Trading midseason does not cost you a premium, that is made up and I have no idea where you're grabbing that from. I already said let's stop saying that because it is completely false, and I already proved it wrong. It's case by case, using blanket statements like that is ridiculous.
Need more? Jamie Collins for a 3rd. Are the Patriots not an annual contender? Patriots got Kyle Van Noy for a 6th. Where's the premium? Aqib Talib for a 3rd. Randy Moss for a 3rd. Marshawn Lynch for a 4th and 5th.
Are these Hurns level players?
Why why why idgit? I just pointed out Gordon was traded for a 5th and you reply with this?
In conclusion, I'll map it out.
1. Midseason you pay a discount, not a premium. That's pretty obvious given history and bad teams wanting to unload in order to get better draft position. You get more bang for your buck midseason than offseason.
2. There's already evidence that some WR who would be a significant upgrade have been made available(Cooper and Hilton). So while you might think there isnt any available, there is. It's been made public that there is.
Aqib Talib was traded for a 5th, and that was out-of-season, and a good trade.
Kyle Van Noy was a great trade for the Patriots. But he was a bust in DET and they got him for a song. That's not what we're discussing here. If we're talking giving up a 6th and getting back a WR we think has a shot and a 7th, great.
If you're talking about the trade that sent Moss to NE, that was for a 4th and out-of-season, but it was a great trade. The trade from the Pats to the Vikes was in-season. It was for a 3rd rounder (which is a one round premium--3 years later--to his previous trade. He didn't even last 4 weeks.
Lynch was traded out-of-season. Gordon has a huge history, and was traded, injured, after reportedly showing up and behaving strangely with the Browns. He's played 3 games in NE and has 124 yards and 1 TD. He's missed two seasons due to substance abuse.
Mid-season trades are basically for bad teams to cut their salary cap losses and unload players to good teams who still happen to have cap room. That's fine, if the guy you're acquiring is capable and you don't mind giving up picks and taking on the contract obligation. What it's more likely to do, though, is get you a guy like Amari Cooper who's relatively expensive for his production and who would have to be extended as a condition of the trade. I just don't have a lot of interest in a guy like that. If the deal is sweet enough, sure. But I don't see that happening.