When the reported trade between the Bengals and Falcon fell through, Atlanta swapped first round picks with the Cleveland Browns and then gave the Browns their second and fourth round pick this year as well as their first and fourth round pick in 2012. Obviously the typical Bengals fan reaction is: What the hell?
According to Joe Reedy of the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Bengals felt that the Falcons offer was undervalued.
According to various trade charts, the 4th pick is worth 1800 points. The #falcons package amounted to 1756. 6th pick is worth 1600
The Falcons reportedly wanted A.J. Green, whom the Bengals ended up taking, leaving Julio Jones as the sixth overall pick.
We can't say that we understand why teams would use something like a "trade chart". If the Bengals received what the Falcons offered, they could have gotten their quarterback at the end of the first round and then stocked the team with upgrades throughout the roster. We're not against selecting Green, we just feel that the Bengals could have put themselves into a stronger position to improve with 19 total picks, including two first and second rounds picks, over the course of the 2011 and 2012 NFL Draft.
So we just put our faith in the team knowing how they want to build their team. (that took five minutes to type)