New York moved up from No. 85 to No. 70 during the 1998…
New York moved up from No. 85 to No. 70 during the 1998 draft, sending Philadelphia picks No. 85 and No. 116 for No. 70. The Giants selected Purdue wide receiver Brian Alford. He appeared in only four regular-season games across 1998-99, catching two passes for 18 yards and one touchdown without making a start. The trade-up therefore produced almost no sustained roster value despite costing New York an additional fourth-round selection.
New York Giants Received
- pick 1998 third round pick (#70- Brian Alford )
Philadelphia Eagles Received
- pick 1998 third round pick (#85- Allen Rossum )
- pick 1998 fourth round pick (#116- Clarence Love )
Trade Analysis
The draft-day exchange is well documented. New York sent pick No. 85 and pick No. 116 to Philadelphia for pick No. 70, where the Giants selected Purdue wide receiver Brian Alford. The Eagles then used No. 85 on Notre Dame defensive back and return specialist Allen Rossum and No. 116 on cornerback Clarence Love. Pro Football Reference and Pro Sports Transactions date the trade to April 18, 1998, the first day of that year's draft. Philadelphia's later all-time trade ledger lists April 19. TradeVerdicts uses April 18 for the canonical row because the draft transaction databases and the Giants' corresponding trade ledger place the exchange on that date, while preserving the Eagles' one-day discrepancy in QA notes rather than silently ignoring it.
Alford never justified the move up. Pro Football Reference credits him with two Giants games in 1998 and two more in 1999, all as a reserve. Across those four appearances he caught two passes for 18 yards and one touchdown. He did not make a regular-season start and never played another NFL regular-season game after 1999. For a third-round selection acquired by surrendering both a third and fourth, that is an extremely small direct return.
Rossum gave Philadelphia immediate special-teams value. NFL records show him appearing in 15 games with two starts as a 1998 rookie and all 16 games in 1999. Over those two Eagles seasons he returned 98 kickoffs for 2,427 yards, including an 89-yard touchdown in 1999, and returned 50 punts for 437 yards. He also contributed on defense, recording 49 combined tackles across the two seasons. Rossum later became a Pro Bowl return specialist with Atlanta and played more than a decade in the league, but only his two Philadelphia seasons belong in this trade evaluation.
Love added a smaller direct return. NFL records credit him with seven games for the Eagles in 1998 and seven combined tackles without a start. He later played for Baltimore and Oakland, but those seasons came after Philadelphia no longer controlled his rights and are excluded from the grade. Even without counting any later career value, Philadelphia received 38 combined regular-season appearances from Rossum and Love, plus meaningful return production, compared with four reserve games from Alford.
The hindsight verdict strongly favors Philadelphia. The Eagles moved down, gained an extra fourth-round pick and still selected the only player in the transaction who became a meaningful contributor for his drafting team. New York spent extra capital for a receiver who produced two catches. A B+ for Philadelphia reflects two years of high-volume return work plus a small contribution from Love, while a D for the Giants reflects the minimal Alford outcome and the opportunity cost of the additional fourth-rounder.