By Will Zhang
On October 19th, former Seahawks wide receiver Percy Harvin was traded to the New York Jets for a conditional pick between the 2nd and 4th round. This trade shocked NFL fans across the nation. When news of the trade broke, everyone was wondering why. Why would the reigning Super Bowl champion trade away their top wide receiver and arguably the most explosive players on the entire team? Harvin gave the Seahawks a 29-0 lead at halftime after a kickoff return for a touchdown during the last super bowl.
The most shocking part of this trade was the value the Seattle Seahawks got in return: a conditional 2nd to 4th round pick. A conditional pick is essentially a draft pick in the next draft, and the Seahawks will receive a pick based on Harvin’s performance in New York. Sources close to the Seahawks organization have said the reason they traded Harvin was due to chemistry issues that Harvin caused in the locker room. Harvin was apparently involved in numerous arguments between fellow teammates. On one occasion before last year’s super bowl, Harvin and former Seahawks receiver Golden Tate were involved in a fight. These incidents were reason why the Seahawks were so willing to give up a player of his caliber so easily. The situation was so bad that if the trade between the Seahawks and the Jets was not approved by the NFL, the Seahawks were going to drop the him.
I think this is a bad trade for the Seahawks. They are losing a big playmaker downfield. Harvin was know for explosive runs after the catch. These traits may help benefit the struggling 1-6 Jets who had major issues in the passing game on offense. This addition should help second year quarterback Geno Smith who has struggled this year find receivers, throwing 7 interceptions and a mere 181 yards a game.
In their first game without Harvin, the reigning Super Bowl champion faced the St. Louis Rams. Their offense was humming lead by quarterback Russell Wilson throwing for over 300 yards, 2 touchdowns, and rushing for over 100 yards and another touchdown. Form this one game the offense seems unaffected so far with the absence of Harvin. Receiver Doug Baldwin had a big day filling in for the departed Harvin. Despite this effort the Rams were able to steal a victory due to a big performance by their special team.
It should be interesting to see the impact this trade has on both teams. I doubt this trade will help the Jets this season as they have dug themselves too deep of a hole to climb out, but this trade could end up hurting the Seahawks offensively.
