In past years, I've written a column running through the NFL's top players and identifying which of them would land a first-round pick (or more) via trade. Most of the time, it's a thought exercise.
Like in last summer's edition : The Chiefs aren't trading Patrick Mahomes . The Bengals aren't trading Ja'Marr Chase .
The Cowboys definitely aren't trading Micah Parsons . Well ...
then the Cowboys traded Parsons to the Packers, and it kicked off a run of trades involving significant draft hauls. Sauce Gardner was shipped out for two first-round picks.
Quinnen Williams landed first- and second-round picks for the Jets. Dexter Lawrence II became the third player since 2000 to be traded for a top-10 pick.
Maxx Crosby was briefly dealt for two first-round picks before the trade was annulled . And on the same day that the Patriots sent a first-round pick to the Eagles for A.J.
Brown , the Rams stole the headlines by trading three picks and Jared Verse to the Browns for Myles Garrett , who will join Trent McDuffie as trade acquisitions on a new-look Rams defense. Whew.
This isn't much of a thought exercise anymore, as we've seen teams around the NFL willing to listen on and trade for some of the league's biggest superstars. And so today, having witnessed a year of huge deals, I'm here to update that look into trade values around the league.
Now, this isn't the price to pry anyone away at any cost. You can stack up all the draft picks in the world, and the Bills aren't going to trade Josh Allen when they don't have another answer at quarterback.
Consider what it would cost if a team decided that it was willing to trade a player at a given position, as the Cowboys eventually decided with Parsons and the Browns with Garrett. And while it's going to be virtually impossible to rack up unlimited draft picks in the first round to get the biggest deals done -- especially since the current CBA only allows teams to trade picks up to three years into the future -- consider that players can stand in for draft picks in these deals, as Verse did with the Garrett swap.
Subscribe: 'The Bill Barnwell Show' Positions such as quarterback, edge rusher and wide receiver tend to deliver more significant returns than spots such as running back, tight end and off-ball linebacker, which also aligns with what those players get for their contracts. With players selected in Round 1 in this year's draft, I'm taking a relatively conservative approach given how the league generally valued what was perceived to be a weak class.
Players taken in the top 10 would likely fetch a first-round pick or more in trades, but once we get to No. 11 and on, things aren't quite as clear, especially for players who don't play premium spots in the lineup.
This is an attempt to reflect how the league views players as opposed to my personal opinion, although my thoughts are naturally going to be part of the conversation. And I've had to evolve after seeing how the league has approached the past 12 months.
My last cut from the first-round pick tier in last year's article was Lawrence, and I was wrong. Even after a frustrating season, he was dealt to the Bengals for the No.
10 selection. We've seen teams really get aggressive targeting proven pass rushers and defensive disruptors, even if they're older than the players who would have typically landed first-round picks in the past.
I've built that into this year's list, which means more players will qualify for potential first-round picks this time around. Jump to a team: ARI | ATL | BAL | BUF | CAR | CHI | CIN CLE | DAL | DEN | DET | GB | HOU | IND JAX | KC | LAC | LAR | LV | MIA | MIN NE | NO | NYG | NYJ | PHI | PIT | SF SEA | TB | TEN | WSH AFC EAST Buffalo Bills Seven first-round picks: QB Josh Allen .
Let's start with the most significant and impossible valuation in the league. Allen, who just finished atop Jeremy Fowler's poll of league executives as the league's best quarterback, has been a superstar for the Bills over the past six seasons.
He has done it without anything resembling an elite receiver, all while adding significant value with his legs on scrambles and designed runs. Allen turned 30 in May, so there are undoubtedly QBs who would potentially be available deeper into the future than the Bills star.
Given that he hasn't missed a start since 2018, though, Allen might offer more stability over the next six to seven years than any other quarterback in football. And of those younger passers, there isn't really ano