We already reviewed what the Packers could do if they wanted to trade down, so now let’s take a look at a more exciting option and see what they could do if they traded up.
Here are the Packers picks and their relative trade values (based on DraftTek’s Trade Value Chart)
1st round (30) 620 points
2nd round (62) 284 points
3rd round (94) 124 points
4th round (133) 39.5 points
5th round (175) 21.4 points
6th round (192) 14.6 points
6th round (209) 7.8 points
7th round (218) 4.2 points
7th round (242) 1 point
7th round (243) 1 point
Now let’s look at the scenarios, starting with the smallest moves.
You’d have to trade the team’s last 5 picks to even be mathematically in contention to move up one spot in the 1st round. And since no team would probably find that valuable, let’s think bigger.
Tennessee, Baltimore, and Seattle all pick directly ahead of the Packers and they are all teams that value linebackers. If the Packers wanted to move up to make sure they could get a prospect like Patrick Queen or Kenneth Murray, they would probably need to move up 4 spots with Miami.
Strictly from a value perspective, that would take all their picks after the 3rd round. To find something more reasonable (and likely), we can think more along the lines of this scenario:
Packers 1st round pick (30) and 3rd round pick (94)
for
Dolphins 1st round pick (26) and 4th round pick (142)
This would give the Dolphins – in rebuild mode – a player on a similar talent tier in the 1st round (without being a position-sensitive as the linebacker-needy Packers), while significantly upgrading a Day 3 pick to a Day 2 pick for better talent. At the same time, the Packers get one of the inside linebackers they covet for downgrading a future pick, while still maintaining their 2nd round position, where they could find a wide receiver in a deep class.
If the Packers wanted to get a little higher in the 1st round, they could look to package their 3rd round pick without additional compensation. This would allow them to get a little higher in the order and do something like this:
Packers 1st round pick (30) and 3rd round pick (94)
for
New Orleans 1st round pick (24)
The Packers could also potentially squeeze this up to 23 if New England (who has been an agreeable trade partner in the past) was willing to give up a few points in the trade value equation. As it is, the Packers kind of owe the Saints after robbing them the last time the made a trade in the 1st round.
This move with the Saints could potentially open up a new tier of talent for the Packers if one of the inside linebacker prospects went earlier than they hoped or they had their eyes on a wide receiver like Laviska Shenault, if he were to start falling. The other benefit of this move is it allows the Packers to leapfrog the Vikings at 25.
Now let’s say the Packers get really antsy about a guy they really want and Gutey moves up in the 1st round, like he has every year as a GM (same attitude in free agency, mind you – when he wants someone, he goes and gets them without any playing around), they could package their 1st and 2nd rounder to move up like this:
Packers 1st round pick (30) and 2nd round pick (62)
for
Dolphins 1st round pick (18)
The Dolphins keep popping up because of the 1st round picks they’ve stockpiled, and they could get a lot of value and flexibility out of a move like. The Packers could make a move like this if one of the top guys starts to drop (like when Jaire Alexander fell to 18 a couple years ago). Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb or defensive lineman Javon Kinlaw could be targets in this range if they started to fall.
Ok, but what’s the maximum move? If there was one all-in, mythical silver bullet player that was guaranteed to get the Packers another Lombardi (don’t laugh, a lot of fans think this is a real thing), how high could they get?
What could the Packers to if they went all-in-Mike-Ditka-Ricky-Williams? Here it is:
The Packers entire draft (10 picks in all)
for
Buccaneers 1st round pick (14)
That’s about the ceiling for the Packers this year. The 14th pick, and it would be their only pick.
Now, it’s possible someone falls that would be worth that, but I couldn’t imagine how. Like, they would need some help from Bill Belichick to pull off something like that.
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