With still a month to go before the NFL Draft, the wheeling and dealing frenzy of the recent NFL offseason has finally affected the annual amateur selection meeting. The New York Jets traded the No. 6 overall pick along with two second round picks to the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for the third overall selection.
We've acquired the No. 3 overall pick from the @Colts for our No. 6 overall pick, 37th overall pick, 49th overall pick and our 2019 2nd round pick. https://t.co/VtXr7bNuaQ
— New York Jets (@nyjets) March 17, 2018
The Jets were always taking a quarterback in this draft, regardless of their free agent moves. What this trade does is very possibly give them the pick of the litter as they jump the Cleveland Browns at No. 4 and the Denver Broncos at No. 5, two other teams that were definitely looking to add a rookie quarterback in the first round.
SO HOW DOES THIS RESHUFFLE THE DRAFT?
First, you have to look at the team with the top pick, the Browns. Before this trade, they could safely gamble on taking Penn State running back Saquon Barkley at No. 1 and count on the New York Giants (picking second) and the Colts (then picking third) to skip the QBs so that they could nab their guy with their second first-round pick at No. 4.
The #Jets explored all options for this trade… including possibly going up to No. 1. In the end, they settled on No. 3. … Meanwhile, the #Colts fielded calls from other QB-needy teams, but felt good about moving to No. 6 and dealing with the #Jets.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 17, 2018
Are they Browns in love with a guy or do they have a couple of QBs graded closely? To get the quarterback they want, Cleveland might now have to pull the trigger at No. 1. That means Barkley falls to No. 2 and there’s no way the Giants don’t snatch him up. That means a guy like Quinton Nelson, who New York probably would have taken, could fall all the way to No. 6 and the Colts, who most definitely will turn in a card with his name on it.
If Cleveland does take Barkley at No. 1 (and I think they should), they’ll still pick a guy at four. It just might not be the guy they were eyeing before the Jets jumped them.
For the Denver Broncos, who just signed Case Keenum to a three-year contract and have a third-year guy in Paxton Lynch as his backup, this could present an interesting possibility. I definitely think they should be looking hard at a QB in this draft, considering they might not pick this high again. But, if the two guys they liked best are off the board, there’s plenty of reasons to go ahead and pick the best player to fill another need. Considering they just traded away Aqib Talib and his veteran contract, this could be the perfect spot to select Josh Jackson from Iowa.
The Jets must have huge grades on 3 QBs. I can’t imagine the cost for someone to get to number 2, ahead of them. Buffalo, your move.
— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) March 17, 2018
Where before this trade it was a safe bet we’d see three quarterbacks go in the top six picks, now it might just be two. No other team picking in the Top 10 is looking for a signal-caller, that means we could be in for some surprising draft falls or plenty of wacky draft-day trades.
The Buffalo Bills, who recently moved up to No. 12 by trading offensive tackle Cordy Glenn to the Cincinnati Bengals, were just trying to get into position to grab any of the draft’s first round quarterbacks. Now they could find UCLA’s Josh Rosen or Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield just dropping into in their lap. Same for the Arizona Cardinals, who were in danger of missing their shot at any QB. Now they could end up with a guy like Josh Allen or Mason Rudolph who they might have wanted all along.
