ESPN NFL

Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

Jeff McLane's story on philly.com suggests the Cardinals sought first-, third- and fifth-round choices from Philadelphia for receiver Anquan Boldin, according to Eagles coach Andy Reid.

"That's a lot of picks, No. 1," Reid said in McLane's story. "And then you're going to pay the guy $10 million. So you get hit on both sides of it."

Such a price would seem prohibitive, but what if we knew which players those first-, third- and fifth-round choices would become? We cannot know this in advance, but we do know which picks the Eagles held in those rounds. I singled out the 21st, 85th and 157th choices for the sake of this exercise. I then looked at which players those picks returned in past drafts to see if a team might rather have those picks or Boldin.

Sometimes the picks hold more promise before teams make forgettable selections with them. I think the Eagles would rather have Boldin than the players those picks returned in 2005.

2009

21st pick: Alex Mack, C, California (Browns, with pick from Eagles)

85th pick: Ramses Barden, WR, Cal Poly-SLO (Giants, with pick from Eagles)

157th pick: Victor Harris, CB, Virginia Tech (Eagles)

2008

21st pick: Sam Baker, T, USC (Falcons)

85th pick: Craig Stevens, TE, California (Titans)

157th pick: Roy Schuening, G, Oregon State (Rams)

2007

21st pick: Reggie Nelson, S, Florida (Jaguars)

85th pick: Brandon Mebane, DT, California (Seahawks)

157th pick: David Clowney, WR, Virginia Tech (Packers)

2006

21st pick: Laurence Maroney, RB, Minnesota (Patriots)

85th pick: Brodie Croyle, QB, Alabama (Chiefs)

157th pick: A.J. Nicholson, LB, Florida State (Bengals)

2005

21st pick: Matt Jones, WR, Arkansas (Jaguars)

85th pick: David Greene, QB, Georgia (Seahawks)

157th pick: Gerald Sensabaugh, S, North Carolina (Jaguars)

2004

21st pick: Vince Wilfork, DT, Miami (Patriots)

85th pick: Jeremy LeSueuer, DB, Michigan (Broncos)

157th pick: D.J. Hackett, WR, Colorado (Seahawks)

2003

21st pick: Jeff Faine, C, Notre Dame (Browns)

85th pick: B.J. Askew, FB, Michigan (Jets)

157th pick: Ben Claxton, C, Mississippi (Broncos)

2002

21st pick: Daniel Graham, TE, Colorado (Patriots)

85th pick: Kris Richard, CB, USC (Seahawks)

157th pick: Jermaine Phillips, FS, Georgia (Bucs)

2001

21st pick: Nate Clements, CB, Ohio State (Bills)

85th pick: Travis Minor, RB, Florida State (Dolphins)

157th pick: Patrick Chukwurah, LB, Wyoming (Vikings)

2000

21st pick: Sylvester Morris, WR, Jackson State (Chiefs)

85th pick: Greg Wesley, S, Jackson State (Chiefs)

157th pick: James Whalen, TE, Kentucky (Bucs)

Would you rather sign a 28-year-old Boldin to a lucrative deal now or take your chances with players such as the ones drafted with those picks? We know what the Eagles would rather do.