Great topic, NYC. I think part of Mr. Graham's point though, is that a 1st round tackle comes far, far cheaper than Jason Peters does.
People are talking about Philly as a potential trade partner, so I'll use them as an example. Lets say Buffalo calls Philadelphia up and offers Peters for their 1st pick, 21st overall. Well, last year, the 21st overall pick was also an offensive tackle, Sam Baker to the Atlanta Falcons. Baker signed for 5 years, $13 million.
What about teams higher up in the 1st round? Well, Chicago took Chris Williams 14th overall last year, and signed him for 5 years, $12.73 million. After Jake Long, the second OT off the board was Ryan Clady at 12 to Denver; he signed for 6 years at $14.75 million, not even an average of $2.5 million annually. When you consider that Peters will likely command something in the neighborhood of $10-$11 million annually and about $30 million in guarantees, you can see why teams would rather pick from 4-5 first round talents at the position, and take their chances.
While it is true that some picks in the draft are getting ridiculous salaries, to the point where its a major problem and its throwing things out of whack, its mainly restricted to the top few picks. Even our Leodis McKelvin at #8 signed for 5 years, $19 million, hardly a bank-breaker, and nothing close to what Peters will get.
Personally, I agree with you that Peters is worth a 1st rounder. He's only 27, he's only played the position for a couple of years, and he's already showed he can play at a Pro Bowl level (while the incoming rooks haven't shown a thing). But I can understand the other side of the argument, and why finances might lead teams to take their chances with a premier draftee. And Tim has his ear to the ground, so if he says thats how teams are thinking, its probably the case.
It kinda sucks for us. We have a guy who, by all rights, we definitely ought to be able to get at least a 1st rounder for. As Tim said, it only takes one team to really want a player. Lets hope that, if we do decide to deal Peters, somebody out there decides to go for the proven commodity.