a proven twice traded player vs. Late first round draft pick, I think you come to the conclusion that the Rams did fine.

However, I don't think you can look at this deal in a vacuum.

There are others issues to consider. And to that end, until those issues play out, I cannot say this was a great or even good trade.

Leaving out the late round pick swap as part of the trade...

We received a WR in his option year, while we have numerous other free agents to sign, meaning that if we don't get Cooks or others signed, we are playing a big time game of risk. And, we are likely yo lose players.

For me, unless the Rams win, or let's downgrade it to get to the Super Bowl, or they sign Cooks, this trade cannot be fully evaluated until likely next year this time.

And for what it's worth, I haven't seen many guys traded by the Patriots go on to kill it...except say Richard Seymour.