Trade Offers Commanders Would Have to Consider for No. 2 Pick in 2024 NFL Draft
Plenty of mystery still surrounds the early first round of the 2024 NFL draft, and trades could become a big piece of the equation.
It's pretty much a given that the Chicago Bears will keep the No. 1 overall pick and use it on a quarterback. The general assumption is that the Washington Commanders will then use the second pick on a signal-caller.
This doesn't mean that teams won't try to obtain one of the first two picks, and the Commanders are getting calls. On Saturday, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported on SportsCenter that Washington is expected to draft Jayden Daniels or Drake Maye at No. 2 but isn't fully decided:
"I've talked to a team source who said they are still open with a thorough process. They have not made a firm determination on which direction they're going," Fowler said (h/t Bleacher Report's Adam Wells).
As Fowler noted, the chance to land an elite QB prospect at No. 2 doesn't present itself often. However, it's not the only opportunity that could emerge that Washington finds too good to ignore.
Here's a look at five hypothetical but realistic trade offers that Commanders would have to at least consider.
Bears Offer Up the No. 1 Pick
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Commanders Get: 2024 Round 1 Pick (No. 1)
Bears Get: 2024 Round 1 Pick (No. 2), 2024 Round 2 Pick (No. 36)
The Bears are widely expected to take USC's Caleb Williams at No. 1 overall. Williams is generally perceived as the top quarterback in this class, and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported in early February that it would take a "historic" haul for Chicago to move the top selection.
Yet, there's no guarantee that Williams is Chicago's preferred target. Rapoport reported on March 12 that the Bears were still very much in the evaluation process.
If the Bears eventually settle on Daniels or Maye as their top choice—here's where we note that Maye is the top-rated QB on the Bleacher Report Scouting Department's big board—that could try squeezing valuable draft capital from Washington to move back a spot.
Would the Commanders play along? That's the unknown. If the Bears are dangling the No. 1 pick, then new general manager Adam Peters must assume that Chicago views at least one other quarterback as on par with Williams. Chicago would have to hold its cards tightly enough that Washington is unsure of the Bears' choice, and the Commanders would have to view Williams as the clear top quarterback.
If all of that plays out, though, the Commanders would have to at least consider Chicago's offer. However you want to rank the 2024 quarterbacks, Williams is an elite prospect. He was also born in D.C. and played his high school ball in the area.
Flipping a second-round pick for a player who might fall to Washington anyway would be a gamble, but securing Williams would be the perfect way to jump-start the new Commanders era.
Patriots Move Up for Their Preferred Prospect
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Commanders Get: 2024 Round 1 Pick (No. 3), 2024 Round 2 Pick (No. 34)
Patriots Get: 2024 Round 1 Pick (No .2), 2024 Round 5 Pick (No. 139)
The Commanders will be hard-pressed to make a trade that doesn't still give them a shot at a quarterback. Sam Howell was jettisoned earlier this offseason, and Marcus Mariota isn't a long-term answer. If the Bears stay at No. 1 and take Williams, Washington will have decisions to make.
According to Fowler, Washington is expected to pick between Maye and Daniels at No. 2:
"Washington's going to go into next week with a contingent going to the Pro Days of both Jayden Daniels at LSU, Drake Maye at UNC. They're going to shake that out, see what they like."
What if the Commanders like Maye and Daniels equally? Well, then trading down a spot would be entirely logical.
The New England Patriots are also in the quarterback market after ditching Mac Jones, and they may well prefer one quarterback over the other. In this scenario, the Patriots trade a high second-round pick for the right to move up and get their chosen signal-caller.
A second-round pick is worth plenty in this year's class, which has a wide second tier of talent.
"Day 2 and 3 of this year's NFL draft class is going to be wild. There's such a nice glut of talent that runs from about the 23rd overall prospect to around pick 90," B/R's Brent Sobleski posted on X in early March.
In this scenario, New England gets a QB it loves, while Washington lands the equivalent of an extra late first-rounder.
Chargers Get Ultra Aggressive for a New Receiver
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Commanders Get: 2024 Round 1 Pick (No. 5), 2024 Round 2 Pick (No. 37), 2024 Round 3 Pick (No. 69, 2025 Round 2 Pick
Chargers Get: 2024 Round 1 Pick (No. 2)
For Washington to consider trading down more than one spot, it must believe in a quarterback not named Williams, Maye or Daniels. Michigan's J.J. McCarthy appears to be a tier below that trio, but he may still be worth an early first-round selection.
"There is a real chance that some teams consider him to be the third and consider him to be closer to the top three than maybe we realized," Rapoport said on March 2.
Trading past No. 4, though, would be incredibly risky because the Arizona Cardinals may be willing to flip that pick to a quarterback-needy team—and Bleacher Report's Gary Davenport recently examined trade packages that Arizona would have to consider.
Moving to No. 5 would only really be safe if Washington believes that McCarthy is on par with Daniels and Maye—and if a team trading up isn't targeting a quarterback.
In this scenario, the Los Angeles Chargers get aggressive for Ohio State receiver prospect Marvin Harrison Jr. Los Angeles did just part with both Mike Williams and Keenan Allen. Plus, Harrison—the top-ranked overall prospect on the B/R board—is widely considered a "can't-miss" prospect.
And if the Chargers fall in love with Harrison, they just might have to jump Arizona to get him.
According to Cardinals offensive tackle Paris Johnson Jr., the talented receiver is interested in joining his former teammate.
"He said he wanted to be a Cardinal," Johnson told the Cardinals Corner podcast.
If the Patriots aren't willing to move their pick, Los Angeles might have to deal with Washington. The cost of moving from No. 5 to No. 2 would be high, but L.A. might view it as a small price to pay for one of the best receiver prospects in recent memory.
The Commanders, meanwhile, would add multiple Day 2 selections while still being guaranteed one of the top four quarterbacks.
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Giants Swing Big for Their Next QB of the Future
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Commanders Get: 2024 Round 1 Pick (No. 6), 2024 Round 2 Pick (No. 47, 2024 Round 4 Pick (No. 107), 2025 Round 1 Pick, 2026 Round 2 Pick
Giants Get: 2024 Round 1 Pick (No. 2), 2024 Round 3 Pick (Compensatory, No. 100)
According to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, the New York Giants and Las Vegas Raiders were exploring the option of trading up for a quarterback during the scouting combine.
The No. 6 slot is probably as far down as Washington will be willing to go—the Raiders pick at No. 13—and that would still be a major risk. The Commanders wouldn't be guaranteed a top-four quarterback, and they would have to hope that neither the Cardinals or Chargers flip their selections.
However, the Giants could be willing to pay a real premium to get into the top of Round 1. New York just signed Daniel Jones to a lucrative extension, but he largely flopped in 2023 before suffering a torn ACL.
In this scenario, New York parts with a mid-second-round selection and future first- and second-round picks while moving from the top of Round 4 to the bottom of Round 3. Doing so would net the Giants the sort of high-end quarterback that Jones has simply never become.
From No. 6, the Commanders would then have options. Perhaps the most enticing of them would include packaging some (but not all) of New York's selections to move back up to No. 4. Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort isn't averse to Round 1 trades and actually made a similar move in 2023, trading down from No. 3 and then back up to No. 6.
Alternatively, Washington could trade back again, up from Round 1 (picks No. 36 and 40) or stay put to target a second-tier QB prospect like Washington's Michael Penix Jr. or Oregon's Bo Nix.
This is probably the least enticing package for Commanders fans, but depending on how Washington views its rebuild and both the 2024 and 2025 QB classes, it could still make sense.
Vikings Stutter-Step Their Way to No. 2
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Commanders Get: 2024 Round 1 Pick (No. 4), 2025 Round 1 Pick
Vikings Get: 2024 Round 1 Pick (No. 2)
Cardinals Get: 2024 Round 1 Pick (No. 11), 2024 Round 1 Pick (No. 23)
The Minnesota Vikings lost Kirk Cousins in free agency and appear to be positioning themselves for a new quarterback. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah recently dealt for the 23rd overall pick in a trade with the Houston Texans.
The Vikings may package the 11th and 23rd picks to move up for a quarterback, and McCarthy is reportedly a preferred target.
"In talking to NFL personnel while on the road at pro days this week, the feeling is still that the Vikings will be aggressive in trading up to the No. 4 or No. 5 spot to land the Michigan quarterback," ESPN's Matt Miller wrote.
Dealing with the Cardinals might get Minnesota its shot at McCarthy. However, we are in the middle of smokescreen season, and netting McCarthy may not be the Vikings' true endgame.
In this scenario, the Vikings do move up to No. 4 but then use that as a stepping stone to get even higher. Minnesota doesn't have second- or third-round selections, so trading a future first-rounder may be the only way to complete the jump.
It would be a pricey series of moves, but it would guarantee the Vikings the second-best quarterback on their board.
That would certainly entice the Commanders, if they view the top four QB prospects similarly. If that's the case, this is a series of trades that would benefit everyone.
Minnesota would have its QB, Washington would get a signal-caller and own two 2025 first-round picks, while Arizona would have two chances to add elite pieces around its quarterback, Kyler Murray.
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