The first round of the 2024 NFL Draft is in the books. Now it's time for Rounds 2 and 3 of the selection process, and after a relatively quiet night of teams jumping around the board, Day 2 could be more frenetic as clubs look to package additional picks for a leap up, or collect capital by shifting down in the order. But which teams are best suited to swap spots?
Here are some of the top candidates to trade up or down on Friday:
Candidates to trade up
- Green Bay Packers: They stood pat and addressed offensive tackle with Jordan Morgan in the first round. Now general manager Brian Gutekunst could look to capitalize on the availability of a cover man like Cooper DeJean or Kool-Aid McKinstry, and he's got four different picks between Rounds 2-3 to put up for sale.
- New York Jets: They dropped down a single spot on Thursday to allow the Minnesota Vikings to select J.J. McCarthy, still ending up with a top offensive tackle prospect, picking up extra Day 3 ammo in the process. Now could be general manager Joe Douglas' chance to be more aggressive, perhaps for a new weapon for Aaron Rodgers.
- Philadelphia Eagles: General manager Howie Roseman loves to make a splash, but he sat tight and still secured a consensus top cornerback on Day 1 in Quinyon Mitchell. With two second-rounders at their disposal, the Eagles could opt to move up early and stop the slide of a borderline first-round talent, either in the trenches or in the secondary.
Candidates to trade down
- Carolina Panthers: New general manager Dan Morgan got Carolina back into Day 1 to secure Xavier Legette out wide, so now it stands to reason he could look to recoup some assets by moving off No. 39 overall. The Panthers have multiple key holes still remaining, so collecting additional swings could be invaluable.
- Los Angeles Chargers: They have two fourth-rounders, so they could also look to move up. But after adding another bookend of the future in Joe Alt at No. 5 overall, Jim Harbaugh and Co. could try to leverage the No. 37 overall selection for multiple swings at wide receiver, cornerback and other areas of need.
- Seattle Seahawks: Reports indicate general manager John Schneider attempted to move up for Michael Penix Jr. in the top 10, so maybe he's not overly concerned with mid-round capital. But after adding Byron Murphy in Round 1, they may prefer to have more than just two picks in the top 100 selections. A move down would give them additional dart throws.
