Forget first-round draft picks: Why contenders should trade for these proven stars instead
With Dexter Lawrence requesting a trade from the Giants, Super Bowl hopefuls should consider making big moves
There are just 16 days between now and the 2026 NFL Draft, but there isn't quite the same buzz about this year's class given the lack of high-end talent at premium positions.
After 2025 Heisman Trophy winner and Indiana Hoosier quarterback Fernando Mendoza goes first overall to the Las Vegas Raiders, there probably isn't another first-round quarterback in this class. CBS Sports' prospect rankings list Alabama's Ty Simpson as the draft's QB2 and as the No. 33 overall prospect -- a non-first-round pick.
Defensive tackle is another position group that's pretty thin, with no one jumping up and down for Clemson's Peter Woods, Texas Tech's Lee Hunter and Ohio State's Kayden McDonald.
However, NFL teams around the league who could be a star defensive tackle away from true playoff contention are in luck, as two-time second team All-Pro defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence requested a trade from the Giants on Monday. The three-time Pro Bowler's four-year, $90 million extension is out of guaranteed money with two years remaining on the pact, and the 28-year-old is seeking a new deal.
With the 2027 NFL Draft expected to be stronger at the top, teams around the league picking in the middle to bottom half of the 2026 first round might as well consider making Lawrence and fellow high-caliber players -- who are also at a potential crossroads with their respective teams -- their first-round picks this offseason.
Here's a look at Lawrence and four others worthy of being acquired for first-round selections, plus the teams that should be picking up the phone.
- Age: 28 (turns 29 on Nov. 12)
- Pro Bowls: 3
- First-team All-Pros: 0
- Second-team All-Pros: 2
Teams that should be interested: Los Angeles Chargers, San Francisco 49ers, Houston Texans
Lawrence is one of just six defensive tackles with 20-plus sacks and 190 quarterback pressures since 2022 along with Chris Jones, Zach Allen, Quinnen Williams, Jeffery Simmons and Leonard Williams. He's a true game changer who could take a team's defense from good to great if put on a playoff-caliber roster. The Giants won a road playoff game with Daniel Jones at quarterback in 2022 thanks to what Lawrence was able to do in helping pressure then-Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins.
Team that needs to trade for him the most
The Houston Texans are fresh off of their best defensive season in franchise history: their 17.4 points per game allowed in 2025 ranked as their fewest in a season since the team's inception in 2002 as well as the second-fewest in the league. Plus, Houston possessed the NFL's No. 1 total defense, allowing just 277.2 total yards per game. That was on the strength of the best edge rusher duo in football -- 2025 first team All-Pro Will Anderson Jr. and 2025 second team All-Pro Danielle Hunter -- and what is now the best secondary in football following the Seattle Seahawks' post-Super Bowl attrition -- 2025 first team All-Pro cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., Pro Bowl cornerback Kamari Lassiter, Pro Bowl safety Calen Bullock and ballhawk Jalen Pitre (four interception in 2025).
Quarterback C.J. Stroud becoming the first player in NFL playoff history with five-plus interceptions (five) and five-plus fumbles (five) in a single postseason like he did in 2025 was Houston's undoing. However, Seattle just laid out the blueprint to winning a Super Bowl with an inconsistent quarterback: be the best defense and complement that with a solid run game. The Texans already went out and traded for Detroit Lions' bruiser David Montgomery. Check that box. Houston can check the other box by sending their 28th overall pick to New York for Lawrence to pair him with Anderson and Hunter to complete a unit that could very well be the 2026 season's undisputed best defense.
That would be an ideal way to max out Stroud's rookie contract and go for it in a wide open AFC with three-time Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes still recovering from a torn ACL.
- Age: 25
- Pro Bowls: 1
- First-team All-Pros: 0
- Second-team All-Pros: 1
Teams that should be interested: New England Patriots, Los Angeles Chargers, San Francisco 49ers, Baltimore Ravens
Concerns about wide receiver George Pickens' attitude were greatly overstated a year ago. He arrived to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a third-round pick, and he broke Dallas' record for the most receiving yards by a player in their first year with the team with 1,429 yards in 2025, the third-most in the entire league. Pickens found instant chemistry with quarterback Dak Prescott on deep fade routes, back shoulder throws and slants almost instantly in just one season with the Cowboys. His 2025 production makes it clear his frustrations as a Pittsburgh Steeler had much more to do with the team's lackluster quarterback position over the years than anything else.
Yes, Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones has been adamant Pickens is in the Cowboys' long-term plans, but he said the same thing about All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons before trading him to the Green Bay Packers a week before the start of the 2025 season. Anything can happen when Jones gets backed up against the well in contract negotiations with his star players. Pickens is currently on the franchise tag, but it's certain his agent David Mulugheta doesn't want his client to take the field without a long-term deal in 2026.
| George Pickens 2025 season, NFL ranks | NFL rank | |
|---|---|---|
Catches | 93 | 8th |
Receiving yards | 1,429 | 3rd |
Yards per catch | 15.4 | 5th |
Receiving TD | 9 | T-8th |
Receiving first downs | 73 | T-3rd |
Catches of 25-plus yards | 13 | T-4th |
Team that needs to trade for him the most
The Chargers had the NFL's ninth-ranked scoring defense (20.0 points per game allowed) in 2025, but quarterback Justin Herbert got beaten to a pulp behind the league's most injury-ravaged offensive line. He was the most pressured (126 times pressured) and most hit (took 129 quarterback hits) last season. Having a true No. 1 safety valve like Pickens, whose quick release off the line of scrimmage could save Herbert's life, could raise the ceiling of the Chargers' offense tremendously.
Los Angeles will get both of their offensive tackles, Rashawn Slater (patellar tendon) and Joe Alt (ankle), back from injuries in 2026, and they have an offensive coordinator in Mike McDaniel who can maximize their talent around Herbert. McDaniel helped make the 5-foot-10-inch tall Tyreek Hill the only player in NFL history with multiple 1,700-yard receiving seasons (2022-2023). Pairing Pickens, a speedy 6-foot-3-inch receiver, with Herbert's rocket launcher right arm could bring the fireworks back to the Chargers' offense.
This was a squad that had the defending AFC champion New England Patriots stuck in the mud in the wild card round, but the Chargers' offense wasn't able to break through. Trading the draft's 22nd overall pick for Pickens would allow them to really go for it in the 2026 postseason.
- Age: 28 (turns 29 on June 30)
- Pro Bowls: 3
- First-team All-Pros: 0
- Second-team All-Pros: 3
Teams that should be interested: New England Patriots, Los Angeles Chargers, San Francisco 49ers, Baltimore Ravens
All A.J. Brown has done since arriving in Philadelphia in 2022 is put up 1,000 yards receiving. In fact, he's the first player in Eagles history with 1,000-plus receiving in four consecutive seasons. Brown's 5,034 yards receiving as an Eagle, since 2022, are the fifth-most in the entire NFL. He has accomplished this despite quarterback Jalen Hurts' rigid preferences when it comes to the schematics of Philadelphia's passing offense. Brown also comes with a contract extension already hammered out: his three-year, $96 million contract extension kicks in next year in 2027.
Team that needs to trade for him the most
Brown's 5,034 since changing teams from the Tennessee Titans to the Eagles in 2022 are the second-most by a player in their first four seasons after changing teams in NFL history behind only Stefon Diggs' 5,372 yards receiving from 2020 to 2023 with the Buffalo Bills after being traded from the Minnesota Vikings. Diggs was 2025 NFL MVP runner up Drake Maye's No. 1 wide receiver during the Patriots' run to an AFC crown, but he and Maye couldn't generate enough offense to overcome the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl.
Yes, New England has already signed former Green Bay Packers wide receiver Romeo Doubs this offseason to help mitigate the departure of Diggs, but Doubs is a WR2 at best on a contending team. Acquiring Brown for the 31st overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft plus maybe another pick or so makes all the sense in the world for the Patriots. They're so close to being a championship ball club, they just need that last bit of firepower for Maye.
- Age: 28 (turns 29 on Aug. 22)
- Pro Bowls: 5
- First-team All-Pros: 0
- Second-team All-Pros: 2
Teams that should be interested: Buffalo Bills, Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers
Only two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year edge rusher Myles Garrett (509 quarterback pressures since 2019) has more quarterback pressures since 2019 than five-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Maxx Crosby (476) since he entered the league in 2019. Crosby's 69.5 career sacks are the sixth-most in the NFL in his career life span, and he was able to produce 10.0 in 2025 for a terrible Raiders team that fired head coach Pete Carroll after just one season. Yes, the Baltimore Ravens undid a trade for him in which they were set to send two first-round picks to the Las Vegas Raiders on the grounds of how his surgically-repaired knee looked at the physical after Crosby had a meniscus repair procedure done on Jan. 8.
However, Crosby's knee might look a lot better another month removed from surgery. If that's the case, perhaps the Raiders can drum up a market for him again, albeit one in which he likely fetches just one first-round pick.
Team that needs to trade for him the most
The pressure is on in Buffalo after the Bills failed to reach the AFC championship game in the 2025 season with Mahomes, Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson not participating in the playoff field. General manager Brandon Beane executed a power play to roll Sean McDermott under the bus for this failure. He also traded a 2026 second-round pick to the Chicago Bears in exchange for wide receiver DJ Moore and a 2026 fifth-round pick.
It's time for all-in moves in Buffalo. The Bills also haven't had a player produce double-digit sacks for them since Leonard Floyd did so with 10.5 back in 2023. Some salary cap maneuvering would certainly be required, but it's a move Beane could feel desperate to make.
- Age: 30 (turns 31 on Dec. 29)
- Pro Bowls: 7
- First-team All-Pros: 5
- Second-team All-Pros: 2
Teams that should be interested: Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers
Myles Garrett's trade value has never been higher after he registered an NFL record 23.0 sacks in 2025 and won his second NFL Defensive Player of the Year award. Garrett's 125.5 sacks are the second-most in a player's first nine seasons all-time behind only Hall of Famer Reggie White's 137.5, and he averages the most sacks per game (0.94) in NFL history, minimum 50 games played. The ever-rebuilding Browns also made Garrett more tradable after moving his contract's option bonus to seven days before their first game of the 2026 NFL season.
If Garrett were to be traded before June 1, Cleveland would absorb a $41.09 million dead cap hit per OverTheCap.com. If he were to be traded after June 1, the dead money could be spread out to $15.53 million in 2026 and roughly $25.56 million in 2027. That's much more digestible for the Browns' salary cap situation. A Garrett trade would likely involve the team they send him to agreeing to consummate the trade after June 1, which is after the NFL draft. However, a deal could be struck pre-draft, and the team sending away their first-round pick to Cleveland for Garrett could select the player the Browns want at the time. That player would put on the draft hat of the team acquiring Garrett before being sent to Cleveland on June 1 once the trade is processed.
A deal structure like this for Garrett would be unprecedented, but he's a historically great player at the peak of his powers.
Team that needs to trade for him the most
With both 2022 NFL Defensive Player of the Year edge rusher Nick Bosa and 2025 first-round pick defensive lineman Mykel Williams suffering season-ending injuries, the 49ers recorded the fewest sacks in 2025 (20) and averaged the fewest sacks per game (1.18) by a playoff team in NFL history.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan and then-defensive coordinator Robert Saleh were able to patchwork their way through to a 12-5 regular season record and an NFC divisional round appearance. However, the eventual Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks showed how big of a gap there truly was between the divisional round and the Super Bowl by walloping them 41-6. San Francisco has the eighth-most effective cap space in the league at $26.4 million, and they're already down the 2026 third-round pick after acquiring Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa this offseason.
San Francisco might be able to thread the needle and both acquire Garrett in a package led by their 27th overall pick in 2026 and draft a few other players this year. The 49ers need to go for it with running back Christian McCaffrey turning 30 on June 7, wide receiver Mike Evans turning 33 on Aug. 21 and left tackle Trent Williams turning 38 on July 19. Garrett would solidify their defense in a way that would allow them to compete with Seattle and the Los Angeles Rams for NFC supremacy.
