Trade to beat all trades
I am floating this idea solely to see if it has legs.
And why wouldn't it? It is based in a long-standing relationship, a unique bond and logical possibility.
Matt Millen, President and CEO of the Detroit Lions, played linebacker for the Raiders from 1980-88, earning all-conference in 1985, a Pro Bowl in 1988 and two of his four Super Bowl rings (XV and XVIII).
Millen's Lions hold the No. 2 overall selection in Saturday's draft and is said to be actively shopping the pick, looking to move down and stockpile picks.
The Raiders hold the top pick overall and the top pick in the second round (No. 33 overall) among 10 picks. But they covet both quarterback JaMarcus Russell and receiver Calvin Johnson, considered the top two players in the draft.
Imagine Raiders owner Al Davis calling Millen, his former player, with a modest trade proposal that might go something like this:
"How about you give me No. 2 and I give you No. 33, No. 65, No. 138, No. 192, and our first and third-rounders next year?"
Millen, who has had mixed draft results and has come under fire in recent years for a failure to make the Lions consistently competitive, could greatly benefit from additional picks.
The Raiders, could benefit from the combination of Johnson's size and speed and Russell's arm.
Out of the question, you say. Let me remind you that Mike Ditka and New Orleans once traded their entire draft and a first and third-rounder the following year to Washington to move up seven spots and take Heisman Trophy running back Ricky Williams at No. 5. That was in 1999.
Ten years before, Minnesota GM Mike Lynn traded five players and six picks to Dallas for running back Herschel Walker. Dallas turned the stockpile into the foundation for a Super Bowl dynasty.
The Raiders, in Davis' declining years, are in a win-now mentality. Millen needs to show Lions faithful that he has a plan for sustainable future success that one No. 2 overall player won't solve.
It's a modest proposal among old friends that just might make a lot of sense on both ends of the phone conversation.