A few days ago, the Pittsburgh Steelers traded Santonio Holmes to the New York Jets for a fifth-round pick. Holmes, a former first-round pick, was coming off his best year as a pro, finishing with over 1200 yards. The former Ohio State product had also been a big hero during Super Bowl XLIII, winning MVP honors. But a string of off-the-field personal problems and a pending substance abuse suspension led to the end of his time in Pittsburgh.
The clear winner of this trade is the Jets. The Steelers traded Holmes away to, in effect, cleanse their organizational image. It is doubtful they will be able to find a player who can contribute as much on-the-field as Holmes could, and considering his age they really lost out value-wise on this deal. New York gets a dynamic playmaker to put next to Braylon Edwards who can help Mark Sanchez further develop. And even though Holmes will be suspended for four games to begin the season, this is a move they had to make.
The other big wide receiver trade of the week was the Broncos trade of Brandon Marshall. Marshall has had three straight 100 reception seasons and is one of the top young players in the league. But his primadonna attitude and public feuds with the coaching staffs of Denver made it seem like Denver could never get fair value for him. But the upper management of the Broncos were patient, and they were rewarded with two second-round picks from the Miami Dolphins.
This was a rare win-win trade, where both sides got exactly what they needed. The Dolphins had few, if any, playmakers at the receiver position and upgraded to one of the best available players in the league. And the Broncos got two picks in which they could easily find high-impact players that they need to rebuild on the fly.
The trades should also affect the upcoming draft, as both the Broncos and Steelers need to replace their traded receivers. A new mock will be posted soon.
