Ben Wilson25 wrote:The flaw in your argument is that you’re extrapolating Poles’ entire view of the roster and its direction based on the Claypool trade. It’s entirely possible his calculation was that the move would help finalize his decision on Justin, possibly pay off with a young prospect at a premium position AND that the move would have a neglible chance of improving our record in a meaningful way no matter how Claypool performed. It was one move, not an overarching team building philosophy.
Do you think Poles wanted to tank? I think no. If you are tanking you don't trade your 2nd rounder.
Do you think Poles thought we were in the running to be the worst team in the league when we were 3-5? I think no. If you think you are in the running you don't trade your 2nd rounder.
Do you think Claypool allowed us to evaluate fields? I think no. We didn't take a franchise QB the following year, so we still clearly didn't know about Fields, nor did Claypool make that clear.
Does believing all of the above mean that Poles was a moron for wanting to evaluate Fields? No. I didn't know for sure about Fields either. Does it mean trying to trade for a young WR with the physical attributes you want who is struggling with a bad QB but previously had success was a terrible idea? I didn't like it at the time, but I totally got why he did it.
Does it mean Poles was just dumb all around? No of course not. I don't think Poles is a moron or awful at what he does and haven't said that.
Does it mean that the majority of our position was not by his design? Yes. It does mean that. He was not aiming to build the franchise in this way by being bad, getting the #1 pick and then trading it go get a better #1 pick. He got extraordinarily lucky that he got the 1st one, and he traded it because he still wasn't sure on Fields and still wanted to build with Fields.