The Chargers sent Green Bay the rights to defensive back…
The Chargers sent Green Bay the rights to defensive back Mossy Cade and received a 1986 first-round pick plus a conditional 1987 fifth-rounder. Green Bay got some starting production from Cade, but San Diego later used the No. 14 first-round choice as the central piece of a move up to No. 8 for Leslie O'Neal, creating far greater long-term value.
Green Bay Packers Received
- other rights to Tomorries Cade / Mossy Cade
Los Angeles Chargers Received
- pick 1986 first round pick (#14; later traded to Minnesota, which selected Gerald Robinson)
- pick 1987 conditional fifth round pick (#115-Nelson Jones)
Trade Analysis
Green Bay's official historical materials list the acquisition of Mossy Cade from San Diego for a 1986 first-round pick and a conditional 1987 fifth-round choice. Cade was not a complete washout. Packers statistics show that he intercepted one pass in 1985 and four more in 1986, and he started games in the Green Bay secondary. That production is enough to keep the Packers above an outright failing grade.
The draft capital, however, became much more valuable than Cade's short Green Bay tenure. The 1986 first-rounder was No. 14 overall. San Diego did not simply use that selection on Gerald Robinson, so the asset should not be described that way. Instead, the Chargers combined No. 14 with the No. 44 pick and traded with Minnesota for No. 8 and No. 66. San Diego then selected Leslie O'Neal eighth overall.
That downstream move changes the scale of the trade. O'Neal became a long-term Chargers pass rusher, recording 12.5 sacks as a rookie and eventually piling up triple-digit sacks during his San Diego career. The No. 14 selection received for Cade was therefore major trade-up currency in the acquisition of a franchise-level defender. The conditional fifth added another piece of value on top.
Green Bay did get useful short-term secondary play, so this is not graded as if Cade never contributed. But surrendering a future first for those limited years was costly, and San Diego leveraged the pick exceptionally well. The Chargers win because they transformed Cade's rights into premium capital that directly helped land O'Neal, while Green Bay's return was much shorter lived.