Do we know if Peppers can play from the outside coming from an upright position?
Do we know if he can drop into a zone?
We know he can't anchor the point of attack that will be required in a 3-4... the book on Peppers was run directly at him.
With that, IMO, the risk would have been great if we just signed him a a UFA.. but now, giving up a premium pick to get the rights to hand him over a brinks truck worth of cash.
Haynesworth got 41 million guaranteed, you think Peppers, whom has a pretty clean history compared to Albert is going to settle for 30 Million.. I think that is wishful thinking..
Don't get me wrong, I would love to see Peppers in the Green and Gold, without a single doubt.
But at some points the cost of such an endeavor outweigh the potential returns... you are absolutely correct that the #9 pick will have some risk to it. And no, I don't like handing a fortune over to an unproven player.. albeit, if we do are job correctly.. we will mitigate that risk by choosing wisely.
Riskier than I would like.. if we knew 100% that Peppers would play to the level capable and make the transition with great success I would be more in favor.. as it is.. too much risk verse potential reward.
"The oranges are dry; the apples are mealy; and the papayas... I don't know what's going on with the papayas!"