Part of what causes trades throughout the NFL draft an eagerness on teams to secure their target, and react to the fear that another team may be taking measures to grab that player.
The Houston Texans have an extra Round 1 pick at No. 1 overall thanks to their 2022 offseason trade with the Cleveland Browns. The pick is just outside the top-10, which means they may not be able to grab one of the better edge rushers in Will Anderson and Tyree Wilson. If the Texans are looking for a receiver, they may be able to have the pick of the class.
If the Texans believe they can still get receiver help later on in the first round, they ought to consider flipping the No. 12 overall pick.
According to Brad Spielberger from Pro Football Focus, the Seattle Seahawks should look into trading their first-round (No. 20 overall), third-round (No. 83 overall), and fifth-round (No. 154 overall) picks to the Green Bay Packers for their first-round (No. 15 overall) and seventh-round (No. 232 overall) selections in order to have a clean shot at picking Maryland cornerback Deonte Banks.
The thinking here is Green Bay does not need help at cornerback, but the Washington Commanders at No. 16, Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 17 and perhaps Detroit Lions at No. 18 certainly could target that position. If there’s a run on the premier cornerbacks at the top of the draft, the cornerback-needy teams in the late teens may need get aggressive. For our purposes, this trade is under the assumption the Seattle Seahawks take a top defensive lineman at No. 6 overall.
What if the Texans struck a deal with Washington, Pittsburgh, or Detroit to give them a chance to beat the Seahawks to the punch?
Moving back anywhere between Nos. 16-18 overall would still keep the Texans in range to have an opportunity to grab a receiver for their rookie quarterback. Then, the Texans would have a third- and fifth-rounder for general manager Nick Caserio to use to build more packages to take specific players — or flip into more picks later.
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