McNabb deal reveals NFL's draft obsession

A six-time Pro Bowl quarterback was traded Sunday, and he didn't even bring a first-round draft pick in return. 
This says more about the NFL's fascination with the future than it does about Donovan McNabb. 
Think about this for a moment: 
** It's generally acknowledged that no single athlete is as important to his team as a quarterback is to an NFL franchise. 
** Upon announcing the trade, the Philadelphia Eagles acknowledged McNabb as the best QB in their history. 
** The Redskins wouldn't give up their first-round selection in the 2010 draft to get an obvious and immediate difference-maker, and they clearly didn't have to. 


The Skins have the fourth pick of this draft, and while the selection meeting, as it is called, is still the foundation for most teams, it doesn't offer the certainty of an established veteran. In case you're curious, here are the fourth overall picks of the recent past:
2009: Aaron Curry, LB, Wake Forest (Seahawks): Too soon to know. 
2008: Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas (Raiders): 1 TD last year; 856 rushing yards in two seasons
2007: Gaines Adams, DT, Clemson (Bucs): Tragically, Adams is dead. A previously unrecognizable heart ailment took his life shortly after last season.
2006: D'Brickashaw Ferguson, OT, Virginia (Jets): Your guess is as good as mine. 
2005: Cedric Benson, RB, Texas (Bears): Chicago may have given up on him too soon; Benson revived his career with the Bengals in 2009.
2004: Philip Rivers, QB, N.C. State (Giants): Traded to Chargers for Eli Manning, Rivers has had a solid career. 
2003: Dewayne Robertson, DT, Kentucky (Jets): I'd never heard of him, either. Best statistical season produced four sacks.
2002: Joey Harrington, QB, Oregon (Lions): Hasn't played in a game since 2007. 
2001: Justin Smith, DE, Missouri (Bengals): A credible veteran performer. 
2000: Peter Warrick, WR, Florida State (Bnegals): Caught 79 passes as a 26-year-old in 2003. Hauled in 11 in each of the next two seasons and was done. 


I'd say that's about a 50-percent success rate. In light of that hit-or-miss quotient, would the Redskins have been out of line to offer the fourth pick for McNabb? I'd say no. And I'd say that even know I know McNabb is 33. That suggests he might not have more than four years left, but that might still make him more productive than half the people on the above list, all of whom were in their early 20s when selected. 


And it's not like the Eagles are being shouted down for not getting enough. The NFL ethos says you don't give up a sacred first-round draft pick for anything except another first-round draft pick. It says, essentially, that the hope for the future is inherently better than anybody's track record. 


And I don't get it.