Baltimore sent defensive back Leonard Dunlap to San Diego on…
Baltimore sent defensive back Leonard Dunlap to San Diego on September 4, 1972 for the Chargers' 1973 fourth-round selection. The Colts used that pick, No. 85, on receiver Ollie Smith. San Diego received immediate secondary depth from Dunlap, but his Chargers impact was not substantial enough to outweigh Baltimore's clean conversion of the veteran into a defined mid-round asset.
Indianapolis Colts Received
- pick 1973 fourth round pick (#85- Ollie Smith )
Los Angeles Chargers Received
- player Leonard Dunlap
Trade Analysis
Why the Trade Happened
Baltimore's historical trade listing records Leonard Dunlap going to San Diego on September 4, 1972 for the Chargers' 1973 fourth-round choice. The Colts used that selection at No. 85 on receiver Ollie Smith. This treatment uses the most specific contemporaneous or club-history description available and leaves any genuinely unidentified draft choice unnamed rather than attaching a speculative player.
What Baltimore Colts Received
The Colts converted a defensive back into a fourth-round pick and then used the selection directly. That is a clean value path: Baltimore gave up a player and received a defined draft asset with a known outcome. The return is evaluated on the assets that can be tied directly to the transaction, not on later guesses about uncertain pick chains. That keeps the historical package readable while preserving the limits of what can be established.
What San Diego Chargers Received
San Diego acquired Dunlap for immediate secondary depth. The Chargers paid a meaningful but not premium pick, and Dunlap's value did not clearly exceed the opportunity cost of a fourth-round selection. The football result matters because a trade grade should reflect both the price paid and what the acquired asset actually delivered. Immediate roster value, later movement and retained draft capital all shape the comparison.
Final Verdict
Baltimore earns a B+ and San Diego a C+. The Colts secured a useful mid-round asset and exercised it themselves, while the Chargers received a player without a long enough impact to overturn the draft-value edge. The grade is based on the strongest documented version of the exchange and the subsequent value each club received. Where later histories disagree on a peripheral detail, the uncertain detail is left general instead of being presented as settled fact.
Baltimore's defined fourth-round asset outweighed Dunlap's limited San Diego impact over time.