The first trade of the NFL Draft has officially gone down on night one — and if there’s one thing we know about draft night movement, it definitely won’t be the last.
Which teams were involved in the deal, and which picks are on the move? Find out everything you need to know here.
Houston Texans and Cleveland Browns Swap Picks Hours Before the 2025 NFL Draft
The Houston Texans and Cleveland Browns agreed to a trade just hours before Roger Goodell will announce the first pick of the 2025 NFL Draft. However, the deal doesn’t involve Cleveland’s No. 2 overall selection.
According to the Texans’ official X account, Houston has traded its fifth-round pick (No. 166 overall) and a 2027 fifth-rounder to Cleveland. In return, the Texans receive two sixth-round picks (Nos. 179 and 216 overall) and a seventh-rounder (No. 255) in this year’s draft.
It’s starting early today 👀
Texans Trade:
🔴 2025 5th round pick (166 overall)
🔴 2027 5th round pickBrowns Trade:
🔴 2025 6th round pick (179 overall)
🔴 2025 6th round pick (216 overall)
🔴 2025 7th round pick (255 overall) pic.twitter.com/b7VeYpJUNt— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans)
While it’s not the type of deal that grabs headlines, mid-to-late round picks can turn into hidden gems, especially when teams do their homework and trust their scouting departments.
This move marks what many insiders believe will be the first of several trades on what’s expected to be a wild and unpredictable draft night.
Tom Pelissero recently reported that teams are “not really having a good feel” for how the first round will unfold.
Pelissero said, “This is the most unpredictable draft that I can remember, in terms of teams not really having a good feel, not just down at the bottom of Round 1, in like the middle or just outside the top 10.”
“In a normal draft, teams would have 18, 20, 22 first-round grades on players. This year, you talk to teams, there’s like eight, 10, 12 blue-chip type players, and then there’s this big clump, depending on the team, of 20–30 guys who all could come off the board in different orders,” he added.
That unpredictability could trigger a domino effect with both selections and trades. As teams watch one position group begin to go off the board, others may scramble to land top prospects before they’re gone. Teams like the Carolina Panthers could move back to stockpile picks and fill multiple needs, while others may jump ahead of them to land a coveted player.
“And nobody quite knows exactly where the runs are gonna come at different positions,” Pelissero said.
The Texans’ decision to drop back and collect more Day 3 picks could be the start of a bigger strategy — or just the opening move in what’s shaping up to be a night full of surprises.
The NFL Draft kicks off at 8 p.m. ET from Green Bay, Wis.
