I think Bob was thinking along the lines of Minnesota trading Still or KC trading Tyreek Hill or even the Lions trading Hockenson. Holmes couldn't be sure he could draft LaPorta when he traded Hockenson away, it was simply deciding of Hockenson would be worth the money he would be getting in the Lions scheme of things.
Should note that while Minnesota came up better off with Jefferson and KC weathered losing Hill by having Mahomes, Tennessee tried it with AJ Brown and ended up with Burks. Maybe the key is if you are good at drafting it's not so scary to trade away a player that is threatening to blow up your salary cap.
You mentioned Hockinson. Was he more a culture casualty than an upcoming cap problem?
No. There were zero concerns about Hockenson culturally. There was no desire to pay a TE top of market as a 1-6 team.
I think Bob was thinking along the lines of Minnesota trading Still or KC trading Tyreek Hill or even the Lions trading Hockenson. Holmes couldn't be sure he could draft LaPorta when he traded Hockenson away, it was simply deciding of Hockenson would be worth the money he would be getting in the Lions scheme of things.
Should note that while Minnesota came up better off with Jefferson and KC weathered losing Hill by having Mahomes, Tennessee tried it with AJ Brown and ended up with Burks. Maybe the key is if you are good at drafting it's not so scary to trade away a player that is threatening to blow up your salary cap.
Good stuff, Justin