Report: Seahawks' Bruce Irvin pick blew up Jets-Steelers draft-day trade

According to a report from the NFL Network, the Steelers and Jets had a draft-day trade in place so Pittsburgh could move up and grab David DeCastro. But when the Seahawks decided to take Bruce Irvin, the Jets bailed out of the deal.

By Will Brinson

May 8, 2012 at 12:24 pm ET • 1 min read

Maybe Pete Carroll's pick of Bruce Irvin was smarter than we all thought at the time. (US Presswire)

In the latest edition of our Pick-Six Podcast, Ryan and I chatted a little bit about the value of the Seahawks selecting Bruce Irvin with the 15th overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. This discussion was driven by a great piece from Greg Cosell over at the NFL Films Blog relating to Irvin's value in the media versus Irvin's value to other teams.

Long story short, I couldn't agree more with Greg in that much of draft-day value is media-driven. In other words, it's entirely likely that if the Seahawks hadn't taken Irvin, someone else would have. Which is what makes a report about a draft-day trade between the Steelers and the Jets so interesting.

According to Jason LaCanfora of the NFL Network, the Steelers and the Jets had "a draft deal essentially done for [the Jets] to drop back." The idea was that the Steelers would leapfrog the Bengals and grab David DeCastro, the man they desperately wanted for the interior of their line.

The Jets, on the other hand, were willing to fall back because, according to LaCanfora, they were cool getting either Quinton Coples or ... Bruce Irvin. But when Seattle decided to pull the trigger on Irvin at 15 -- a move they were lambasted for -- the Jets apparently bailed out on the deal and simply took Coples.

When the first round shook out completely, it worked out regardless because DeCastro somehow fell to the Steelers at 24. And the Jets and Seahawks apparently got a player they were comfortable/happy/thrilled with as well.

But the point here isn't so much that the Jets and Steelers were talking trade; it's that the Seahawks, despite what folks may say about their selection of Irvin at 15, did get appropriate value for the speed pass-rusher they coveted, since he it's looking more and more likely that he wasn't going to be available later in the first round.

And if he pulls an Aldon Smith and blows up for double-digit sacks in 2012, the idea that he was overdrafted will simply become laughable.

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