Record 8 teams head into draft without 1st-round pick
The Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams should have plenty of company sitting out the first round of the NFL draft next week.
The franchise that hasn’t made a selection in round one since taking Jared Goff in 2016 and doesn’t currently have another firstround pick until 2024, is set to be joined by a record seven other teams that have traded away their firstround picks in what has become a growing trend in recent years.
Whether it’s teams emulating the Rams’ model of flipping uncertain picks for cost-controlled rookies for more proven veterans with more lucrative contracts or others that followed the path Kansas City and Buffalo used by trading future first-round picks to move up to take a future franchise quarterback, teams are opting out of the first round of the draft at a furious pace.
This will mark the third time in four years that at least seven teams won’t
make a pick in the first round barring one of those teams trading back up, something that happened just twice in the first 52 years of the common draft.
Former Tampa Bay general manager and Siriusxm analyst Mark Dominik said the increased salary cap, more power for players and GMS willing to take more risks have led to the change.
“I think that’s the unique thing is because players are actually getting a little bit more aggressive in their stance and clubs are willing
to do that,” Dominik said. “Twenty years ago, if you tried to cross (former Chiefs GM) Carl Peterson you’d never play football again . ... That mentality has kind of gone in the league. That’s why you’ve seen more firstround draft picks moved and traded because clubs are willing to do that.
“Therefore, having a known commodity, especially because some of these guys are elite, is better than having that first-round pick that you’re hoping is what you can be.”