McNabb Trade Shakes Up Top of Draft

The trade of Donovan McNabb from the Eagles to the Redskins is bad for Sam Bradford, bad for the Detroit Lions and could be either good or bad for the St. Louis Rams --

depending on whether they're willing to spend No. 1-pick money to secure Bradford.
The deal gives the Redskins some flexibility at the No. 4 spot in the first round
and has little if any impact on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who are picking No. 3. And it's hard to say for sure what it means for Jimmy Clausen.
With only two and a half weeks left before the NFL Draft, this is a deal that has shaken things up at the top of the first round. Here's a look at how the McNabb deal impacts the way things will unfold when the draft gets underway on Thursday night, April 22:
It hurts Bradford's leverage. Bradford can talk all he wants about how he likes the Rams just fine and is willing to play for anybody who picks him. But the fact is that there are people around Bradford who wanted him in Washington, playing for Mike Shanahan. And at the very least, having the deep-pocket Redskins interested was helping Bradford as he negotiated a potential deal with the Rams -- Bradford is looking to get a larger contract than last year's No. 1 pick, Matthew Stafford, got from the Lions. And until Sunday night, Bradford had the ability to tell the Rams that, if they wouldn't pay him, he knew for sure Washington would, and encourage a trade between St. Louis and Washington. The Bradford camp can now try to use the Seahawks in the same way. And it could work, since Seattle likely would jump at a chance to get Bradford. But the Seahawks aren't picking until No. 6, and that may be farther than the Rams want to move down.
hurts the Detroit Lions, who have been hoping somebody would trade up and take the No. 2 pick off their hands. Detroit wouldn't mind taking one of the draft's two big defensive tackles at No. 2, but they'd be happier if they could trade down and get more picks later in this very deep draft, so they could fill multiple needs. With Washington no longer in the market for Bradford, a potential suitor is off the board, reducing Detroit's chances of moving out of the No. 2 spot.
could help or hurt the Rams, depending on what they want. It's obvious they'll need to spend a ton to secure Bradford, even if they can avoid giving him more than Stafford got. And with an unsettled ownership situation, it's hard to get a read on just how eager the Rams are to spend No. 1-pick money on a QB this year. There remains a chance that the Rams take Ndamukong Suh or Gerald McCoy with the first pick in the draft and then Texas QB Colt McCoy with the first pick in the second round. The McNabb deal has increased the chances that Bradford will be a Ram, but it still depends on which way the Rams decide to go. And of course, this deal also could indicate that the Rams and Bradford are getting close to a deal, the Redskins got wind of that and decided to go a different way.
's a remote chance the deal could hurt the Buccaneers, who are desperate to pick either Suh or Gerald McCoy. Should the Rams decide to take one of those two players, and then the Lions decide to take the other, that would leave neither for Tampa Bay. But because of the increased likelihood that the Rams take Bradford, and some recent talk that the Lions might decide to take an offensive lineman, it looks as if Tampa Bay will still be able to get the defensive tackle it craves.
deal frees up the Redskins to take what they really need at No. 4 overall -- a left tackle. It's possible that Washington could be picking between the top tackles in the draft, and take somebody like Russell Okung, Brian Bulaga or Anthony Davis to install as McNabb's primary blindside protector. There's a chance they could be eying Clausen at that spot, with the idea of letting him ride the bench for a year and grooming him to replace McNabb, who's eligible for free agency at season's end. But since they just dealt away their second-round pick, and they really need offensive line help, it makes a lot more sense for them to pick a tackle at No. 4.