With Day 1 of the 2022 NFL Draft now mere hours away, the rumor mill is heating up quickly. Of course, that means we’re getting all kinds of trade talk.
According to ESPN, the New York Giants are a team to watch on that front, as the team has received calls about the No. 7 overall pick. Among those interested, according to Jeremy Fowler, are the Seattle Seahawks, who own the No. 9 selection.
Moving from No. 9 to 7 would mean the Seahawks are interested in jumping ahead of the Atlanta Falcons. Seattle, like Atlanta, has plenty of needs on both sides of the ball, but would presumably fear the Falcons taking a specific player one spot ahead of them if they were motivated enough to make a trade two spots up the board.
It would make sense that the Giants are open to moving out of No. 7, given that it is their second top-seven pick (they also own No. 5) and they have numerous holes on their roster. The new management team led by Joe Schoen, as well as head coach Brian Daboll, has yet to move all that aggressively to add win-now talent to the team, indicating that the Giants could take a longer-term view of their roster rebuild. Trading down from a top-seven pick and adding more picks on Days 2 or 3 — or even in 2023 — would be a strong signal that the Giants have their eyes on the future.
However, rumors throughout this week have been that many more teams are interested in trading down than trading up, particularly near the top of the draft. That’s why Fowler’s note that many teams expect the most movement to occur outside the top 10 picks is also pertinent, particularly since Texans head honcho Nick Caserio indicating that he thinks there’s only a 50-60 percent chance his team actually uses the No. 13 overall pick, which is Houston’s second selection of the draft after No. 3.
