Five teams the Broncos could call if they want to trade back
Apr 16, 2020, 6:42 AM
The NFL Draft is coming up fast, and things are going to get heated around the league as teams try to position themselves to get the best help possible.
The Broncos may be looking to trade back from their No. 15 overall pick. Recent reports indicate the team may be one of three teams most interested in moving up, but I don’t necessarily believe that.
Instead, I think the Broncos could move back just like they did last year to acquire more picks. Some of the top-tier talent the Broncos may want like Clemson linebacker Isaiah Simmons or Ohio State cornerback Jeff Okudah will be long gone by the time their pick comes around on day one.
It may be too high to select some of the second-tier players who could be on their list, including linebackers Patrick Queen (LSU), Kenneth Murray (Oklahoma) and wide receivers like Denzel Mims (Baylor) or Brandon Aiyuk (Arizona State). Moving back less than 10 spots or so would still put them in the market for one of those four guys, and they would have more picks because of it.
Here are the five teams the Broncos could most likely trade back with.
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5. Atlanta Falcons | No. 16
The Falcons are reportedly looking to move up in the first round, and maybe that’s just one spot. Now, in the same report, the Broncos are included with the Falcons as teams who could move up for offensive line talent, so perhaps this pairing is not very likely. However, the buzz about the Falcons wanting to move up has been out there for quite some time. They would move up one spot to prevent any other team behind them from trading with the Broncos for a player they’re interested in.
This move doesn’t cost a lot to make. According to the trade value chart, there is only a 50-point difference between the two picks. That is roughly the equivalent to a mid-to-late fourth-round pick. That might not be enough, so perhaps a bidding war with another interested team could bump that price up ever so slightly to at least an early fourth rounder.
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4. Minnesota Vikings | No. 22
There is buzz early this week that the Vikings are interested in trading for Browns superstar receiver Odell Beckham Jr. If that doesn’t come to fruition, the Vikings could be looking to move up in the draft for a rookie wide receiver. They’re in the market for wide receiver help because they traded away Stefon Diggs to the Bills earlier this year. This No. 22 pick was the Bills, but it was part of the package sent over for the veteran wideout. Minnesota still has the No. 25 overall pick, their own pick, so moving around and moving up on day one could be of interest to them.
This move is worth 270 points per the draft value trade chart. That means the Broncos could add an extra second-round pick, to be exact it would be graded as a late second rounder, to make this move. That’s a pretty good price where you could still likely get one of your coveted linebackers or wide receivers with this pick.
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3. Miami Dolphins | No. 18
The Dolphins have acquired three first-round picks in the 2020 NFL Draft. They have their own pick at No. 5 overall, but they also were able to add this pick from the Steelers and also picked up the No. 26 pick from the Texans. To get these premium picks, the Dolphins had to trade away left tackle Laremy Tunsil and cornerback/safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. That’s a glut of talent that they need to make up for in this draft. Sure, they could stay put and grab a quarterback at No. 5, then a couple of more players later, but the Dolphins might want to consider moving up a few spots.
The move up from 18 to 15 would not be that much. The Dolphins would have to send the Broncos a mid-to-late third-round pick to make the move. With so many picks early, the Dolphins could be looking to use that draft capital to move around.
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2. New Orleans Saints | No. 24
At one time, the Saints were rumored to be interested in leap-frogging the Broncos to get a wide receiver in the draft. Then, they went out and signed veteran (and former Broncos wideout) Emmanuel Sanders in free agency to fill that void. Now, it doesn’t seem likely the Saints would move from their No. 24 pick. However, the draft is fluid and you never know who is going to fall to the Broncos at 15.
Not only that, but it’s who wouldn’t fall to the Saints in the first round. If there is a specific player they’re targeting – and a run on that position before the Broncos pick – then perhaps the Saints would be calling John Elway to make a move.
The difference in value between 24 and 15 is 310 points. According to the draft value trade chart, that would be the equivalent of a late second-round pick. That’s a hefty price for some, and perhaps the Saints would be willing to pay that. Sanders is no long-term solution at wide receiver, and maybe they’ll want to get in on a more premium receiver than they’d find later in the first round.
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1. Philadelphia Eagles | No. 21
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman is addicted to trading. He absolutely loves the art of the deal and it wouldn’t take much to tempt him into a move. The team is incredibly thin at the wide receiver position and could use a huge boost from a talented rookie class like the one we’re seeing entering the league in 2020. Sitting at the No. 21 overall pick, the top-tier wide receivers will be long gone. That means Roseman is going to have to make a move if the team wants a player like Henry Ruggs III (Alabama).
If the Broncos prefer another player (like Denzel Mims from Baylor) to Ruggs, then moving back to 21 and still getting the wide receiver they want makes a lot of sense. The difference between the two picks is 250 points. That’s roughly the equivalent of an early third-round pick. The Broncos have three third-round picks already, so another one would just give them another piece to move around with.
The Broncos have five picks in the first three rounds of the 2020 NFL Draft, and I think they won’t take all five as planned. I fully expect this team to move around in the draft, using that draft capital to find better players and prospects they covet. Elway has moved back a couple of times previously in the first round, so this type of transaction is not foreign to him. We’ll see what happens next week!
