FanPost

The 1998 Draft Trade: Arizona's "haul" for Ryan Leaf

THE TRADE

As the 1998 draft approached, the Chargers needed a quarterback. Stan Humphries had retired after the 1997 season due to a series of concussions, and back-up Craig Whelihan, a former 6th round pick, had been unimpressive in replacement duty.

Unfortunately, the Chargers had the 3rd pick in a draft with two blue chip QBs. Worse, the Colts were locked in on Peyton Manning at #1, and the Cardinals at #2 also needed help at QB. In the previous draft, Arizona had taken Jake Plummer with the 12th pick in the 2nd round, but he'd thrown as many INTs as TDs in his rookie year with just a 53.0% completion percentage.

Afraid the Cardinals (or another team trading up to #2) would draft a QB, the Chargers pulled off a trade to move up one spot. To do this, the Chargers gave up three picks and two players: 1998 1st round (#3 overall), 1998 2nd round (#33 overall), 1999 1st round (#8 overall), Eric Metcalf, and Patrick Sapp.

That's quite a windfall for just moving down one spot, right? Let's take a look at what Arizona did with their haul.


THE PICKS

1998 1st (3) - DE Andre Wadsworth - Florida State
Wadsworth got a 6-year $42M contract with a $10.5M signing bonus after a hold-out that lasted until the night before the season. He had two knee surgeries in three seasons that limited him to just 36 of 48 games. He was cut after just his 3rd season and never played in the league again. Of the ten players selected directly after Wadsworth, seven went to at least one Pro Bowl.

1998 2nd (33) - DB Corey Chavous - Vanderbilt
Chavous would play four unremarkable seasons for the Cardinals before leaving as a free agent. He played seven more seasons in the NFL, split between the Vikings and Rams. He was named to the Pro Bowl in 2003, two years after leaving Arizona.

1999 1st (8) - WR David Boston - Ohio State
The Cardinals definitely got the best years out of Boston's career, as he logged 1,156 yards and 7 TDs in 2000, then followed that with 1,598 yards, 8 TDs, and a Pro Bowl appearance in 2001. It was all (rapidly) downhill from there. A partially torn tendon in his right knee ended his 2002 campaign at just 8 games, and he left the Cardinals in free agency after the 2002 season.


THE PLAYERS

WR/KR - Eric Metcalf
Metcalf had one year left on his deal when he was traded to the Cardinals, and he left via free agency after that single season. In his year with Arizona, his punt return average dropped 4 yards, and he returned no punts for TDs after registering three the previous season. His kick return average remained the same, but he did have over 1,200 return yards... due to the Arizona defense allowing the 5th most points in the league.

LB - Patrick Sapp
Sapp started 6 games over two years for the Cardinals. He was out of the league after that.


THE MISSED OPPORTUNITIES

So that's what the Cardinals got for moving back one spot: their own 1st round bust, 4 years of a passable DB, 2 great seasons from a juiced-up WR, 1 year of a declining Metcalf, and 2 years of a back-up LB.

Had the Cardinals picked the best possible players (without trading or reaching), their return would've been substantially better. Instead of Wadsworth, the Cardinals could've taken Charles Woodson, Fred Taylor, Keith Brooking, or Tra Thomas. Corey Chavous was drafted five picks before 5-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle Flozell Adams. And instead of David Boston, the Cardinals could've selected Daunte Culpepper, who was drafted three picks later. Instead, the Cardinals would start Jake Plummer for 5 more seasons. Plummer finished in Arizona with 90 TDs to 114 INTs and a 55.6% completion rate.

This FanPost was written by a member of the Bolts From The Blue community and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Bolts From The Blue editors or SB Nation.