Is the Trade Market Finally Heating Up in the NFL?

With the Matthew Stafford trade, the NFL seems to be taking a page out of the NBA’s playbook. After a playoff run in 2020, the Los Angeles Rams traded Jared Goff for Matthew Stafford and multiple picks, something you don’t see too often in the NFL. However, that could be shifting. Are GM’s putting less emphasis on first-round picks to rely more on creative moves to build teams?

First, you have to look at if from both sides of the coin. Teams who are often in rebuild mode are stocking up on first-round picks. They’re either looking to take multiple big names in the first round to bolster up the depth that has been plaguing them for years, or they’re able to make riskier moves to counteract potential bust candidates. Teams like the Miami Dolphins did it last year. The Detroit Lions pulled it off this year. These teams seem more focused on the future than the current state of their NFL franchise.

More NFL: Is Deshaun Watson the Right Move for the Miami Dolphins?

Then of course there’s the other side of it. The Los Angeles Rams were a playoff team but just couldn’t get over the hump this season. By making a big splash with Matthew Stafford this offseason, they have got to feel like he’s the guy that’s going to finally get the job done. Jared Goff seemed to be regressing in LA. Matthew Stafford deserved better than Detroit. To give up that many first-round picks for a 33-year old quarterback they’re financing their future in hopes of getting it paying off.

The NFL hasn’t had the trade excitement that the NBA has enjoyed for years. Each year at the NBA trade deadline, there’s a mad dash to keep up with all the moves. The NFL on the other hand, the deadline goes by without a single move. The NBA pulls it off knowing that it doesn’t matter as much as where players are drafted so long as they find a roster that can work well together and play to their strengths.

The NFL has way more moving pieces. With so much stress put on finding that franchise-changing pick, teams lose focus on these players needing to develop. There’s no D-League for the NFL. Good players get put on bad teams and don’t develop. Maybe in the future if the NFL stops putting so much emphasis on these first-round picks we might see these types of trades more often.