Roy Williams heads to the Cowboys in a trade that brings the Lions a low 1st rounder, as well as a 3rd & 6th in 2009. They will receive a 7th from Detroit in 2010.

That seems like a lot. And I was kind of shocked that they gave up that much for him, when they don’t really even need him. They already have 2 of the best receivers at their positions in Witten and T.O.

With Williams signing a 5-year extension, and T.O. signed through 2011, this could be very interesting. Heck, the next month should be very interesting because Brad Johnson is basically just a dump-off passer at his stage of his career. He never possessed the strongest arm to begin with anyway.

Williams is 6’3″, 210 and in the combine he ran a 4.37 and had close to a 40″ vertical. He is a physical receiver. His attitude and his hands have been called into question on numerous occasions, but he’s still just 26 and has played for the worst franchise around.

Back to the question at hand: Should the Bears have pursued him? For fun we will assume that the Lions would have traded him intra-division. What about the price? I’m guessing only Jerry Jones would give up that much for Williams. Remember–this is the guy that traded 2 first round picks for Joey Galloway.

We also know how much Jerry Angelo values draft picks. But unless it’s a T.O.–someone with baggage–you usually have to give up a lot to get a stud receiver.

Angelo drafted a WR in round 3 this year and I haven’t heard his name called yet. His signing of Muhammad turned out to be a wash. This offseason we heard Mark Bradley was going to be the #1 and then he was cut weeks later. Point is: he’s not very good at drafting or signing WRs. So when a player like Williams becomes available, you hope he at least picked up the phone.

Draft picks are most definitely valuable. But when you are cutting multiple 2nd and 3rd rounders from your roster, they should be easier for you to deal. Roy Williams is a legit red-zone receiver and he has never averaged less that 13 a catch. So in the Bears situation, yes I would have made the deal.

Round 6 picks are guys you snag off other teams practice squads. You trade your #1 for Williams–I can totally live with that. So you live without the 3 for a year–and who says you’d hit on it anyway? What if it was another Michael Okwo? Or Dan Bazuin?.

Maybe I like Roy Williams too much and maybe I just want the Bears to have a big-time receiver for once in my life. But I think it would have been a good fit.

[tags]Chicago Bears, Jerry Angelo, Roy Williams, Detroit Lions, Dallas Cowboys[/tags]