I've always loved Tate, and when the Hawks let him go I was comping him to Hines Ward and saying it was a huge mistake.
At the same time though, I also understood why they did it, and thought that Percy Harvin was a great addition for them.
in retrospect the money and (in particular) the draft capital they've burned trying to replace Golden Tate when they could have resigned him at 6 APY is terrifying and mind-boggling.
I mean, I just went back and checked and since letting Tate walk they've spent WAY MORE than a full draft in draft capital at the WR position, and have incredibly little to show for it.
We're talking the following picks to try to replace or improve on Tate's production (which by any measure has been unsuccessful): 1, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 5, 6, 7, 7, 7
(players for these picks are Harvin, Harper, Norwood, Richardson, Lockett, Lawler, Moore, Darboh).