Why trading up in 2026 is a bad idea.

[RumHam]

because the draft pool is absolute poo. Just stand put.

[RumHam]

15 hours ago, TD alt said:

I'll trade Bryce and two firsts to move up to the first pick.

i'd do that for burrow and that's it.

[panfanman]

21 hours ago, LinvilleGorge said:

We have way too many needs to trade up. There will be good prospects available throughout that also fit a need. If you had a crystal ball that could predict future All-Pros and HOFers, sure. But there's no sure things in the draft. Great prospects bust every draft and some mid to late rounders end up being very good pros.

If you had a crystal ball you wouldn't even need your 1st round pick.  Crystal balls come in more handy for later round gems.  Imagine trading away a 1st for several 2nds and 3rds and picking up multiple all pros and HOFers instead of just one.

[panfanman]

3 hours ago, Khyber53 said:

We don't do well with first round trades. Up or down.

Just pick where we have it, take the best player we need and move on.

Then when the field gets a bit muddier, make your moves for the needed spots. 

There's going to be a huge run on WRs as always (over valued in my opinion), there are a ton of OTs and Edge is always heavy in the first and second rounds. Grab your future starting S and ILB in rounds one and two, snag your C in three. Take trade offers to move down in rounds three and beyond for a spot in the same round plus another, even if in a future draft.

We're going to have even more holes in our roster in 2027 than we do now. 

A LT is more crucial at this point than S or ILB.  LT must be addressed ahead of either of those two.  You won't find a LT in free agency worth a damn.

[Donald LaFell]

I feel like it’s almost always a bad idea

[LinvilleGorge]

32 minutes ago, panfanman said:

If you had a crystal ball you wouldn't even need your 1st round pick.  Crystal balls come in more handy for later round gems.  Imagine trading away a 1st for several 2nds and 3rds and picking up multiple all pros and HOFers instead of just one.

Yeah, for sure. If you had a crystal ball trading down to accumulate more picks to throw at sure things would almost always be the right move barring a HOFer being available who is going to be drafted in the next few picks.

[hepcat]

8 hours ago, Khyber53 said:

Take the 19, make a smart pick for a foundational player.  38 and beyond, see what it's worth to people.

For me they either stay at 19 or make a small trade down into the mid 20s and snag an extra 2nd or something. They need to get an edge, linebacker or offensive tackle and I don’t think any other positions should really be on the table unless someone super elite fell to them 

[Khyber53]

18 hours ago, panfanman said:

A LT is more crucial at this point than S or ILB.  LT must be addressed ahead of either of those two.  You won't find a LT in free agency worth a damn.

Now while I agree, there's some stuff that can happen between now and the draft. We may know more about Icky's health. We may offer Njiman better than he's getting on the FA market if our coaches feel he can be a good stop gap or move laterally. There could be some trades happening.

Me, I'm hoping Icky can get better, although that's a tall order. 

Still, you are right and it should be LT, S and ILB. Those are the chessboard pieces we realistically need right now.

[Khyber53]

11 hours ago, hepcat said:

For me they either stay at 19 or make a small trade down into the mid 20s and snag an extra 2nd or something. They need to get an edge, linebacker or offensive tackle and I don’t think any other positions should really be on the table unless someone super elite fell to them 

If we move down five slots or less and pick up an additional 2nd? That would seal the deal for me.

That 2nd... hard to get someone on the back end of the round or early in the second to give that one up.

Still... if that miracle swap is there, take it.

[hepcat]

3 hours ago, Khyber53 said:

If we move down five slots or less and pick up an additional 2nd? That would seal the deal for me.

That 2nd... hard to get someone on the back end of the round or early in the second to give that one up.

Still... if that miracle swap is there, take it.

Eh you see someone at like 26-30 trade their late second round pick to move up to 19 and jump another rival playoff team for a player they love pretty regularly. Sometimes you can even get a future first out of those trade ups depending on how desperate they are to move up. Not crazy. 

[strato]

1 hour ago, hepcat said:

Eh you see someone at like 26-30 trade their late second round pick to move up to 19 and jump another rival playoff team for a player they love pretty regularly. Sometimes you can even get a future first out of those trade ups depending on how desperate they are to move up. Not crazy. 

I would love that. We may need to be pretty serious about next year’s 1st round. 

[amcoolio]

Except for WR and maybe OT, the draft is largely a crapshoot. The dropoff from Styles to Anthony Hill Jr. might seem like a lot now, but end up being not at all or Hill may be even better. So just stay, and take BPA

[strato]

13 minutes ago, amcoolio said:

Except for WR and maybe OT, the draft is largely a crapshoot. The dropoff from Styles to Anthony Hill Jr. might seem like a lot now, but end up being not at all or Hill may be even better. So just stay, and take BPA

I wouldn’t mind Hill at all. 

[scratched]

On 3/3/2026 at 4:01 PM, panfanman said:

A LT is more crucial at this point than S or ILB.  LT must be addressed ahead of either of those two.  You won't find a LT in free agency worth a damn.

LT has to be the pick at 19. We hopefully will have the choice of Freeling(who I prefer), Lomu, and Proctor.  With Ickeys injury, we can only hope that he is able to come back in 27 and be the replacement at RT for Moton. Thats best case scenario IMO.