Breaking down the draft trade value chart

When a general manager wants to trade up or down, there is a specific draft trade value chart that is followed. Here’s a breakdown of what it is heading into the 2017 NFL Draft.

Making any trades to move up or down positions in the 2017 NFL Draft requires the use of a special kind of value chart. If a general manager wants to trade up to acquire a certain player they have high up on their draft board, they have to give up a certain amount of draft picks to make it happen.

The same thought is applied if a general manager wants to trade down in order to acquire more draft picks to rebuild their franchise. It’s not easy in the grand scheme of things since this requires it to be known and understood during the heat of a moment. When you’re on the clock, it goes by so fast that you need to make a decision within minutes.

Obviously, any pick within the top-ten of the draft order is worth a plethora of points. It’s hard to entice a general manager to trade up or down but at least everyone knows what they’re getting back in return for such a move.

Our friends over at WalterFootball.com did a great job putting up the actual draft trade value chart. Take a look at it below:

To use the example from Walter Football’s site so it makes a bit more sense:

If a team wants to move up from No. 3 to No. 1, it’ll cost them 800 points. That means it’ll have to trade its second- and third-round picks (550 + 255 = 805) to make the move.

Next: Why is 2017 NFL Draft being held in Philadelphia?

Technically, many years ago Jimmy Johnson made this chart for the Dallas Cowboys when he was their head coach to determine a way that enabled teams to trade and get the proper value back in return. It’s a chart still used to this very day and if you’ll be tuning in to watch this year’s draft, be sure to keep it handy so you’re not left out in the dark as trades will more than likely happen at some point in Round 1.