It’s NFL Draft week and the excitement is building for teams to make their franchise-altering moves and selections. As always, we’ll be watching for the trades that teams make to move up in the draft, so they can secure "their guy"...and what they'll have to give up in order to have him.
Over the years, most teams have traded up to select a quarterback who they think can be their starter. Just last year, the 49ers traded up for Trey Lance and the Bears traded up for Justin Fields.
In the history of the draft, there have been 29 other times that teams paid a heavy price to move up and take a quarterback they thought would make them better and save their franchise.
We can look back and see how these moves have worked and proved to be worth giving up significant draft capital to get the right guy. Three of the top quarterbacks in the NFL right now were drafted by a team that went up to get them.
The Chiefs traded three picks for Patrick Mahomes...the Ravens traded three picks for Lamar Jackson...and the Bills sent three picks to Tampa Bay so they could take Josh Allen.
On the flip side, when teams have traded up for a quarterback who didn't fulfill their expectations, the mistakes have proven to be costly.
Over the years, we’ve seen Cleveland move up four spots to take Johnny Manziel and another time sent a second-round pick and a first-round pick to select Brady Quinn in the first round. Then we saw the Eagles give up a first, second, and third-rounder to the Browns so they could move up six spots to take Carson Wentz.
We’ve witnessed the Packers trade up for Jordan Love, the Jets move up to take Mark Sanchez, and then do the same thing with Sam Darnold. The Jaguars made a move for Blaine Gabbert, Washington traded four picks for Robert Griffin III, Denver gave up three picks for Tim Tebow, the Rams traded six picks for the first overall pick, Jared Goff, and the Bears traded five picks for Mitchell Trubisky.
Some of these players provided a few highlights and won some games, but ultimately, they weren't real franchise quarterbacks a team could trust and rely on for the long haul.
The questions for us to consider today are... What are we “trading up for” in our own lives? Are we willing to give up whatever's necessary to follow Jesus and select Him above all else? Are we giving up the sins of this world to “trade up” for everything God offers us through His Son, Jesus? Are we willing to pay a heavy price to “move up” and choose Jesus because we know He saves us and makes us better? When we truly believe Jesus is the “right guy,” we know it’s worth trading “significant draft capital” like money, success, power, and lust in order to have Him. Jesus tells us in Matthew 13:44-46 (NLT), “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field. “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!” On the flip side, many people are pursuing the “wrong quarterback” and what they “traded up for” has been a costly mistake. Instead of a life with Jesus, they’ve gone after something else. They quickly realize it doesn’t live up to expectations, isn’t fulfilling what they truly needed, and even if it provided a few highlights, it ultimately isn’t worth trusting in or relying on for the long haul. It’s not a “franchise quarterback.” The Message translation of Romans 1:21-25 explains, “…What happened was this: People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn’t treat Him like God, refusing to worship Him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives. "They pretended to know it all, but were illiterate regarding life. They traded the glory of God who holds the whole world in His hands for cheap figurines you can buy at any roadside stand. "So God said, in effect, 'If that’s what you want, that’s what you get.' It wasn’t long before they were living in a pigpen, smeared with filth, filthy inside and out. And all this because they traded the true God for a fake god, and worshiped the god they made instead of the God who made them—the God we bless, the God who blesses us. Oh, yes!”
We know what happens to NFL teams who trade up for the wrong quarterback because it isn’t long before their franchise is a mess. Unlike NFL teams who don’t really know if a quarterback is worth trading up for, we do know that Jesus was and is, and always will be worth trading up for. Thankfully, His grace covers us for our previous “bad trades,” and welcomes us with open arms. Let’s make Him our “franchise quarterback” because we can trust Him and rely on Him for the long haul.
I’m Bryce Johnson and you can UNPACK that!
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, please forgive me for the dumb things I’ve chosen instead of You. Thank You for Your grace and for allowing me to know You through Jesus. Please help me to trade away anything that gets in the way of living the life You’ve called me into. Thank you for allowing me to build my life around You. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.
Discussion Questions for PACKS:
What have you traded away or given up in order to "select" and follow Jesus?
Is there anything in your life you're worshiping more than God that needs to be traded away today?
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