So: would you trade the 30th pick in the draft, plus likely somewhere between the 25th and 32nd pick next year for Matt Stafford? I think the answer is: who wouldn't?
First round picks sound really great until you realize that not all first round picks are created the same.
It's one thing to get the 10th pick, it's another the 30th. All the blue-chip "can't miss" guys are long gone and nearly without exception either the 1st or 2nd choice at virtually every position is also long gone by the time a teams picks 30th. According to the NFL draft chart that teams use (even though they all claim they don't), the 30th pick has half the value of the 10th pick and only 20% of the value of the 1st pick.
Snead's formula of trading late 1st round picks for proven stars works and brings superior value. What are the odds that you get a Ramsey, Donald, or Stafford with the 30th pick of the 1st round? It happens; but the chances are super low.
I'll take the Snead approach all day long.
