The first round of the 2023 NFL Draft certainly didn’t disappoint. There were a lot of surprises up and down the board as predicting the selections in this draft was as difficult as many thought it would be during mock draft season.
Numerous trades occurred, as six were completed during the first round. Before the NFL Draft took place, there were nine trades involving first-round picks this year on the move. With many analysts regarding this as a somewhat underwhelming draft talent-wise, it makes sense that teams were aggressively looking to make moves for their guys.
Heading into Day 2, Rounds 2 and 3 of the 2023 NFL Draft, we could see some more trades get completed involving veteran players on rosters. Rumors have swirled for weeks about potential trades and this is the time they could get done.
Who could be on the move today? Here are three Day 2 NFL Draft trades we’d love to see happen.
3. Jonah Williams To The Jets
The New York Jets ended up picking 15th in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft courtesy of the Aaron Rodgers trade with the Green Bay Packers. Despite moving down two spots, they still landed an impact player, selecting Will McDonald IV out of Iowa State to bolster their pass rusher.
It isn’t surprising that the Jets went to the trenches for their first pick, but their offensive line needs some love too. The Pittsburgh Steelers trading up to No. 14 to select Broderick Jones likely threw a wrench in those plans after Paris Johnson Jr., Darnell Wright and Peter Skoronski were selected at No. 6, No. 10 and No. 11.
With a need along the line still, the Jets could pull off a trade to bring in an established player in Jonah Williams. Williams was not thrilled when the Cincinnati Bengals signed Orlando Brown Jr. in free agency to play left tackle and requested a trade. He remains with the team, for now, but a mid-round pick should be more than enough to acquire him from Cincinnati.
2. Austin Ekeler To The Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles were big winners during Round 1 of the 2023 NFL Draft. They swapped picks with the Chicago Bears, moving up to No. 9 from No. 10 to select Georgia defensive tackle, Jalen Carter. With the No. 30 pick, Georgia pass rusher Nolan Smith fell right into their lap.
Philadelphia is turning into Georgia-North as that is now four defensive players that were former Bulldogs on their roster. Last year, it was Jonathan Davis and Nakobe Dean that landed in the City of Brotherly Love together.
After knocking it out of the park on the first night, Howie Roseman should now get aggressive and bolster the offense. Austin Ekeler would be a huge upgrade for the offense as a dual-threat winning back out of the backfield.
Ekeler provides more insurance on early downs given the track record of Rashaad Penny not being able to stay on the field. As arguably the best pass-catching running back in the NFL, he is a big upgrade on Kenneth Gainwell on third downs as well.
1. DeAndre Hopkins To the Packers
The Arizona Cardinals were very active on Day 1 of the 2023 NFL Draft when it came to making trades. All in all, they made three trades on Thursday night, the first was to settle tampering charges with the Eagles. After that, they made a huge trade down from No. 3 with the Houston Texans and then moved back up with the Detroit Lions to No. 6.
Somewhat surprisingly, none of the trades made involved wide receiver, DeAndre Hopkins. Hopkins has been involved in trade rumors for weeks and general manager Monti Ossenfort said that a deal won’t be done involving the veteran.
However, the name of this article is trades we’d love to see, and Hopkins landing in Green Bay is something that would qualify as such. The Packers once again passed on a wide receiver in the first round, making it 21 years since they selected a wide receiver in the first round.
Jordan Love needs some weapons to throw the ball to and Hopkins would be a nice upgrade. Expect Green Bay to be involved in the pass catcher market early in Day 2 with multiple picks, but the former All-Pro would bring everything together.
