Viktor
Well-known member
- Mar 19, 2019
- 2,552
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Hi Eric! A question for you: Is there any guideline on trading down in the first round as to what you should get in return? For example, with our 14th pick, if we traded down about 6-7 spots, what should we expect in return? I know it's not an exact thing, but is there kind of an expectation? Thanks!
— Gary Gimble
An interesting question from Gary, especially since we all know that Vikings General Manager Rick Spielman has been known to make a trade or two while the draft is ongoing.
The Vikings did just this a year ago, sending the 25th overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft to the 49ers for the 31st, 117th and 176th overall picks.
There are a few draft value charts out there, but for simplicity, let's go with this one from Drafttek.com. If you haven't tinkered around with this before, it simply assigns a point value to each draft pick over seven rounds.
Based on the chart, the 25th pick is valued at 720 points. The 31st pick is 600 points, the 117th pick is 60 points and the 176th pick is 19.8 points.
Some quick math shows that the Vikings traded away a value of 720 points and received 679.8 points in return. By this metric, you would give the 49ers the nod in this deal, right?
You could, but look deeper and you'll see that the Vikings were able to take Jeff Gladney, D.J. Wonnum and K.J. Osborn with those exact three selections. The 49ers went with wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk at No. 25.
And while I certainly like Aiyuk's game (and not because we both went to Arizona State), I argue the Vikings got the better end of the deal with a promising young cornerback, an edge rusher with potential and a player who could eventually develop into a helper on special teams.
So, that's just one example of how draft-day trades are calculated. It's fun to follow during the draft, but sometimes you can't judge the actual impact until months later.