2014 NFL Draft Rumors: Texans, Buccaneers, Vikings, Raiders, Rams have all discussed trading down
St. Louis Rams helmet. Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports
It seems like just about every team that has a high pick in the 2014 NFL Draft would like to trade down, and we’ve known for quite some time that the teams with the top three picks in the draft are all eyeing a trade down. Now, the NFL Network’s Albert Breer reports that the St. Louis Rams, Houston Texans, Oakland Raiders, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Minnesota Vikings have all been in talks to trade down. All five of these teams are picking in the top five, and the Vikings and Buccaneers are two interesting names on this list.
We’ve always expected the Texans, Rams, and Raiders to eye trades down, and the Rams and Texans are probably the two teams with the most desire to trade down in this year’s draft, which is filled with sellers and not many buyers. There’s plenty of top talent in this year’s class, but there is also plenty of depth, which squashes any urgency to move up. Very few teams are expected to make aggressive trades up, though it looks like the Atlanta Falcons, Buffalo Bills, and Detroit Lions are prime candidates for such a move.
It will be interesting to see if the Raiders are able to have their choice of Sammy Watkins, Khalil Mack, or even Jadeveon Clowney, but only Watkins has a good chance of being available. If he’s not there, then the Raiders are fully expected to move down to try and pull Aaron Donald. But even if Watkins is there, they could trade down with the Lions if Martin Mayhew likes him enough to feel that he’s worth trading up for.
As for the Buccaneers, they are reportedly interested in drafting Donald or Johnny Manziel, and it all depends on if ownership or coaching wins out. It’s interesting to see that they are considering a trade down, though, so we’ll see if that materializes. A trade down for the Vikings makes plenty of sense, because it sounds like they really want to wait on the quarterback position.