Bill Barnwell of ESPN class Frank Clark in the D-Chiefs category

During the NFL free agency period, Bill Barnwell of ESPN noted his significant moves. He has now taken part in the Kansas City Chiefs-Seattle Seahawks deal, bringing Frank Clark to the Seahawks defenseman in exchange for the Chiefs' first-round pick choice on Thursday and the loss of value of the two second-choice picks. Team turn of 2020, 2020.. As part of the deal, the teams also agreed to exchange their third round picks on Friday.

Barnwell thinks the trade has a clear winner. He gave the chiefs a RE- for trade, and the Seahawks a B.

Barnwell thinks the Chiefs have largely abandoned the contract.

When you calculate the value of each choice using Chase Stuart's Value Table, this trade gives Clark a value of 21.1 capital points, which is between the seventh and eighth selections of a project. Most organizations anticipate some reduction because the second round choice of 2020 is a deferred compensation, but you see the idea.

Barnwell argues that to the extent that the leaders were also to negotiate a new contract with Clark under the agreement – which would have been five years and $ 105 million – you must consider the most -value that the leaders could have obtained by using the same writing funds to pass to the seventh or eighth choice and recruit a player that can provide a production well beyond its cost of acquisition, taking for example players like as Roquan Smith, Christian McCaffrey and Jack Conklin.

Just to pick a round number, these guys would each earn about $ 10 million if they hit the open market this season. Having a player like this for four years would create a gain of more than $ 20 million on a figure of $ 4.9 million a year. If you add that to the Clark agreement, because that's the cost of capital that it cost to buy it, you're thinking of paying Clark more than $ 26 million a year over the amount of $ 21. millions of dollars.

Of course, this assumes that a player selected in the first quarter of the first round will provide this production, which, we know, is not always true. Clark is a player who has always provided production to the Seahawks in a similar defensive scheme.

But after comparing the agreement to the one that the San Francisco 49ers gave to Dee Ford – a contract that the Chiefs might have been able to negotiate themselves – Barnwell also recognizes that there is another way to see it. .

Combine these offers and maybe that's not so overwhelming. The Chiefs traded Ford, their first and third round picks, and a second of 2020 to recover Clark, a slightly better third-round pick and a second-49ers' second. If the leaders wanted to move up a gear without paying for Ford, they finally got there.

No team wins the Super Bowl in March – or even in April. Evaluations are interesting – and are also useful in their own way; it is true that a significant part of the job of an NFL executive director is to ensure that the limited amount of cash and salary available is used wisely.

But in the final analysis, the most important goal is to maintain – and if possible to improve – the fate of the team; managing team resources is only one way to achieve this end. If the Chiefs improve their chances through this deal, few will ultimately have a problem with their fans, even if they think it stinks right now.

It will take just a little time to see how that goes.

Six years ago, the Chiefs traded two second-round picks against quarterback Alex Smith of the San Francisco 49ers. Although this agreement has little similarity to the one Chiefs just concluded – his project capital cost was not as high and Smith was playing on his existing contract for his first year in Kansas City – still considered by many as a misuse of the team's resources.

Given what has happened over the past five years that Smith has started as quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs – and the way Smith put the Chiefs in position for the first time. Acquire Patrick Mahomes with an attack ready to shine under his leadership – it's hard to argue this argument now.

As in the Smith case, Clark's trade may soon be seen as one of the hallmarks of Brett Veach's tenure as Chief Executive Officer. As with the Smith case, there is a legitimate argument that the chiefs would have given up too much for Clark.

But, just like the Alex Smith trade, we will eventually be able to consider Frank Clark's trade as the right choice for the franchise.

Only time will tell.