Has with every year during the draft teams are going to make trades during the first round. If the past two drafts are any indication teams are going to trade up and draft a quarterback. Both the Rams and Eagles traded up for franchise quarterbacks two drafts ago; the Texans and Chiefs followed suit and traded up for franchise quarterbacks. With the possibility of five quarterbacks (Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen, Baker Mayfield, Lamar Jackson, and Josh Allen) being selected in the first round quarterback-needy teams are going to trade up to get their own franchise quarterback. Assuming the Browns and Giants will draft quarterbacks one and two that leaves three quarterbacks left with teams such as the Broncos, Jets, Cardinals, and Dolphins vying for the remaining quarterbacks. The Bills could also be in play for a quarterback after trading away Tyrod Taylor. The following that are trades that the Jets, Broncos, Cardinals, Dolphins and Bills could each make to pick the quarterback they desire.
Jets trade up to Pick No 4:
Given that the Browns and Giants take quarterbacks number one and two that leaves the Colts at number three (one of the few teams at the top of the draft with a settled quarterback situation) drafting either pass rusher or offensive line help. New York trades up with the Browns to select their quarterback of choice. The Jets could offer the number 6 pick and next year’s second-round pick in either this year’s draft or next year’s draft. According to the NFL draft trade chart, the number 4 pick is worth 1800 points and the sixth overall pick is worth 1600 the Jets would have to increase the value by at least 200 points (mid-level third-round selection), however with recent deals in mind the Jets would have to overpay to make this trade.
Broncos trade up to Pick No. 2:
John Elway has had a revolving door at quarterback since Peyton Manning’s last year in Denver. Pedestrian signal-callers such as Brock Osweiler, Trever Siemian, and Paxton Lynch have taken snaps for the Broncos basically wasting away a championship defense that has already shown signs of slippage (Why Denver let Wade Phillips walk as a defensive coordinator is a mystery). Elway makes a win now type of move to draft a quarterback. Denver gives up the number five pick, a first round next year and a third-round pick to move up and take Elway’s quarterback of the future. This trade works out perfect for the Giants as they can add additional picks and use the number five pick for offensive line help.
Cardinals trade up to Pick No. 3:
Arizona is a tough situation. The good news is that the Cardinals have a veteran defense that can still shut down the best offenses in the NFL, the bad news is that both Head Coach Bruce Arians and Carson Palmer retired this off-season. The cost of moving up from #15 to #3 would be very high, but not having a good quarterback in the NFL is very costly. Arizona sends the 15th overall pick plus next year’s first round and a second-round pick to Indy for the #3 pick. Indy can still draft an impact player at fifteen plus have draft capital for next year.
Dolphins trade up to Pick No. 8:
In a typical draft moving up to number eight means that you have missed the quarterback carousel, however in this draft quarterback is a deep position. In this scenario, the Dolphins trade up with the Chicago Bears to move three spots to the 8th pick overall. Incumbent quarterback Ryan Tannehill has not shown the Dolphins enough during his career to be a franchise quarterback, so Miami may be in the market for a rookie quarterback that Head Coach Adam Case can mold into a franchise quarterback. Miami sends the 11th overall pick and a third-round pick to Chicago to move up to eight overall to select quarterback Lamar Jackson. I believe Jackson will fall due to questions about his accuracy (same could be said for Josh Allen) and the chatter of moving to wide receiver. Jackson played in a pro-style (ish) system in college and with the NFL going to a more shotgun RPO type passes Jackson transition to the NFL will be easier. Case was successful with a less talented quarterback in Denver during the Tebow era and should be able to acclimate Jackson to the NFL.
Bills Trade up to Pick No. 2:
The recent trade of Cody Glenn to the Bengals for the rights to swap first round picks points to the Bills loading up on draft capital to make a run at a quarterback this draft. While the Browns will surely hold on to the top selection to take a quarterback (maybe). Buffalo can offer #12, #22 and next year’s #1 pick to the Giants to take a quarterback. The Giants need more than a quarterback and would benefit from trading down in a quarterback-rich draft and acquiring more picks along the way. Buffalo lands either Darnold or Rosen with the number two pick and drafts offensive line help with their second-round pick.
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