The Atlanta Falcons made the trade of the 2011 NFL draft weekend when they moved up 21 spots to the sixth overall pick to select Alabama WR Julio Jones. The Cleveland Browns were the trading partner picking up an extra 2012 first round pick in the process.
The move has been lauded and criticized by all the NFL draft analysts. Some, like Peter King of SI.com, argue that the Falcons would never have the opportunity to draft a potentially elite receiver like Jones. Others, like Bill Belichick, probably wouldn't make the same deal.
Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff told Dan Pompei of National Football Post that he talked with Belichick about the trade before it went down and indicated that he probably wouldn't make the same deal.
"You know Bill," Dimitroff told me. "He would never have done this move. It's just not his makeup. He talked about the value we would be giving up."
I'm not sure anyone's surprised that Belichick wouldn't do this deal. He's the one that had the ammo to move up into the top 10 but opted against it and actually swapped one of those picks for a 2012 first round pick.
Whether it works or not, this will be the most highly discussed trade in the 2011 NFL draft.
For more on the Falcons 2011 draft class, check out The Falcoholic.
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