The Red Zone Report | Raiders set to haul in Hall from Falcons for draft pick

Draft News

Raiders set to haul in Hall from Falcons for draft pick

By Eddie Griffin ⋅ March 16, 2008 ⋅ Subscribe to The Red Zone Report

DeAngelo Hall's temper got him in trouble in the 2007 season, and is one of the reasons why he won't be a Falcon for much longer. Atlanta and Oakland appear to have all but put the finishing touches that will send CB DeAngelo Hall to the left coast in exchange for the Raiders’ second-round pick.

Hall had five interceptions last season and has 17 in four seasons since the Falcons drafted him eighth overall in the 2004 draft, but it was a foregone conclusion that he wouldn’t be in Atlanta next season after things broke down on both sides, past the point of no return.

Let’s not spend our time worrying about if the trade is balanced or unbalanced, because that’s something that you don’t really know until a while down the road.

For Atlanta, that second-round pick is the 36th overall pick in the draft, and would give them three picks in the second round (theirs, Oakland’s, and the one they got from Houston in the Matt Schaub trade). When you’re a team with a lot of needs to address, and a focus on the future instead of the right now, having as many high draft picks as possible, especially when there’s a lot of talent to be had in those need positions, it’s a great position to be in.

Not only could some serious needs can be addressed with those three picks, a couple of those picks could be used as trade bait to trade back into the first round to nab a player that they think may not be there when those two early second-round picks come along.

What do the Falcons need to address most with those four early picks - if they keep them all?

1. A new QB. The obvious choice is Matt Ryan, but if the Dolphins take him, or the Falcons decide they want to go in another direction with the #3 pick (which opens up a different conversation), they could go for Chad Henne/Joe Flacco/Andre’ Woodson with one of those two early second rounders.
2. Some help in the receiving corps - Roddy White’s developing into a star, but Michael Jenkins isn’t, otherwise he. With so many talented receivers available, having those two early second-round picks are a good thing.
3. Offensive linemen. Their new QB doesn’t need to be getting knocked on his tail every time he drops back, does he? That’s why Byron Leftwich got hurt last season. With that said, Michigan’s Jake Long might be the best option at #3, and that’s where Walt of Walter Football thinks they’ll go in his updated mock draft.
4. Trading away Hall means the Falcons will also need a new corner, and that’s another position that’s not in short supply this year. One of those early second-rounders could be used on a Reggie Smith, Brandon Flowers (from Hall’s alma mater, Virginia Tech), or Indiana’s Tracy Porter.

Now, as for the Raiders, what does the acquisition of Hall do for them, besides put Oakland in a position to potentially have to shell out $100 million to two cornerbacks (two very good ones at that, but that’s a lot of money…then again, Al Davis is involved, so…). The Raiders are already reportedly working on a contract extension with Hall, so where does that put the currently-franchised Nnamdi Asomugha? They’ll be paying him $9.8 mil in 2008, and after that, it’s basically pay him or let him go.

That might be a problem to worry about for the 2008 off-season, because that one-year pairing could work wonders for Oakland, since teams are going to have to pick their poison against (what should be) one of the top corner tandems in the league.

In terms of draft picks, the cupboard would be pretty bare for the Raiders in terms of early draft picks, because they’d only have their first-round pick in the first three rounds. And with multiple needs to be addressed, like receiver, defensive line, and offensive line as well, so keeping the #4 pick might no longer be an option (time to reignite those Darren McFadden to Dallas rumors?).

So, there’s instant benefit on one side, and future benefit on another side. Some Atlanta fans may not be too happy about the trade right off the bat (though quite a few may be saying goodbye and good riddance), but if Arthur Blank, Rich McKay (it’s his 49th birthday today), Thomas Dimitroff don’t botch it up, this trade could open up a lot of doors for the Falcons’ future.