In order to determine what an NFL player’s trade value would be, first a baseline must be established. Garrett is the Defensive Player of the Year for the 2023 season, so comparisons are difficult to come by; players of such a stature aren’t traded and for good reason — usually.

But when the Raiders traded Khalil Mack to the Bears in 2018, he was just one season removed from reigning as the DPOY. That trade involved Chicago sending current first- and sixth-round picks, and the next year’s first- and third-round picks to Oakland; the Bears also received a 2020 second and a conditional fifth.

In analyzing that deal, Mack actually went for slightly less than the static value of two first-round picks with an unknown draft order, though the fact that the Bears had finished 5-11 the season prior would’ve implied a relatively favorable 2019 draft position.

In 2019, Jalen Ramsey was universally viewed as one of the league’s top cornerbacks when he was dealt from Jacksonville to the Rams for two first-round picks plus a fourth-rounder.

So in terms of draft-asset value, these two trades are in the ballpark of one another. And one would rightly expect Garrett to fetch no less. In fact, he would almost certainly bring more than that.

There are a couple other factors to consider with those trades though as well. And we’ll discuss those immediately in Part 3.

—@PoisonPill4