The Best Trade Bargaining Chips in the NFL Draft
Player trades used to be rare in the NFL. They have become more commonplace—or at least more visible in today's 24-hour, social media-frenzied news cycle—and we have already seen some big names on the move in the new league year.
Those trade winds could be blowing as we approach and hit the NFL draft.
So what are some of the best trade options in the draft, anyway? Who might be available—whether rumored or simply feasible—to net a draft pick or two? Beyond players, which teams are best-positioned to move early in the draft?
Let's take a look at some of the best bargaining chips on the table for the 2015 NFL draft.
Seattle's Slew of Picks
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It might not seem like the Seahawks are positioned well to move up in the draft after giving up their first-round pick to help bring stud tight end Jimmy Graham over from the New Orleans Saints, but they have plenty of ammunition to work with.
General manager John Schneider and head coach Pete Carroll still have 10 draft picks—tops among all NFL teams—thanks in large part to compensatory picks. While those picks cannot be traded, it affords the Seahawks some flexibility with the traditional picks they own.
It may not be enough to move all the way back into the first round, but Seattle will be able to move around with ease on the second and third days of the draft. It can afford to give up a pick or two to get a player it really wants rather than sit on all 10 picks.
Marcedes Lewis, TE, Jacksonville Jaguars
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Signing Julius Thomas to a record contract for a tight end would make it seem like Marcedes Lewis was instantly expendable, especially given he is owed $6.5 million this season.
The Jacksonville Jaguars haven't cut bait yet, though, perhaps thinking they can turn him into a draft pick in the next few weeks.
There is a reason why Lewis got that big contract—the 6'6", 272-pound monster has massive upside, and that showed when he scored 10 touchdowns in 2010.
Injuries, poor quarterbacking and subpar play from the man himself have conspired to sink Lewis and make that $34 million contract laughable—he has scored just 17 more touchdowns in the eight other seasons he has been in the league and 10 in the four years since he got that deal.
Lewis could be valuable to a team in need of a blocking tight end who can serve as a big red-zone target, which makes him a decent trade chip for Jacksonville heading into the draft.
Johnny Manziel, QB, Cleveland Browns
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How much value does a barely used quarterback who was taken 22nd overall just a year ago have in this year's draft?
That's a question the Cleveland Browns have probably explored and one that isn't easy to answer. After all, Johnny Manziel came with baggage to begin with, and he bought a whole new set of luggage during his rookie year.
The dynamic but troubled quarterback battled critics and ultimately demons that led him to a rehab facility this offseason, from which he emerged only recently after almost three months of therapy.
That should be viewed as a positive thing—Manziel showed commitment to getting better by sticking it out for that long—but is he broken as a football player?
The former Heisman winner won't likely field much in the way of draft picks, but he can be useful to a team that is willing to throw a mid-round pick at the Browns to see what he can do.
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Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota Vikings
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Judging how much Adrian Peterson is worth in draft compensation is tricky business.
On one hand, the powerful running back won the league MVP award just two years ago, and he would be an upgrade for most teams. On the other hand, he is a malcontent 30-year-old—old by positional standards these days—with off-field baggage and $12.75 million coming his way this season.
There is certainly interest—both the Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals have been seriously tied to trade rumors surrounding Peterson per David Moore of The Dallas Morning News and Huffington Post's Jordan Schultz, respectively. Both have cleared cap space to make room for him, to boot.
ESPN Insider Bill Polian had some strong words about Peterson's agent and his situation, per Mark Craig of the Minneapolis Star Tribune:
"So compensation is [Vikings General Manager] Rick Spielman’s call, and I’m not going to farm his land. The fact of the matter is that he has a very, very fair contract, in my opinion, from his perspective. He’s the highest-paid back in the league, I believe. And he has a multi-year contract. So he would be ostensibly available for three more years if any team ever trades for him. To me, that mitigates whatever his age is. He’s also had a year off, which is probably for a running back a good thing. So the extent that his age is a factor if you were going to move him, I don’t think it is a factor because he’s under club control for the next three years.
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So the question is whether the Vikings even want to move their disgruntled back as he awaits the NFL's decision about reinstatement, per Gary Myers of the New York Daily News.
That ruling had better come down soon, for his sake and that of his team's. At the very least, they can come to the negotiating table with proper leverage.
Sam Bradford, QB, Philadelphia Eagles
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Chip Kelly made it clear that he wasn't going to try to move up to draft Marcus Mariota.
That was just after making a huge trade to bring Sam Bradford over from the St. Louis Rams. The former No. 1 draft pick appears to be the quarterback of the future in Philadelphia, at least if we are to believe Kelly won't gut the draft in order to move up and draft Mariota, per Derek Harper of CBS Sports.
Still, it would be fun if Kelly changed his mind, right? Apparently, someone with the Cleveland Browns thought Bradford was worth a first-round pick after the Eagles traded for him, per NFL.com's Charlie Casserly. What if Kelly hadn't stuck to his guns?
What if he actually changes his mind? What if he had a radical plan all along and has been laughing maniacally in his secret lair every night for the past month?
After all, someone thought enough of Bradford to trade for him, followed by someone else thinking enough of the oft-injured quarterback to try to trade a high draft pick for him.
It seems there is a weird market for Bradford.
Cleveland's 2 First-Round Picks
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There are few better draft-day trade chips than first-round picks, and the Cleveland Browns have a pair for the second consecutive year.
Last year they maneuvered a bit but didn't utilize their first-rounders to make a big splash. The Browns moved out of the top five in order to gain this year's second first-rounders.
This year, they don't have the luxury of having the No. 4 pick to toy with—the Browns own the No. 12 and 19 picks, no thanks to Buffalo's surprising season. That means they are likelier to move up if they want to snag a top-10 talent.
Those picks are worth a lot, and they may catch the eye of a general manager who is looking to move out of the top 10.
The No. 2 Pick in the Draft
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It would be easy to talk about the No. 1 pick as one of the most valuable draft commodities, but there are a couple of reasons why No. 2 is far better—the Tampa Bay Buccaneers aren't likely to seriously explore a trade, and the top pick has been difficult to move for the past decade-plus.
The second pick, however, has seen some serious success as a trade chip.
Look no further back than the 2012 draft. The St. Louis Rams still had former No. 1 pick Sam Bradford early in his career, and Washington was a quarterback-starved franchise willing to shell out some serious compensation for the right to draft Robert Griffin III.
Jeff Fisher exacted a few pounds of flesh in the trade, netting the Rams a second-round pick and two future first-rounders.
This year, the Tennessee Titans hold that card in a similar situation. Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota aren't exactly Andrew Luck and Griffin, but they are certainly the top two quarterbacks in the draft class.
The Titans don't have a Bradford of their own, but they seem to think that way of last year's sixth-round pick, Zach Mettenberger, per The Tennessean's David Climer. That means they could pawn off that No. 2 pick to the highest bidder.
With so many teams eyeballing Mariota—if every rumor is to be believed—the market could be hot for Tennessee as the draft approaches.
Philip Rivers, QB, San Diego Chargers
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It might have seemed crazy a few months ago, but sanity is slowly creeping into the speculation that quarterback Philip Rivers could be on the move this offseason.
Rumors have swirled that the San Diego Chargers might be looking to trade Rivers for weeks now, something general manager Tom Telesco tried to quash, via ESPN's Eric D. Williams.
They persist, however, fueled by speculation and opinion like that of U-T San Diego writer Kevin Acee:
"Yes, the Chargers in all likelihood would keep their first round pick should they deal Rivers to Tennessee. They may, according to some around the league, have to throw in a selection in a later round. But people are really just speculating, since there is no precedent for trading a quarterback of Rivers’ stature at this juncture in his career for a draft pick(s).
It can, however, be done. It should be.
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Acee believes the Chargers should strike while the iron is hot and get their man, Marcus Mariota, of whom fellow U-T San Diego columnist Michael Gehlken wrote San Diego believes is a franchise quarterback.
Without the Titans, there may not be an opportunity to trade Rivers and get an appropriate return. The Chargers wouldn't want to do it without the assurance of taking a top quarterback, and there is no telling what another team might do to jump to the No. 2 spot should San Diego deal Rivers for another pick in the top five.
Whatever happens, it's clear Rivers has some serious value in the draft if the Chargers want to move him. And what a return that would be—Rivers was traded for the No. 1 pick back in 2004, and he might be traded for the No. 2 pick in 2015.
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