FOOTBALL gravity has finally – and forcibly – dragged Hawthorn back to earth.

The question is how long the Hawks will remain grounded.

To take flight again, Hawthorn needs an urgent transfusion of young talent, much like the draft-brewed one that brought in Jarryd Roughead, Lance Franklin, Jordan Lewis and Grant Birchall in Alastair Clarkson's first two years at the club.

However, the Hawks' wildly ambitious 2016 NAB AFL Trade Period decimated the club's hand in the next two drafts. 

Hawthorn hoped to defy the equalisation pull of the draft and salary cap when it traded for Sun Jaeger O'Meara and Swan Tom Mitchell, figuring the midfield pair could help fill the void left by departed stars Sam Mitchell and Jordan Lewis. 

The Hawks might eventually be proven right. O'Meara and Mitchell are both 23 and have made promising starts to their careers in the brown and gold. 

But the trades were done exclusively with draft picks, pushing Hawthorn's first pick in last year's draft back to No.74 and this year's back to Greater Western Sydney's second-round selection, a pick likely to fall in the early 30s at the earliest.

Hawthorn's surprise 0-4 start to 2017 – and its 86-point capitulations to Gold Coast and Geelong in the past two rounds – means the O'Meara deal could cost them their first top-five draft pick since 2005, with the Hawks trading their first pick in this year's NAB AFL Draft to St Kilda as part of a related trade. 

That trade with St Kilda was considered so lop-sided some football figures were surprised the AFL ticked it off – the Hawks traded their 2017 first-round pick and picks No.23 and No.36 in last year's draft for the Saints' No.10 and No.68 selections – and it now looks nothing short of a Saints heist. 

Worse still for the Hawks, the O'Meara and Mitchell deals not only clipped the Hawks' draft wings, they also severely weakened their trade position at the end of this season.

Without a first-round pick, the Hawks have little draft currency to land a big fish. They could trade their 2018 first-round pick, but would they do that knowing it's likely to again fall at the pointy end of the draft? Especially after they've watched the Saints cash in on their demise this year? 

Hawthorn wouldn't be on the radar of superstar free agent Nat Fyfe anymore. Picture: AFL Photos

They don't have a huge amount of player trade bait either.

Premiership Hawks Liam Shiels, Isaac Smith, Taylor Duryea, Will Langford, Paul Puopolo and Ben Stratton don't have the lustre they had two years ago when they were supporting stars such as Sam Mitchell, Luke Hodge, Jordan Lewis and Shaun Burgoyne.

And the remaining big-name Hawks – primarily Roughead, Cyril Rioli and Jack Gunston – are presumably untouchable.

Luke Breust could have been off-loaded for a free agency compensation pick if a suitably attractive rival offer was forthcoming, but the Hawks elected to re-sign the forward for four years last month.

So although Hawthorn has already been linked with, among other out-of-contract players, Suns co-captain Steven May, it's almost impossible to see them getting such a deal done.

Which leaves free agency as the only realistic avenue via which Hawthorn can dramatically improve its list this year.

But the self-titled destination club carries severe travel warnings since its sudden plummet down the ladder.

Where the Hawks were able to beat other clubs to sign prized free agent James Frawley and trade targets such as Burgoyne, Gunston, Josh Gibson and O'Meara – often for less money than was on offer elsewhere – Hawthorn can no longer rely on the lure of premiership success.

If 2017's biggest free agency fish, Nat Fyfe, decides to leave Fremantle to chase immediate on-field success, Hawthorn would not be on his radar. 

Similarly, star Richmond free agent Dustin Martin would see a brighter short to mid-term future at Punt Road.

Where the Hawks once had the appeal of a young Brad Pitt, they now resemble an elderly Benjamin Button.

Like Button they, too, can reverse the ravages of time.

But despite last year's bull-in-the-china-shop trade period, they're most likely to regenerate via the draft. 

It's going to take some time. Even with the odd trade or free agency short-cut.

Have your say

From within a kick of reaching a preliminary final, to bottom of the ladder with an 0-4 record and a pitiful percentage of 56.

We want your views on exactly why it's going so badly, so quickly for the Hawks.

Let us know your take on the Hawks' demise via the form below.

We'll publish the best responses on Thursday morning.