In a year without elite quarterback talent, some teams are going to have a golden opportunity.
The name of the game in the NFL Draft in modern times is trading down and securing more bites at the apple. Whiffs will exist, so more chances are the best thing you can afford yourself. Plus, some teams have completely overhauled their roster in the last 12 months and have a ton of holes to fill.
Thanks to limited blue-chip talent at the top of the 2026 NFL Draft, some teams in the top half of the first round will have a chance to trade back.
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are in an interesting spot. They have plenty of skill talent on offense, and they invested plenty of draft capital into their defense in the Jonathan Gannon era.
They have two marquee needs: a right tackle and a franchise quarterback. The latter likely won’t be happening at No. 3 in a weak class, and the former might be a reach. They’d probably love to slide down the board, collect a few picks, and potentially ship those picks with their second-round selection in an effort to secure Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson.
No. 3 is a good selection if someone wants a pass rusher; Arvell Reese or David Bailey will be available. The New Orleans Saints, Kansas City Chiefs, Dallas Cowboys, and Miami Dolphins could all be in consideration to shoot up the board.
No. 9 would be a good position to select either Francis Mauigoa or Spencer Fano, and PFSN’s Mock Draft Simulator expects they could scoop up Kansas City’s pick at No. 40 to do so.
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are another team that would like a definitive answer at quarterback, but it’s not happening. Instead, they’ll likely invest in a wide receiver and offensive tackle early to give Shedeur Sanders a chance to deliver on the promise that had him as a top-40 player on most boards before “the slide.”
Left tackle is easily the team’s biggest weakness, and this class doesn’t have a Joe Alt-like option at No. 6. Alabama’s Kadyn Proctor, Georgia’s Monroe Freeling, and Clemson’s Blake Miller are the top three options with length and athleticism to play the blindside.
Proctor is the No. 13 player on my board, so if Cleveland can move back to that range, they’ll be in a good spot to take him. The most obvious, commonly mocked deal is a shift with Dallas, who craves an impact defender, for Pick Nos. 12 and 20 for Pick Nos. 6 and 39.
The Mock Draft Simulator also projects that the teams would need to exchange some Day 3 capital, but that foundation makes a boatload of sense for both.
Washington Commanders Trade Down Candidates
Tiebreakers did the Washington Commanders an enormous favor, landing them the No. 7 overall pick.
Fernando Mendoza, Jeremiyah Love, Sonny Styles, David Bailey, Arvell Reese, Mansoor Delane, and Caleb Downs represent a fairly defined start to the draft in terms of elite talent. The last of these could come off the board at Washington’s pick, and they’re in desperate need of using that leverage.
The Commanders gave away their second-rounder in last year’s Laremy Tunsil trade, and this is a team that desperately needs more youth and bites at the apple. They entered last year with the NFL’s oldest roster (28.1 years old) and have notable needs at running back, wide receiver, center, EDGE rusher, linebacker, and safety.
Miami and Pittsburgh are obvious trade candidates. They could recoup several Day 2 picks from either squad. PFSN’s Mock Draft Simulator projects they could get Pick Nos. 53, 99, and 135 from the Steelers just for sliding back 14 draft slots.
Las Vegas Raiders
The ship has sailed on the Las Vegas Raiders from trading the No. 1 pick and rights to Fernando Mendoza. However, their No. 36 selection could be an obvious trade spot as they look to build up the roster around him. In fact, general manager John Spytek admitted as much during a recent press conference.
“We try to be open-minded,” he said. “We try to give ourselves as much time as allotted to make the best decision for the Raiders. And we traded back twice in the second round last year and accumulated a bunch of what we thought was really good draft capital, and we’d be open to doing that again…
“Open to all options. I didn’t think that we were going to trade down twice in the second round last year, and we felt like the trade offers that we got were just too good to pass up. And if someone’s looking to bail and we think that there’s a really high-quality player we can go get, we’ll certainly consider it. And if someone’s offering us too much to not pick, then we’ll do that too.”
Las Vegas was No. 31 in PFSN’s Offensive Line Impact Score (OLi) last season, and the roster is also in rough shape at defensive tackle, cornerback, and safety. They could also use depth behind Ashton Jeanty at running back.
With Klint Kubiak in the fold, Spytek and Tom Brady will once again try to inject talent into what was the worst team in the NFL last year. You don’t get there by adding a handful of players.
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Between Mendoza, Jeanty, Brock Bowers, and Maxx Crosby, Vegas has plenty of top-end talent. They really need to add depth to a team that missed on such an overwhelming amount of picks in previous eras.
