The 2021 NFL draft is now less than three weeks away. Fans of every team are considering the sometimes-wise-but-most-often bad decisions their favorite clubs are about to make. The draft is a crapshoot and because there is always going to be value found in the later rounds, most selections could have been better when made. That’s just the nature of the game.
Part of the fun of the draft is moving around, and trying to maximize value by getting trades worked out when you either move to get a guy or move back to get multiple picks or picks where the team feels there’s most value. So how does that work?
Each team uses their own versions of what are known as trade charts. There’s one universally one that was used by the Cowboys in the early 1990s. Affectionately known as the Jimmy Johnson trade chart, the former head coach was the team’s GM when it was devised and it’s stood the test of time. There have been many other trade charts used by teams since then and most don’t see public light.
Outsiders have also developed their own chart that have been linked to the actual value based on players selected at each of the spots in the draft over dozens of years. One that has become very well regarded is the Rich Hill chart.
Here, for your convenience are both charts complete with which team owns each pick, to help with your mock draft calculations as well as evaluating what happens on draft weekend.