, which was shared across the internet because ESPN published it, became something that sports radio hosts and callers would talk about like it could actually happen.

In reality, the Raiders don’t need a Quarterback, so if they did have the number one pick, they might have been willing to trade out of the pick for a nice package, but not for package led by LeSean McCoy. Yeah, maybe if the Eagles packaged McCoy with two first-round picks someone might find him to be an attractive piece, but how would making that trade improve the Eagles? And even then, teams might be wary of taking on McCoy as he approaches the twilight of his prime and becomes more expensive.

Those worries wouldn’t just go for the Radiers, but for all of the teams picking at least in the top four. McCoy is going to be 27 next year, and by the time these teams are looking at seriously contending, McCoy will be close to, or at, 30 years-old.

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Perhaps the only player on the Eagles roster who teams would covet more than a first-round pick would be Fletcher Cox. Cox is 24 and coming off a season in which he played at a Pro-Bowl caliber at one of the most important positions on the field. He also has the ability to play in both the 3-4 and 4-3. That said, he’s going to get paid this off-season, which decreases his value. And frankly, the Eagles spent the 12th pick on Cox and he has performed like a top seven pick, so trading him and a few first-round picks would not do anything but set the franchise back.

As we circle back to sports radio, let’s do ourselves a favor and stop having unrealistic Eagles conversations. I get it, the Eagles remain Philadelphia’s only hope to win much of anything in the next three or so seasons, so we have to grasp at anything. But Marcus Mariota is not coming here, and even if he did, there is next to no one–LeSean McCoy included–that holds more value to teams than a first-round or second-round picks.

If one feels that the Eagles need to package three or fourth picks to go get a potential franchise Quarterback, then fine. If the Eagles were to make a move to get up for a Quarterback like Mariota, that type of scenario would be much more likely. The idea of trading up for Mariota is unrealistic in itself, but if it were to somehow come true, it would be because the Eagles feel like their window with their current offensive core is closing, and Mariota gives them the best chance to win in Kelly’s offense the next few seasons. Without LeSean McCoy’s presence, why would they feel that way?

Mariota certainly could be an elite Quarterback in the long-run, but if the Eagles really feel like they aren’t far off, they probably aren’t going to move their best offensive weapon away and then try to sell the fanbase on making a Superbowl run with a rookie Quarterback.

Considering Marcus Smith was drafted by this regime in the first-round last year–shortly after they released Pro-Bowler DeSean Jackson–nothing can be written off in terms of what the Eagles will do this off-season. What can be written off is that under his current contract, McCoy probably isn’t going to be traded as part of any blockbusters this off-season. Expensive 27 year-old running-backs, regardless of whether they have had borderline hall of fame careers, aren’t usually hot commodities on the trade-market. LeSean McCoy isn’t going to buck that trend this off-season, certainly not in a trade that would drastically alter the two franchises involved.

Next: Jeffrey Lurie Faces Biggest Challenge in Threat of Chip Kelly Alienation

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