2009 NFL Draft: Who Has the Chips to Wheel and Deal?

This year’s draft will consist of 256 picks. These picks are enough for eight full rounds, even though there are officially seven rounds in the draft.  The other 32 picks are compensatory picks, awarded to teams who have lost players to free agency.

Due to prior trades and other team transactions, draft picks are not evenly distributed throughout the 32 NFL teams. So, each year, PossessionPoints.com analyzes who may be in the best and worst position for making deals for the potential talent they seek to acquire.

Patriots’ fans are crying over their team’s first draft position, but we do not share their tears. Arguably the powerhouse of the decade, New England has the greatest wealth of picks in the 2009 draft totaling 12 overall and six in the top 100.

Now, we do not believe that the Patriots are going to keep 12 rookies on their team. That would be 20 percent of their roster. However, we do expect that the Patriots will find some ways to trade their multiple picks for either established players or higher quality selections.

If they do not, we are certain that teams will be circling the Patriots’ camp, ready to pounce on the discarded players that do not make the New England roster, and this would prove to be a waste of the valuable picks that the Patriots possess this year.

The teams with the next highest number of top 100 picks are the Detroit Lions and the New York Giants who each have five. Overall, the Lions have nine picks in the draft while the Giants have 10.  We could easily see nine rookies making the Lions’ squad as they need lots and lots of help in multiple areas.

As the NFC East Champions last season, we do not see the Giants in the same kind of need as Detroit.  However, this does not mean that the Giants will easily part with their five top 100 picks, as these selections often yield starting caliber players. If the Giants do make any adjustments, it would probably involve surrounding some of their second-tier picks for veteran players or improved top 100 picks.

Other teams with an abundance of draft picks are the Eagles, Bengals and Cowboys who each have 11 picks overall.  Look for these teams to make deals with the have-not teams who are listed below.

First, on our list of have-not teams are the New Orleans Saints, who only have four picks and one pick in the top 100 at No. 14. This may not sound so dire for the Saints, but remember that the Patriots would have had the opportunity to pick six players before New Orleans picks their second.  The Saints should be looking to improve their draft status any way they can.

The Browns, Panthers, and Redskins only have five picks each out of the 256 total available.  Cleveland may, at least, have some quality as they have three top 100 picks.  The Redskins and Panthers each have two top 100 picks. We guess this is the reason why the Redskins were so active in free agency this off-season. This off-season bolstering may give the Redskins a sense of confidence in their roster, without feeling the need to make hasty draft day adjustments.

There are a few teams that sit in the middle of the haves and have-nots in draft selection. These teams have quantity when it comes to picks, but maybe not quality.  San Diego and Tampa Bay fall into this category. The Chargers and Bucs both have eight picks overall and two picks in the top 100. 

As the chips fall in this year’s draft, it will be interesting to see which teams scurry to make deals and which teams lay back.  We have yet to see a draft day that does not involve some last-minute wheeling and dealing between the haves and the have-nots.

The Chart below shows all the teams, their total picks and top 100 picks.

Team	Picks	Top 100	Avg Pick
New England	12	6	120
Philadelphia	11	4	125
Cincinnati	11	4	142
Dallas	11	2	152
N.Y. Giants	10	5	121
Tennessee	10	3	151
Detroit	9	5	107
Green Bay	9	4	116
Miami	9	4	131
Chicago	9	4	134
Denver	9	3	132
San Francisco	9	3	134
Pittsburgh	9	3	148
Seattle	9	3	149
Houston	8	3	117
Indianapolis	8	3	131
Jacksonville	8	3	132
Arizona	8	3	148
San Diego	8	2	129
Tampa Bay	8	2	156
St. Louis	7	3	104
Buffalo	7	3	113
Atlanta	7	3	113
Kansas City	7	2	136
Oakland	6	3	104
Baltimore	6	3	109
N.Y. Jets	6	3	114
Minnesota	6	3	129
Cleveland	5	3	74
Carolina	5	2	129
Washington	5	2	134
New Orleans	4	1	152