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While it seems everything surrounding the NFL has been about the NFL Draft lately, as free agency has slowed a bit, there is one writer that has been thinking trades.
ESPN's Field Yates proposes five NFL trades and the Arizona Cardinals are involved in one of them.
One of the five trades that he believes needs to happen is the Cardinals sending away nose tackle Dan Williams to the Dallas cowboys for cornerback Morris Claiborne.
This is why he thinks it is a good trade for the Cardinals:
Claiborne's NFL struggles are hard to figure after he starred at LSU, but his natural abilities are still enticing. The team added depth in the secondary with Antonio Cromartie this offseason, but Claiborne would bring higher upside playing alongside former LSU teammates Patrick Peterson and Tyrann Mathieu. Peterson also happens to be a free agent next offseason, and while the Cardinals are angling to keep him around long term, a rejuvenated Claiborne would give them insurance in case Peterson ends up elsewhere.
The problem?
Why in the world would the Cards trade their only healthy nose tackle for a corner who probably wouldn't see any playing time, as the defense already has Patrick Peterson, Antonio Cromartie and Tyrann Mathieu. Now Mathieu is out right now, so perhaps he could play inside and it would allow the team to cut ties with Jerraud Powers.
However, with Alameda Ta'amu still on the shelf after tearing his ACL, Williams becomes a very, very important cog in the defense, especially if it hopes to maintains its effectiveness against the run.
Also, since Claiborne has had struggles, wouldn't it just make more sense to draft a guy instead that you could mold from Day 1?
The trade makes sense for Dallas, who desperately need some help on defense, but I see no real upside for Arizona.
