As we stand here now, blinking in the million kilowatt glare of the Patriots' run at perfection, it's easy to lose sight of the fact that Bill Belichick may have pulled off the greatest move of his legendary career back on Draft Day.

The Pats, having already taken Brandon Merriweather with the 24th pick (which they got from Seattle for Deion Branch), were sitting on the 28th, which Belichick then flipped to San Francisco for a 4th rounder and their 1st rounder in 2008. For the 49ers, it seemed a small price to pay to grab Central Michigan OT Joe Staley. For the Pats, it seemed a good gamble since there was an 87.5% chance the '08 pick would be better than their own '07 pick. As it stands, the Niners are dropping like Ed Harris in "The Abyss." They're 2-7, losers of 7 straight and currently 4th in the draft order, and they're in danger of being passed St. Louis, who are simply a much better team with Steven Jackson back in their lineup.

Oh, and that 4th round throw-in pick (110th overall)? Belichick traded it to Oakland (who took immortal U of Cincinnati CB John Bowie) in exchange for Randy Moss.

Assuming the 49ers don't suddenly catch fire (they won't) or the Pats don't do something stupid with the pick (yeah, right), this move has every chance to be the greatest trade in NFL history. Moving up 24 spots in the draft, plus adding arguably the greatest wideout of all time? There's a short list of trades in its class:

• 1992: Green Bay gets Brett Favre out of Atlanta (and Jerry Glanville's doghouse) for the 19th pick. The Falcons take RB Tony Smith who gains 329 yds in his career.
• 1983: Denver gets John Elway from the Colts for QB Mark Hermann, OT Chris Hinton and a 1984 1st rounder, which became G Ron Solt.
• 1989: The Vikings and Cowboys make a deal that involved a 20-car pile up of draft picks, but in a nutshell Minnesota got Herschel Walker and Dallas ended up with Emmitt Smith, Darren Woodson and a dynasty.
• 1987: The Niners get Steve Young from Tampa for a 2nd and a 4th.
• 1977: Dallas gets the 2nd pick from Seattle for the 14th pick and three 2nds. Tex Schramm, knowing Tampa would blow the 1st pick on Ricky Bell, grabs Tony Dorsett, who wins a Super Bowl his rookie year.
• 1950: Detroit gets QB Bobby Lane from the NY Bulldogs for End Bobby Mann. Layne wins 3 NFL titles and passes for 25,000 yds.
• 2006: Tom Brady trades Briget for Giselle.