Its draft day in the NFL and the rumors are flying. Many pundits are bracing themselves for what could be a Wild West show on Thursday night. Many of the teams at the top of the draft are willing to deal and there are some in the middle of the order who are plotting to move up.
The Washington Redskins, holders of the second overall selection on Thursday night have hinted they would move the pick for the right price. They are also shopping veteran left tackle Trent Williams.
The Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins are rumored to be swapping picks with Miami leapfrogging the Giants to go from No. 5 to No. 3.
One final thing on the Dolphins-Detroit trade situation. I’ve been told tonight by person familiar with what Lions are thinking that they are making plans for having the No. 5 overall selection tomorrow night — Miami’s first scheduled pick of the draft tomorrow.
— Armando Salguero (@ArmandoSalguero) April 23, 2020
Miami will likely take a quarterback (Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa or Justin Herbert of Oregon) but may be making the trade because they fear the Giants will take Iowa OT Tristan Wirfs at No. 4. Detroit is high on several defensive studs and will likely still have their choice of Ohio State CB Jeff Okudah, DT Derrick Brown of Auburn or Clemson’s Isaiah Simmons.
The Giants might be seeking to move back as well. Veteran NFL reporter Jason LaCanfora has been hearing Big Blue could be making a deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Hearing lot of recent buzz about NYG dealing down and JAX perhaps dealing up (one would think for QB). Not sure what to make of it but several GMs have brought it up
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) April 23, 2020
Jacksonville has the 9th and 20th selections in the first round and disgruntled defensive end Yannick Ngakoue, who the team slapped the franchise tag on last month and has publicly asked to be traded.
The Giants could conceivably swap first rounders with Jacksonville and obtain the rights to Ngakoue for the No. 4 pick. That would put the Jaguars in position to grab either Tua or Herbert and also be rid of Ngakoue’s $17.788 million salary.
The Giants, if the first rounder is No. 9, will be right in heart of the OT run that is expected to happen early on in the draft. They will pick right in front of Cleveland and the Jets at 10 and 11. Both teams are in the market for tackles.
If the first rounder is No. 20, they will have a choice of two very highly-regarded linebackers in LSU’s Patrick Queen and Kenneth Murray of Oklahoma in addition to Ngakoue.
Of course there could be other components to these deals but this works for both teams. The Jags get their franchise QB and the Giants get their pass rusher and ball tracker.
If Jacksonville is not the suitor, the Giants could consider swinging a deal with Atlanta, who is trying to move up from No. 16 for one of the top defensive studs at the top the order.