Expert Analysis

5/3/22

7 min read

Who Won The Most Important 2022 Draft Trades?

Who Won The Most Important 2022 Draft Trades?

After taking a look at how every single 2022 NFL Draft trade stacks up via the Fitzgerald-Spielberger value chart and Jimmy Johnson value chart, here we highlight and grade the most important trades that went down during the draft.

Keep in mind: This is factoring in if the team traded again later, and assessing the picks they actually made. Out grades are not simply reflecting the values from Fitzgerald-Spielberger and Jimmy Johnson charts.

NEW ORLEANS acquires the 11th overall pick from WASHINGTON

The Saints made the first trade of the night to move up 5 spots and select WR Chris Olave. Olave went immediately after his college teammate Garrett Wilson. In exchange, Washington got a late round 3rd and mid round 4th. 

Given how the remaining first round trades went, it seems like Washington could have gotten more out of this deal. The Fitzgerald-Spielberger and Jimmy Johnson charts differed on who won the trade. 

With the 16th pick, Washington took a receiver of their own in Penn State’s Jahan Dotson. At 98 the Commanders selected Alabama RB Brian Robinson Jr. Washington also traded pick 120 to the Panthers in exchange for picks 144 and 149 where they selected UNC QB Sam Howell and Nevada TE Cole Turner. 

All in all, Washington wound up with 3 extra selections within the top 150 from moving back 5 spots. In order to get #16 in the first place, the Saints sent a future 1st, 2nd and 3rd to the Eagles. New Orleans played a bit loose with their draft capital. Time will tell if it was worth it in order to get Olave. 

Commanders: B+

Saints: C

DETROIT acquires the 12th overall pick from MINNESOTA

The Lions moved up 20 spots in the 1st as well as 20 spots in the 2nd by simply giving up the 34th overall pick. All in all, Vikings first year general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah made 6 trades in his first draft - two of which were with NFC North rivals. 

After some more maneuvering, this trade wound up netting Minnesota 32, 42, 59, 66, 165, 169, and 227. When you look at it this way, and taking into account giving up 3 other selections, here is how it looks:

With these picks, Minnesota selected S Lewis Cine, CB Andrew Booth Jr. OG Ed Ingram, LB Brian Asamoah, DT Esezi Otomewo, RB Ty Chandler, and TE Nick Muse. 

Adofo-Mensah has largely been heralded as the “analytics-GM” and he certainly lived up to his nickname with his Draft Day-like willingness to trade.

Vikings: B

Lions: A

2022 Draft Trades
PHILADELPHIA acquires the 13th overall pick from HOUSTON

The Eagles gave up three Day 3 picks in order to move up 2 spots in round 1 to select Georgia DT Jordan Davis. It was a massive haul for the rebuilding Texans who selected Texas A&M OG Kenyon Green at 15. 

Houston wound up moving all three of the picks that the Eagles traded them, as well as a few others, in order to move up on three separate occasions. 

Looking at the overall maneuvering that resulted from the round 1 trade, the Texans actually wound up losing a pick and getting conflicting values based on the charts. The four players they eventually got were Green, Alabama WR John Metchie III, Alabama LB Christian Harris, and Stanford DT Thomas Booker.

Texans: B

Eagles: C+

2022 Draft Trades

PHILADELPHIA acquires AJ Brown from TENNESSEE

Instead of selecting a rookie WR, the Eagles chose to trade a 1st and 3rd to Tennessee for the 4th year receiver out of Ole Miss. The trade was conditioned on signing Brown to a 4 year, $100 million extension with more than $57 million guaranteed.

This trade says alot about how the Eagles and Titans both looked at the wide receivers remaining on the board at 18. Tennessee was willing to take a chance on Arkansas WR Treylon Burks, whereas the Eagles would rather pay $25 million per year and give up #101 in order to bet on the more sure thing in AJ Brown. 

Tennessee traded #101 (along with #26) later in Day 1 to the Jets in exchange for picks 35, 69, and 163. All in all, here is how the Titans' trades panned out. 

Tennessee made out in a BIG way with their two round 1 trades. Both the Fitzgerald-Spielberger and the Jimmy Johnson charts have the Titans making out with the equivalent of a 1st round pick. In addition, they saved roughly $48 million over the next four years. 

Eagles: A-

Titans: A

2022 Draft Trades

KANSAS CITY acquires the 21st overall pick from NEW ENGLAND

The Chiefs traded up 8 slots in the first round to select Washington CB Trent McDuffie. The Chiefs needed secondary help badly after losing S Tyrann Mathieu and CB Chavarius Ward in free agency. 

The Patriots wound up selecting Tennessee-Chattanooga OG Cole Strange in the first round - which was a major shock to some. The wound up trading out of #94 to acquire #137 and a 2023 3rd round pick. All in all, this is how this trade wound up for New England. 

New England wound up selecting Strange, Arizona State CB Jack Jones, and Western Kentucky QB Bailey Zappe. We will need to wait until next year to see who the 2023 3rd round pick turns into. 

Patriots: B+

Chiefs: B

2022 Draft Trades

BALTIMORE acquires the 23rd overall pick from ARIZONA

In order to move up for another first round pick, the Ravens traded a 3rd and former 2019 1st rounder WR Hollywood Brown. The trade makes more sense for Arizona now that news broke about DeAndre Hopkins’ 6-game suspension for violating the NFL’s Performance Enhancement Drug Policy. Brown was valued as the equivalent to a 3rd round pick in this trade. With #100, Arizona selected Cincinatti edge rusher Myjai Sanders. 

Baltimore traded #23 to Buffalo in the next trade on this list. 

Cardinals: C

Ravens: A

BUFFALO acquired the 23rd overall pick from BALTIMORE

The Bills gave up a 4th round pick in order to move up 2 slots and take Florida CB Kaiir Elam. The Bills were expected to take a corner coming into the draft and leapfrogged the  Cowboys in order to do it. 

Baltimore wound up taking Iowa C Tyler Linderbaum at #25 — the consensus top center in this class. All in all, Baltimore gave up 100 and Hollywood Brown for 25 and 130. At #130, Baltimore selected Penn State’s Jordan Stout, the first punter off the board.

This was truly a win-win for both teams. Buffalo got a CB2 opposite Tre’Davious White. Baltimore got the best center available which was a big need after letting Bradley Bozeman leave in free agency.

Ravens: A

Bills: A

NEW YORK JETS acquire the 26th overall pick from TENNESSEE

The Jets traded back into the 1st round to take their third selection of the night in FSU edge rusher Jermaine Johnson II. New York also picked up pick 101 where they took 6-foot-5 ½ Ohio State TE Jeremy Ruckert. With 5 picks in the first two days, the Jets were able to add the 1st RB, 2nd CB, 2nd TE, 2nd WR, and the 4th edge rusher off the board. This is a massive haul for a team who is on the back end of a rebuild and hopes to compete for a playoff spot in the near future.

With their three picks, Tennessee took Auburn CB Roger McCreary, Ohio State OT Nicholas Petit-Frere, and UCLA WR Kyle Phillips. These are three great players as well. Phillips is one of the best slot WRs in the draft. McCreary and Petit-Frere have both played against top competition in the SEC and Big 10 and should immediately compete for starting jobs at slot corner and right tackle, respectively. 

Titans: B+

Jets: A

JACKSONVILLE acquires the 27th overall pick from TAMPA BAY

In the final Day 1 trade, Jacksonville gave up two Day 3 picks to move up 6 spots back into the 1st round. At #27, Jacksonville selected Utah LB Devin Lloyd (the 2nd LB off the board) to pair with #1 overall DL Travon Walker. 

Tampa wound up trading away 180 to Buffalo later in the draft to move up 3 slots in the second round. Here is how Tampa’s maneuvering left them:

2022 Draft Trades

With their remaining draft capital, Tampa Bay wound up selecting Houston DT Logan Hall, Central Michigan OT Luke Goedeke, and Washington TE Cade Otton. All three stand to get significant playing time as replacements for Ndamukong Suh, Ali Marpet, and Rob Gronkowski, respectively.

Buccaneers: B+

Jaguars: B

Find our analysis of every single 2022 NFL Draft Trade Here

RELATED