Trade grades: Evaluating Broncos' megadeal for Russell Wilson

The Denver Broncos shocked the football world Tuesday with a blockbuster deal to acquire Russell Wilson for a massive haul of players and picks.

Reportedly heading back to Seattle in exchange for Wilson and a fourth-round selection are two first-round picks, two second-round choices, a fifth-round pick, quarterback Drew Lock, tight end Noah Fant, and defensive lineman Shelby Harris.

Let's take a look at how each side fared in the swap.

Broncos

Credit the Broncos for doing what they had to do. This team wasn't going anywhere unless it found a quarterback. With Aaron Rodgers staying in Green Bay, this was the move to make.

The impressive foundation built on both sides of the ball made Denver a popular dark-horse contender last year, but that was a little premature. It was always fair to consider the Broncos "a quarterback away," and now they've undoubtedly checked that box.

The compensation looks like a lot on the surface, but it isn't that earth-shattering when talking about a player like Wilson. Absent this deal, Denver was probably going to use the No. 9 overall pick in this year's draft on a quarterback. But with such a pedestrian class of prospects at the position, particularly compared to the last few years, any such selection likely would have been a reach.

Looking ahead to next year's first-round pick, the Broncos are surely planning on it being a late one with Russ in the mix. And at that point, you can refer back to the aggressive strategy of the Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams. Draft picks are cool; proven superstars are better.

As for the players heading to Seattle, there couldn't have been much hesitation on Denver's part. Lock has next to no value after flaming out as a former second-round pick. Fant was a 2019 first-rounder who could be considered an ascending player, but he hasn't topped 700 receiving yards in a season, and the Broncos are well-stocked with pass-catchers. Harris is a solid piece on the defensive line, but not one who'd keep you from doing a deal like this.

All in all, this amounts to a no-brainer for Denver. It remains to be seen if it's enough to push them over the top in the NFL's toughest division. There's also some risk with the 33-year-old Wilson coming off one of his worst seasons. However, it's a worthwhile gamble either way, particularly for the short term.

There are also benefits that come with ascending to contender status, even if that's only on paper right now. We see it every year: top veteran players become available, and it's the teams with superstar quarterbacks at the front of the line for their services. The Broncos are now that type of destination, where players will see an opportunity to get a ring.

Might Von Miller have been hearing rumblings about this deal Monday when he teased a potential return to Denver? The Broncos certainly have the salary-cap flexibility to bring him back and make a few other impact moves. They may only be getting started. That should be a scary thought for the AFC elite.

There's one clear winner in this deal. Unsurprisingly, it's the team getting a future Hall of Famer.

Grade: A-

Seahawks

Depending on how much you buy into coach-speak, this deal may have come as a surprise from the Seahawks' perspective. Football media seemed to rule out the possibility that Russ would be traded when Pete Carroll said after the season that the team had "no intention" of doing so.

In reality, things were always headed in this direction. The relationship between player and team clearly soured last offseason. It even reached the point of Wilson's agent bizarrely sharing a list of hypothetical trade destinations while insisting his client wished to remain in Seattle. All parties can say what they want publicly, but it's tough to come back from your franchise quarterback blatantly trying to force his way out.

It made even more sense for the team to consider trade options with a difficult 2021 season demonstrating just how much work the Seahawks' roster needed, whether Wilson played or not. Factoring in Wilson's dropoff in play as he gets older makes a trade even more sensible.

The question, then, is whether the Seahawks got enough. The answer, unfortunately, is a resounding no.

Lock is a lottery ticket. He's got some raw skills, but nothing he did over three years in Denver suggested he's anything more than a long shot to be a solid starter. The expectation here should be a backup, with anything more being a bonus.

The No. 9 pick in this draft theoretically gives Seattle an opportunity to take a quarterback. But again, it's tough to get your hopes too high with this incoming class of signal-callers.

Could the Seahawks ride this season out with Lock (read: tank), use Denver's first-round pick elsewhere, and combine what is now a pair of selections next year to target a top quarterback? Sure, but that's a long way off.

Knowing a split was inevitable, it's tough not to take this underwhelming return and look back to the previous offseason when Seattle reportedly turned away an aggressive offer from the Bears. That package apparently included three first-round picks (one of those presumably for last year's quarterback-stacked draft) and two players.

Had they taken the Bears' proposal and moved up in the first round as Chicago did, Seattle could already be in the midst of the Justin Fields era with future picks to build around him. Unless the Seahawks are now playing the long game, which feels unlikely with a 70-year-old head coach, they seem poised to replace Wilson by taking a shot on one of several less-than-enticing draft prospects.

Not exactly the way you want to move on from the best quarterback in franchise history. Seattle could be in for a long and painful rebuild.

Grade: C