Oakland Raiders former owner Al Davis never hesitated to trade future draft picks for players or to trade up in the draft. The most notable such trade recently was when Davis traded a first round pick for Richard Seymour. Then, after his passing, the Raiders continued in the Al Davis tradition by trading potentially two first round picks, and at best, a first and a second round pick in order to get quarterback Carson Palmer.
Well, it looks as though the days of trading future picks are over. Reggie McKenzie told fans not to expect the Raiders to trade up in this year's draft, as he is not opposed easing into the first draft not run by Al Davis. In general though, McKenzie stated that he would not often be trading future draft picks, and especially future high round draft picks.
This should not come as a surprise considering the success the Green Bay Packers have had in the draft while McKenzie was there. Now, with the new CBA restricting rookie contracts, draft picks have become even more valuable. No longer do teams need to be concerned with drastically overpaying a kid who has never suited up in the NFL. With so much of the risk taken out of the draft and a general manager who has a knack for judging young talent, the Raiders would be smart to start holding on to their draft picks more often.