There was a lot of the buzz surrounding the trade that sent wide receiver Percy Harvin from the Vikings to the Seahawks, the trade was made official today (March 12th). There was the notion that this was a coup for Seattle to add the 2009 Offensive Rookie of the Year to a team that’s already so powerful and seems so close to a championship. Furthermore, what a crushing blow must this be for the Vikings to lose their only viable offensive playmaker; aside from Adrian Peterson who said when he learned of the trade, it felt like getting “kicked in the stomach”; for a team that already struggled to score points on par with the elite offenses of the NFL.



Who won?

The buzz certainly seems to indicate that the Seahawks were the winners of this trade but the facts, when dug through more thoroughly, show otherwise.

First of all, while Minnesota was 5-4 in the nine games Harvin played in last season, the Vikings were 5-2 without the former Florida Gator. What’s particularly encouraging for the Vikings is the bounty of draft picks they accrued; a first-rounder and seventh-rounder this year, as well as a mid-round pick in 2014; by trading Harvin, and it’s curious that a team like the Seahawks that owes so much of its recent success to the talent they’ve been able to spot in all rounds of the draft, would part with the aforementioned selections.

A first-round pick under the recently-implemented rookie wage scale that locks first-round picks in for four years and $22 million, with a team option for the fifth year, as opposed to 2010 and earlier, when high draft picks were guaranteed anywhere from $30 to 50 million just for signing, makes that pick particularly valuable for the Vikings and costly for the Seahawks.



Seattle Concerns?

What worries me about this trade from Seattle’s perspective is that they seem to be misjudging Harvin’s skill set in relation to the strengths of the roster they’ve already assembled. Harvin’s biggest fans and supporters point to his status as a triple threat; his ability to impact the game as a receiver, rusher, and kick returner; as the trait that makes him one of the NFL’s most dangerous players.

The Seahawks likely intend to use him as a slot receiver opposite his former Viking teammate, Sidney Rice. But the Hawks already have a couple of talented young slot receivers in Doug Baldwin (age 24, 80 receptions, 1,154 yards, 7 touchdown receptions through his first two seasons) and Golden Tate (age 24, 101 receptions, 1,297 yards, 10 touchdown receptions through his first three seasons).

If Pete Carroll and Co. intend to use Harvin as a complementary rusher to Marshawn Lynch, this will limit the touches of second-year tailback Robert Turbin, who averaged 4.4 yards per carry in 2012, and whose 354 rushing yards were more than Harvin has amassed in any single season of his career.

If Seattle wants to make Harvin their primary kick returner, this will limit the impact of Leon Washington, who reached the Pro Bowl for the Seahawks as a kick returner in 2012. How sure are we that Harvin is the dependable superstar he’s been billed as, anyway? He’s coming off a season in which he missed 7 games, has only played a full 16-game regular season once through his first 4 years in the league, he’s only 5’11” and about 180 pounds, and he has a history of migraine headaches.



Problem with Coaches?

Also, most reports surrounding the trade have suggested that the Vikings’ impetuses for dealing Harvin were his persistent criticism of and obvious lack of faith in quarterback Christian Ponder and feuds he had with head coach Leslie Frazier. When Harvin butted heads with former Vikings head coach Brad Childress early in his career, not much attention was paid to it, because Childress has a reputation for not fostering great relationships with his players. However, Frazier is regarded as one of the classiest, most personable, most well-liked coaches in the business. If Harvin can’t get along with Frazier, what coach can he get along with?

In conclusion, he’s entering the final year of his contract. Add it all up and there’s more than a few reasons for Carroll and Seahawks general manager John Schneider to have buyer’s remorse, and for Frazier and Vikings general manager to sense the light at the end of the tunnel.