Trading down in the NFL Draft can be tricky. If the right player is on the board, teams might want to snatch him up. Sometimes teams have good reasons for trading down.
It is easy to focus on the team that traded up for many assets. However, it's not unusual for the team that traded down to be the “winner” of the deal.
With that in mind, which teams should consider trading down this year?
4 – Arizona Cardinals
This one is circumstantial. If they decide to trade Josh Rosen, the Cardinals must draft their new quarterback.
However, if the Cardinals decide to keep Rosen, they need to trade this pick. The first pick will warrant a hefty return. With that, they can truly build around Rosen. They can easily snatch up at least three extra picks and work on the porous offensive line and give Rosen more targets.
The Cardinals have a lot of needs. That's probably why they're still hesitant on what they're doing at the draft. Selecting a quarterback means they wasted last year's first-round pick; they now have even less help for their new quarterback.
If they decide to stick with Rosen, this is the perfect chance to retool. Trading down will allow them to focus on everything else.
3 – Washington Redskins
This is also circumstantial; this situation depends entirely on the Arizona Cardinals. The Redskins are good candidates to move up. Finding a way to get Dwayne Haskins in the NFL Draft would be a massive win for the team.
However, if the Redskins can trade for Josh Rosen, that changes a lot, especially if they can use something like a second- or third-round pick.
If the Redskins pull that off, they will have a first-round pick to play with.
They have a lot of needs. A linebacker or wide receiver should be near the top of their list. They could also use help at left guard and cornerback.
However, there's a strong possibility that their targets at those positions would be available at 15. The players lower than those targets probably wouldn't be worth the 15th pick.
If the Redskins trade down, they can do exactly what the Cardinals could do: Retool for Rosen.
Washington is already set at running back. Getting Rosen a wide receiver would be a main priority.
The Redskins would be able to answer their left guard and receiver problems this way. They would be able to find help on defense as well.
2 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Buccaneers need help at quite a few positions. They could use their first pick in the NFL Draft to get a superstar and hopefully fast-track their turnaround. The hope is that Jameis Winston can still be their franchise quarterback.
Quite a few teams could be desperate for a quarterback. The Buccaneers will get calls about their No. 5 overall pick. It could be much more beneficial to them to trade back and use multiple picks to restock.
The fifth pick would also give Tampa Bay a heavy return. The Bucs could trade with a team just a few spots down and still get a second-rounder or maybe multiple other picks as well.
Doing this would give the Buccaneers a chance to get a superstar player in the first round, but also extra picks later in the draft.
1 – Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams are in the same boat the New England Patriots occupied for years. There are no pressing issues they need to address in the NFL Draft.
With that in mind, the Rams can play with their pick (31st). They can use it to draft a player they think could help the team immediately, or they could trade back and stockpile draft picks.
This is something the Patriots did a lot. They would stockpile picks and find gems later in the draft.
This gave them plenty of depth and assets to trade.
The Rams are now in that position. They can use their picks to trade up for a higher pick later, or to get immediate help.
Admittedly, the 31st pick isn't going to get a massive return. They could still easily get an extra pick out of the deal, though; those are incredibly valuable.
Follow Us
Subscribe