Assume that Samuel costs a first-round pick and a second-round pick and that he agrees to extension matching what Hill really got, which was about $75 million in guaranteed money during the first three years of the extension .
As a matter of fact, for argument’s sake, we’ll even grant that this draft class doesn’t have a lot of remarkable first-round talent. That’s OK, too. The Eagles desperately need an interior defensive lineman, an edge rusher, a linebacker, and a safety. All of those positions will be well-represented at picks Nos. 15 and 18.
At any rate, no receiver would cost more than $18 million total for five seasons, according to the projected rookie contracts scale published by. That’s a savings of about $62 million — and you’d have that first-round rookie under contract for a fifth year.
Or it's like giving a kid with a learners permit a professional driver to help him.