The upcoming NFL draft will almost certainly see a plethora of trades taking place across the three-day event. Last year saw 35 deals go down across all seven rounds, and more are surely on the way this time around.
There's at least one move every team could make that would be a sensible decision for the club. Whether it fosters a rebuild by shipping off a veteran, brings in a missing piece to help contend for a title or is simply a move up or down the board to land the right prospect, there are plenty of options at the disposal of every single general manager.
With that in mind, here is a look at the most sensible draft-day trade (utilizing DrakTek's trade value chart to keep things fair) for each of the league's 32 teams:
Arizona Cardinals: Deal DeAndre Hopkins
Cardinals receive: 2023 second-round pick (No. 59)
Bills receive: WR DeAndre Hopkins
The Arizona Cardinals have still not managed to find a taker for star wideout DeAndre Hopkins.
While their initial asking price—reported by ESPN's Jeremy Fowler to be in the neighborhood of the second-, third- and fourth-round picks that the Carolina Panthers received for running back Christian McCaffrey—clearly put off potential suitors, the Cardinals could lower those demands during the draft to get out from under the receiver's contract, which carries cap hits north of $26 million for the next two seasons, per Spotrac.
The Buffalo Bills would make for an intriguing trade partner. Hopkins has already indicated on the All Things Covered podcast that he would be happy to play for the organization, which holds a selection in the latter portion of Round 2. That may not be as much capital as Arizona was hoping for, but it's a strong pick that will assist the rebuild while getting Hopkins off the books.
Atlanta Falcons: Move Up to Land QB of the Future
Falcons receive: 2023 first-round pick (No. 3)
Cardinals receives: 2023 first-round pick (No. 8), 2023 second-round pick (No. 44), 2024 first-round pick, QB Desmond Ridder
The Atlanta Falcons may have made the questionable decision to declare Desmond Ridder their 2023 starter, but it's not too late to walk that statement back and go all-in to acquire a rookie signal-caller with much higher potential.
Ridder was unimpressive at best during his four-game trial last year. The third-round pick completed just 63.5 percent of his passes for 708 yards and two touchdowns in those contests. While he avoided mistakes, he didn't raise the ceiling on an offense loaded with elite pass-catching talents like Drake London and Kyle Pitts.
While it may be costly, the Falcons could expedite their rebuild and become a contender again by offering a package headlined by two first-round picks to the Arizona Cardinals for the No. 3 overall selection. That will get them into a place where they can draft a quarterback like Anthony Richardson, Will Levis or C.J. Stroud, all passers who have real chances to become bona fide stars at the next level.
Tossing in Ridder will give the Cardinals a developmental prospect they could lean on during Kyler Murray's projected absence for a good portion of the 2023 campaign.