Kansas City moved up from No. 16 to No. 11 in the 1982 first…

Kansas City paid to move five places in the first round of the 1982 draft. The Chiefs sent St. Louis the No. 16 and No. 73 selections for No. 11, then used the higher pick on Tennessee receiver Anthony Hancock. The Cardinals stayed in the first round and selected UCLA tackle Luis Sharpe at No. 16, while also retaining the added third-round asset.

The player comparison is decisive. NFL statistics credit Hancock with 59 games, only eight starts, 73 receptions, 1,266 receiving yards and five touchdowns. He had a useful 584-yard season in 1983, but he never developed into the kind of long-term offensive centerpiece Kansas City hoped to obtain by moving up.

Sharpe became exactly that type of cornerstone for the Cardinals. He played 13 seasons for the franchise, appearing in and starting 189 games. Pro Football Reference credits him with three Pro Bowl selections. He provided remarkable continuity at left tackle as the franchise moved from St. Louis to Arizona, giving the Cardinals more than a decade of premium-position stability from the lower first-round pick.

The third-rounder only widens the value difference, even though the trade can be decided on Sharpe versus Hancock alone. Calling this an even exchange understates the enormous gap in longevity and honors. St. Louis moved down, gained another pick and still selected by far the better NFL player. An A+ for the Cardinals reflects near-ideal execution of a trade-down. Kansas City's D+ acknowledges that Hancock contributed for several seasons, but the move-up cost produced nowhere near Sharpe's career value.