Expert Analysis

4/18/22

4 min read

Draft Day Trades We Would Like To See

Draft Day Trades We Would Like To See

Each year, the NFL and their fans approach the draft with intrigue of the unknown and the potential for excitement. In NFL buildings, as the finishing touches are getting placed on the stacks and the draft board, calls with teams for potential trade partners ramp up. Some are done prior to the draft, some are agreed on in principle, some are contingent on a player falling and some are spur of the moment. I have been a part of all types of trades, most notably trading up to No. 6 to draft Mark Sanchez. Here are some trades that I would like to see in this upcoming 2022 NFL Draft.

Baker Mayfield to Tampa Bay for a 2022 4th Round Pick

The Browns made a decisive decision this offseason by bringing in Deshaun Watson for a substantial price in terms of picks and guaranteed money, which led to them moving on from Baker Mayfield. This move feels necessary for both sides. 

Let Baker sit for a year and learn as much wisdom from Tom Brady and Byron Leftwich as possible. Let him use this season as an investment in his future and take in all the gifts that Tom has to give in terms of professionalism and preparation. This would be very similar to what Mitch Trubisky did this past season with Buffalo. 

Cleveland would have to eat most of Mayfield’s contract for this trade to happen due to the cap space situation in Tampa. The Buccaneers currently have $3.955M in cap space (per OverTheCap). Baker has shown flashes of great and poor over the past two seasons having the 12th-most Big Time Throws (51, per PFF) and the 10th-most turnover worthy plays (37) minimum 100 dropbacks. 

DK Metcalf to the New York Jets for the 10th overall pick

These two teams (Jets and Seahawks) connect again after the Jamal Adams trade. The Seahawks get their 10th overall pick back in this exchange. For the Jets and Seahawks, this should be a perfect storm. The Jets are in need of a front-line WR and the Seahawks are in the middle of a rebuild. 

Having two picks in the top 10 would go a long way in helping the progression of the Jets offense. With the Jets reportedly missing out on Tyreek Hill after he preferred Miami, they are in the market for a top-end WR. Metcalf would be a safety blanket for Zach Wilson as he tries to improve upon an up-and-down 2021 rookie season. 

The Seahawks are in need of draft picks and could have a hard time going through a rebuild quickly without top-end picks. With both the 9th and 10th overall pick they could make a drastic improvement to their OL and DL.

Metcalf had the 10th-most explosive receptions (15+ yards) of any receiver this past season. The Jets have combined for the 7th-least explosive receptions over the past two seasons.

Houston trades picks No. 37 and 108 (4th round) to Detroit for pick No. 32

Moving up five spots puts Houston at 32 (through the Rams) for Matt Corral, who has more long term upside than Davis Mills. Like Teddy Bridgewater and Lamar Jackson, Corral goes with the last pick of the 1st round, which gives Houston five years on his contract. 

If Houston were to sit at pick 37 and a QB falls to them, they would only be have the player under contract for four years. Adding a late first round pick would allow for Houston to have one more year of control of the prospect due to the 5th year option given to teams for first round picks. This allows a prospect such as Corral to develop further with the team that drafted him.

Last season, the Texans had the worst Big Play Differential (-68) in the NFL with only 50 big passes for, which tied for worst in the league with the Titans. During the 2021 CFB season, Matt Corral had 76 completions that could be defined as big passes (16+ yards).

 

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