There have been a number of NFL Draft rumors swirling regarding which teams may be in the market to move up or down. Among them: the St. Louis Rams and Houston Texans have both been identified as teams considering moving down, while the Atlanta Falcons have been speculated as a team interested in moving up.
Sports Illustrated’s Peter King identified five teams that are most likely to make draft day trades, given the number of picks and their positions in the draft order. Those teams are the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Rams, Baltimore Ravens, and New York Jets.
The Browns have eight picks in the top 150, and first-year general manager Ray Farmer has enough ammo to get the team picking fourth to second or third. Cleveland has needs at defensive back, wide receiver, and quarterback, and two picks in the first round. Having so many picks allows the team, theoretically, to draft the best player at No. 4 and trade up to get its quarterback later on.
The Lions have six picks in the first four rounds, with needs in the secondary and at receiver, and the team has been linked to both Sammy Watkins and Mike Evans. If Watkins slips past the Oakland Raiders picking fifth, the Lions have the ability to strike while the iron is hot and grab the Clemson standout. Or if Watkins is off the board, Detroit can opt to use its extra picks to grab the highly coveted Evans, creating a palpable receiving corps that includes Calvin Johnson and free-agent addition Golden Tate.
St. Louis has been known to be aggressively shopping the No. 2 overall pick since the NFL owner’s meetings. The team has the luxury of also holding the 13th overall pick, thanks to the RGIII trade with the Washington Redskins. The Rams don’t need a quarterback, but could select Watkins or tackle Greg Robinson. Trading out of the two-spot still allows the Rams to fill those needs, just later in the first round or beyond.
The Ravens own six picks in the first four rounds, too, so general manager Ozzie Newsome might have enough to offer if there’s a player he truly covets and needs to trade up for. King mentions Evans or edge rushers Anthony Barr and Khalil Mack as other targets of Newsome, both of whom will likely be off the board in the top 10. Picking 16th, Newsome might have to use those extra picks to go after those players.
The Jets also have six picks in the top four rounds, allowing second-year general manager John Idzik to fill some big needs. The team needs a cornerback to replace the departed Antonio Cromartie, and if the team is truly out of the DeSean Jackson sweepstakes then the team needs to find a receiver opposite Eric Decker. King expects the Jets to nab a corner in the first two rounds. The XN Mock Draft 1.0 projects New York to land Marqise Lee with the 18th pick.
