Who Made Out the Best - ESPN Poll

The main page at ESPN.com asks the question: Which team made out the best in the Deion Branch trade:

a. Seahawks - Get Deion Branch

b. Patriots - Get 2007 1st round pick

c. It's a great trade for both teams

Not surprisingly, only one state (Vermont) on the East coast thinks the Seahawks got the better end of the deal. Seattle's market (Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Idaho) thinks Seattle got the better end, as did Wyoming, Arizona, New Mexico, Kentucky, Alabama, and the international community.

One state, Minnesota, believed the Patriots getting the 1st round pick is the better end of the deal. This shouldn't be surprising. After all, the Vikings traded a slew of draft picks to the Dallas Cowboys for Hershel Walker. Dallas used those picks to go on a run of Super Bowl wins, so you can't blame Minnesotans for placing a higher premium on April's draft than most markets do.

As for me, I think Seattle is the winner here. For starters, they're getting a quality wide receiver entering the prime of his career. I don't necessarily feel that he's worth that much money (or a 1st round pick), but that's what the market has dictated.

I think you almost have to give Seattle the edge here because Seattle will receive both short and long-term benefits from this trade, whereas the Patriots will only receive long-term gains.

To correct Mike Florio over at PFT.com, the acquisition of Deion Branch should be taken at face value. Florio speculated that Nate Burleson isn't panning out in Seattle, Darrell Jackson isn't 100%, so Seattle had to make this deal. He's wrong.

This is proactive manuever, not a reactive one. Burleson did only have 1 reception yesterday, but it was on an improvised play and went for 36 yards. It appears that Burleson (who did struggle early in camp) and Hasselbeck are close to being on the same page. There is a concern about Jackson's left knee, which has been surgically-repaired twice in the last 12 months. But he had 5 catches for 47 yards and appeared to be moving very well yesterday, especially on the play where he reversed field, and ran about 70 yards to gain an actual total of 13. Same quickness, and he didn't appear to be limping.

Seattle acquired Deion Branch because he'll improve the team's depth at that position. Last year, the team lost Bobby Engram (4 games) and Darrell Jackson (10 games) and were very fortunate to have Joe Jurevicius, a veteran presence, on the roster. If the team were to fall prey to the same misfortunes this October, they wouldn't be nearly as prepared as they were in 2005.

Adding Branch resolves that in the short-term, and provides the team with a long-term starter at a very important position.