NFL Draft Rumors: Insiders Expect More Trades in 2nd Half of 1st Round Than 1st Half

Even though most of the intrigue around the 2024 NFL draft is about what might happen early in the first round, most of the trade activity might happen with teams in the back half of the opening round on Thursday.

Per ESPN's Dan Graziano, people in the league anticipate deals are more "likely" to come "in the second half of the first round than in the first half."

Graziano cited the Indianapolis Colts at No. 15, Jacksonville Jaguars at No. 17, Los Angeles Rams at No. 19 and Philadelphia Eagles at No. 22 as teams that have been making calls about potentially moving up.

The Cincinnati Bengals (No. 18) are "worth watching" for a trade, with Graziano noting they like Alabama offensive tackle JC Latham.

The 2023 draft featured six draft-day trades in the first round with an even split of three coming in the first half and three coming in the second half. The highest pick traded was No. 3 overall when the Houston Texans acquired it from the Arizona Cardinals.

Going back to 2022, there were nine trades during the first round of the draft. There were only three such moves in 2021.

Those deals don't include the pre-draft trades that happened during the offseason, most notably the Carolina Panthers acquiring the No. 1 pick from the Chicago Bears for four picks and D.J. Moore.

If there's a spot to keep an eye on early in the draft, it seems to be the Cardinals at No. 4 overall.

The Athletic's Chad Graff and Dianna Russini reported the New England Patriots are taking calls about the No. 3 pick, but they "feel comfortable" staying in that spot to select a quarterback.

Depending on which of the top four quarterbacks is still on the board after the Bears, Washington Commanders and Patriots make their selection, it opens the door for other quarterback-needy teams to try making a move.

The New York Giants (No. 6), Minnesota Vikings (No. 11 and 23), Denver Broncos (No. 12) and Las Vegas Raiders (No. 13) could be in play for quarterbacks.

Teams that are comfortable with their quarterback situation have the luxury of seeing how the board plays out early before needing to think about which moves they want to make.