Max
Veteran
For what it's worth, I looked at a couple of lists of biggest trades in NFL history and added a couple of the more recent big names to this list. These are the guys traded before the draft: Joe Montana (err, must not have been as big a hero to his city as JJ), Jerome Bettis, Champ Baily/Clinton Portis, Randy Moss (vikings to oakland), Moss (oakland to NE), Matt Cassel, Marshall Faulk, Fran Tarkenton, Terrell Owens, Steve Young, Brandon Marshall, Jay Cutler, Donovan McNabb, Drew Bledsoe, Stafford/Goff
And these are the guys traded after the draft: Herschel Walker, Erick Dickerson, Khalil Mack, Jalen Ramsey
Not sure if there's anything definitive that can be gleaned from this list as far as if you'll get more or less for a player by waiting until after the draft, but it certainly seems like most of the big trades in NFL history happen prior to the draft. My take is that it's because teams want an immediate return in the draft year the player is being traded and they also want to know where that pick is going to be in the round. I mentioned earlier, that a top 3 pick in the 1st is the equivalent to (4) 1sts at the end of the round. Saying we need to get (4) 1sts for Watson doesn't mean much without knowing where those picks are in the 1st.
And these are the guys traded after the draft: Herschel Walker, Erick Dickerson, Khalil Mack, Jalen Ramsey
Not sure if there's anything definitive that can be gleaned from this list as far as if you'll get more or less for a player by waiting until after the draft, but it certainly seems like most of the big trades in NFL history happen prior to the draft. My take is that it's because teams want an immediate return in the draft year the player is being traded and they also want to know where that pick is going to be in the round. I mentioned earlier, that a top 3 pick in the 1st is the equivalent to (4) 1sts at the end of the round. Saying we need to get (4) 1sts for Watson doesn't mean much without knowing where those picks are in the 1st.