5 Players Likely to Be Traded During the 2024 NFL Draft

With the 2024 NFL draft rapidly approaching, a whirlwind of trades is sure to come. While most of these moves will strictly involve picks as teams maneuver up and down the board, some of these deals could see veteran players move.

Even some of the league's top talent could be involved in draft-day trades. In the last half-decade alone, stars such as A.J. Brown, Marquise Brown and Trent Williams were dealt during the draft, and several more notables could follow suit this coming week.

Keep that in mind as we look at five players who have a realistic chance to be traded during the draft, which is set to take place Thursday through Saturday in Detroit.

The Chicago Bears have a logjam in their backfield. It appeared that the team would go into the 2024 campaign with the tandem of Khalil Herbert and Roschon Johnson serving as its top running backs, but the free-agency pickup of D'Andre Swift muddied the waters.

Rather than try to sort out a pecking order involving all three, the Bears could bring clarity to this situation by trading one of their incumbent running backs. Since Johnson just joined the team as a fourth-round pick last year and has barely scratched the surface of his potential, moving on from Herbert makes the most sense.

While Herbert is still on a cheap rookie deal and is set to make just a shade over $1 million for the 2024 campaign, he's likely not going to stick around in the Windy City beyond this season.

The Bears issued a three-year, $24 million contract to Swift this offseason and will likely lean on him to be their top producer out of the backfield during the length of that deal. Johnson showed he was capable of handling backup duties after averaging 4.3 yards per carry as a rookie and has upside to become more prominently involved as a sophomore.

Considering the relatively weak crop of running back talent in the 2024 draft—only one ranks within the top 50 of the Bleacher Report Scouting Department's latest big board—there could be some strong trade interest for Herbert.

He has proved to be an elusive rusher, averaging nearly five yards per carry over his first 42 career games. While he doesn't offer much as a pass-catcher, he could still provide a strong return on investment for what would likely be a meager Day 3 pick in exchange.

It may not be a great haul for the Bears, but that pick could help the rebuilding team far more than a one-dimensional depth option in their backfield.

The Cincinnati Bengals hit wideout Tee Higgins with the franchise tag after the sides failed to reach a long-term agreement early in the offseason. While the club still has until July 15 to get Higgins' signature on a multi-year extension, it could be difficult for the Bengals to fit in a market-value deal for the receiver over the next few seasons.

Cincinnati has $24.3 million in cap space available, but priority extensions for players like Ja'Marr Chase, as well as Joe Burrow's historic $275 million deal, are set to clog up the books in the coming years. Rather than issue a new contract to Higgins (projected by Spotrac to be around $18.6 million annually), the Bengals may find it more palatable to simply take the best offer available this offseason and load up the roster with younger, cheaper prospects.

Higgins requested a trade in March, and ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that the wideout is "ready to move on to a new home." That ask, coupled with a loaded class featuring 18 prospects ranked within the top-100 of the Bleacher Report Scouting Department's big board, could lead Cincinnati to ship Higgins out during the draft and quickly acquire a rookie replacement.

The Bengals should receive offers far stronger than the likely third-round compensatory pick they would be in line to acquire if Higgins departed as a free agent next spring. The 33rd Team's Ari Meirov polled NFL executives and found that the receiver's value is likely in the late-first, early-second-round range.

Getting a premium pick of that caliber—or an equivalent package—for a player who had just 656 yards and five touchdowns on 42 catches over 12 games last season could set up the Bengals for future success without breaking the bank.

Brandon Aiyuk may be on the cusp of being traded due to his tricky contract situation with the San Francisco 49ers. With Adam Schefter of ESPN stating last week that he believes the wideout's "desire to get paid is greater than his desire to stay" in the Bay Area, the Niners may be forced to part ways with their breakout star.

Aiyuk has quickly risen to become one of the NFL's top wideouts following a career-best showing in 2023. After narrowly eclipsing the 1,000-yard mark for the first time the previous year, Aiyuk exploded for 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns on 75 catches while helping lead his side to the Super Bowl.

A first-round pick in 2020, Aiyuk is set to make $14.1 million in 2024 after the 49ers picked up his fifth-year option. The team has yet to tender an acceptable long-term offer to the 26-year-old, however, and is running out of time to get a deal done.

Given San Francisco has just $6.3 million in cap space, already has some of the league's highest-paid stars on its roster and will soon need to get creative to fit an extension in for quarterback Brock Purdy, it's going to be nearly impossible for the franchise to issue a market-value deal—which Spotrac expects to be worth nearly $25 million annually—for Aiyuk.

Giving up Aiyuk will be a bitter pill to swallow after he's developed into one of the game's bright young talents, but returning a Day 1 pick—or using him as leverage to jump into the top five, as ESPN's Bill Barnwell proposed in his latest mock draft—could ease the pain while keeping the 49ers in the NFL's upper echelon of championship contenders.

The Denver Broncos appear to be downright desperate to find a franchise quarterback in the 2024 draft. That burning desire could lead them to trade one of the NFL's best cornerbacks before his rookie contract is even close to expiring.

According to NFL.com's Kevin Patra, Broncos head coach Sean Payton recently said there is a "realistic" chance that his team trades up from No. 12 overall. Payton even highlighted the Arizona Cardinals—who are slated to pick No. 4 overall and aren't in need of a quarterback—as a potential trading partner, stating "it's good to be (Cardinals general manager) Monti (Ossenfort) right now."

Payton's comments seem tame in comparison to the recent report from Sportskeeda's Tony Pauline, who heard the coach is "ready to mortgage the franchise's future to move up and select a quarterback" in the first round. Pauline noted that the Broncos are even willing to package up Patrick Surtain II, already a two-time Pro Bowler after just three seasons in the league, to get a deal done.

The allure of Surtain could get a team like the Cardinals, who have major holes in the secondary, to move down on draft night. While dropping from No. 4 to No. 12 would put them out of the running for a top-tier talent like Marvin Harrison Jr.—the No. 1 overall prospect on the Bleacher Report Scouting Department's big board—Arizona would be getting one of the very best cornerbacks in the NFL, a player who has racked up seven picks and 36 pass defenses in just 50 career contests.

Giving up a 24-year-old who is just entering his prime and projects to have plenty more great years ahead of him isn't ideal, but the Broncos don't have a clear path forward without an elite quarterback. After cutting ties with Russell Wilson following two abysmal years, the team is slated to start journeyman Jarrett Stidham and isn't likely to be a factor in the playoff race.

Denver would be much better positioned to compete in a stacked AFC West with someone like Michigan's J.J. McCarthy—Payton's top choice to run his offense according to Pauline—under center. The Broncos could also stand pat and come away from the 2024 draft with another quarterback prospect like Oregon's Bo Nix at No. 12, but McCarthy gives the franchise far more hope for sustained success.

Given the importance of the quarterback position compared to cornerback, trading Surtain makes a good bit of sense here—even if it's a major risk and could cost Payton his job if it fails to pan out.

The Minnesota Vikings have entered a state of transition following the departure of Kirk Cousins in free agency. The loss of their starting signal-caller of the last six years has left the team looking for a franchise quarterback capable of replacing the aging veteran, a search that could result in a blockbuster trade on draft night.

Minnesota began angling for a splashy move up the board earlier this month, dealing the Nos. 42 and 188 overall picks this year and a second-rounder in 2025 to the Houston Texans to get No. 23 overall. Now armed with two Round 1 selections—the team already had the No. 11 overall pick—the Vikings appear to be a major contender to leap up the board and come away with one of the best passers in the class.

It may take more than just draft capital for Minnesota's brass to land one of the coveted prospects projected to go in the top three Thursday night, however.

While head coach Kevin O'Connell joked that he sent flowers to New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft to sweeten the pot in a potential trade for New England's No. 3 overall draft slot, the Pats could push to get superstar wideout Justin Jefferson back in addition to those roses.

ESPN's Bill Barnwell proposed a deal that would see New England move down from No. 3—and the right to select Drake Maye, the top overall quarterback on the Bleacher Report Scouting Department's big board—in exchange for Jefferson and the No. 23 pick. That move would still leave the Vikings with their original selection at No. 11, a spot where they could still draft one of the many blue-chip wideouts expected to go early on Day 1 as a replacement for Jefferson.

Barnwell pegged Jefferson's value to a No. 7 overall pick, noting that the loaded receiver class somewhat reduces the value of a player who has amassed an astonishing 5,899 yards and 30 touchdowns on 392 catches over his first four NFL seasons.

While it's a long shot that Jefferson's replacement would start his career anywhere close to the level Jefferson has attained so rapidly, the Vikings—who also have 2023 first-rounder Jordan Addison to anchor the receiving corps—may be willing to gamble on a fresh start if it means they get a franchise quarterback to build around.

Salary-cap info via Spotrac.