1. The cost of trading him is going to be very cheap for the LA Chargers.
Schultz pens in the article that the Falcons are likely not going to get a first-round pick for Jones, which might seem like a surprise with his namesake. This is absolutely correct, it would be more surprising if the Falcons got a first-round pick for Jones than it would be if they didn’t.
Teams just don’t trade first-round picks for expensive wide receivers and the market is going to set itself. If there is some team that absolutely ignores the market price and sends a first-round pick then the Chargers are out, but past history shows us that this won’t happen.
Just look at the Antonio Brown trade to the then-Oakland Raiders. Sure, it went haywire for the Raiders but let’s not use hindsight. At the time, Brown was coming off of yet another elite season and was still considered to be the best, if not number two behind Jones.
Sure, Brown had some character concerns in Pittsburgh but it is not like Jones’ relationship with Atlanta has been the best. Jones is nowhere close to having the same baggage as Brown but he is also coming off of a worse year than Brown was and is one year older than Brown was at the trade.
The Raiders traded a third-round and fifth-round pick for Brown. Jones probably gets a bit more, but the absolute highest the price will likely go is a second-round pick in 2022 and a third-round pick in 2023. A second in 2022 and fourth in 2023 is more likely.
Is this worth it? Yes. The LA Chargers are expected to have four compensatory picks next year, which softens the blow of losing a second-round pick. And while second-round picks are nice, we tend to always overvalue the pick itself. That pick is most likely not going to have the impact, even for only three years, that Jones would have.
There is another type of cost that the LA Chargers have to take into account.