Thanks to everyone who participated in Tuesday afternoon's SportsNation chat. While we have a moment, let's more fully answer a draft trade question that popped up a number of times. Here is one of the exchanges:
Ed (Beltsville,MD)
Da Bears trade the 29th pick for what an additional 2 or 3rd rounder???
Kevin Seifert (2:16 PM)
It's sounding more and more like that could be the case. You never know exactly what they'll get in return, but there are some people who think the No. 29 pick is going to be barren at the positions the Bears would like to draft -- especially offensive tackle.
So what could the Chicago Bears expect if they trade down from No. 29 overall and, presumably, out of the first round altogether? The most important factor is what second-round position their trade partner has.
Using ESPN.com's trade value chart as a guide (but not gospel), we see that No. 29 is valued at 640 points. So let's consider a scenario where the Bears trade with the Cleveland Browns, who have the fifth pick of the second round -- No. 36 overall.
The Bears would take over that spot, which is worth 540 points and leaves them with a "profit" of 100 points. The Browns could make that up by shipping the Bears their third-round pick. Or, perhaps, the Browns could send the Bears a sixth-round pick and swap positions in the fourth round. You can come up with all of the combinations you want.
If the Bears' trade partner is a team with a pick much lower in the second round, however, they might need a 2012 pick to make up the difference. What if the Seattle Seahawks, who pick 25th in the second round and No. 57 overall, want the Bears' No. 29 overall pick?
In that case, the value difference is 310 points. The Seahawks couldn't make up the difference if they sent the Bears the rest of their available 2011 draft picks. So in this case, the Bears could get at least the Seahawks' second-round picks in 2011 and 2012. With some hard negotiating, they could end up with the Seahawks' second-round pick in 2011 and first-round pick in 2012.
Again, the draft value chart gives us a feel for how teams might value various positions in the draft. There is no rule that requires the values to be equal, or even close to it, in order for a deal to be done. But if you want to know what the Bears could get for the No. 29 overall pick, you at least have a better idea now.