NFL Draft 2022: Trading Places?

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Trades are part and parcel of the NFL Draft. A team’s draft needs and big board preferences very rarely match up with their available draft capital. Deals are there to be done, particularly as teams are in different stages of team building. Those who are in rebuild mode may be more than happy to trade down to acquire more picks either for this year or the next. Teams who feel they are contenders may feel they need to trade up to obtain the final piece of the puzzle. So where could the trades happen on opening night of the 2022 NFL Draft?

Pittsburgh Steelers (20th) & New York Giants (7th)

Why might this happen?

The Steelers are primed to take their next quarterback and may like “their guy” enough to jump all the way up from 20th. Other teams in potential need of a shiny new QB lie in wait (Carolina 6th, Atlanta 8th) so the Steelers may need to be bold here. The Giants are likely trade partners as they are in a rebuild under the new regime of Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll. The sweetener of a 2023 1st round pick could tip the balance, and still leave the Giants with one of their two top 10 picks this year. Pittsburgh may need to jump all the way to 5 but my hunch would be they wait and if the Panthers take an offensive lineman, another glaring need, then expect the Steelers to make a play for the 7th overall pick.

What would it cost?

Pittsburgh Steelers receive 7th overall pick.

New York Giants received the 20th pick plus the 84th pick and Steelers 2023 1st round pick.

Philadelphia Eagles (15th) & Seattle Seahawks (9th)

Why might this happen?

Let’s continue along the lines of the above scenario. The Steelers have traded up and taken a QB and the Falcons have followed up by taking another. This might leave Seattle with the option of Matt Corral but they would possibly not want to pay the 9th pick for him (we’ll return to this later). We can expect a run on wide receivers to start around pick 10 (New York Jets) and 11 (Washington Commanders). Philadelphia’s front office is not afraid to trade up on the night (see Devonta Smith from 2021) and they love a first round wide receiver. Seattle, for their part, also like to move around the board and acquire more picks. 

What would it cost?

Philadelphia Eagles receive 9th overall pick.

Seattle Seahawks receive the 15th pick plus the 83rd and 124th picks.

Kansas City Chiefs (29th) & New Orleans Saints (19th)

Why might this happen?

The Chiefs sit with the 29th and 30th picks and four day 2 picks. This gives them plenty of room for manoeuvre. If a player starts to slide down the board the Chiefs could make a move to get up to around 19. Again this could be for a receiver as it is expected that as many as 7 or 8 may go on the first night. Both the Packers at 22 and the Cardinals at 23 could feasibly be looking in that direction. The Saints, also with 2 first round picks, might be content to pick at 16 then trade down to accumulate more valuable day 2 capital. 

What would it cost?

Kansas City Chiefs receive 19th overall pick.

New Orleans Saints receive the 29th pick and the 50th pick.

Seattle Seahawks (40th & 41st) & Tennessee Titans (26th)

Why might it happen?

Even if the Seahawks don’t execute the trade mentioned earlier they may be interested in dealing their early day 2 picks to jump into the back end of day 1, particularly if a QB they like is available. The Titans might be a willing trade partner as their roster is reasonably strong but they have no 2nd round picks this year. Given there will be plenty of quality players to select from early day 2 they may value two slightly later bites of the cherry to just the one.

What would it cost?

Seattle Seahawks receive the 26th overall pick and the 131st pick.

Tennessee Titans receive the 40th and 41st overall pick.

New York Jets (35th) and the Cincinnati Bengals (31st)

Why might it happen?

The Jets are swimming in draft capital. They have four picks inside the top 40. Expect them to stick and pick 4th and 10th but what if they have another top prospect they covet who may have fallen steadily lower as opening night has progressed. Although they pick early on day 2 they have the Detroit Lions ahead of them at 32 and 34. Maybe they decide to jump one place ahead of them? Could the current AFC Champions, the Bengals, be content to slip out of round 1 and improve their day 2 capital? 

What would it cost?

New York Jets receive the 31st overall pick and 95th pick.

Cincinnati Bengals receive the 35th and 69th pick.

What do you think? Any of these likely to happen when the action kicks off next Thursday night? Let us know @NinetynineYards and enjoy the NFL Draft!