The 2026 NFL Draft saw a robust trade market. Over the course of 257 selections, there were 41 distinct trades made, or nearly six per round. In fact, 112 different 2026 selections were moved at some point, or nearly 44% of the draft (and that excludes picks that had been traded prior to the start of this draft). It also doesn’t include the six future selections that were traded. Almost 10% of the draft (22 picks) changed teams more than once, with three exchanges being the maximum.
Only the Jets traded up three times, but 13 other teams (including the Bears) traded up twice. Meanwhile, four teams traded down at least three times, with the Bills (five times) leading the way.
Of the 37 trades that did not involve players already in the NFL, only 16 were within 5% of the conventional value suggested by the Jimmy Johnson chart. Another 7 were off by more than that in terms of percentage value but were still simply in the range of two picks being offered for one and the margin of lost value being less than that of a mid-to-late 7th-round pick. Additionally, 9 more trades happened that consisted of two picks being sent each way and the total value being exchanged being within 10% the value of the trade of a 7th-round pick overall. This last group of trades once upon a time likely would have been more finely-tuned, but either the format of the draft or the nature of the decision-makers and the talent made that precision less of a priority. That really only leaves a small handful of true outlier trades.
The greatest overpay in terms of percentage was the premium the Browns extracted from the Broncos when they wanted to move up from #170 to #152. Meanwhile, the two biggest overpays in terms of absolute value were both paid by the Texans, who gave up 94.6 points of surplus value to get Keylan Rutledge and another 56 points of value to get Kayden McDonald. That adds up to the value of the 87th pick by conventional accounting. On the other end of the spectrum, the Browns got the two best deals in the draft, with the trades for Emmanuel McNeil-Warren and Austin Barber adding up together to save the Browns just over 64 points of value, or a mid-4th-rounder.
Overall, more of the deals happened at a discount than a premium, and the net sales price of all picks that were traded was about 60 points lower than what would be expected in a “perfect” scenario, but there were clear winners and losers on the trade market.
The Texans lost the value of a third-rounder in trades, whereas the Bears only lost the value of a a very high sixth-rounder and the Jaguars merely lost a seventh-round pick.
The Bills and Giants both got ahead by the value of third-round selections each, but even the Packers and the Panthers gained a 6th-round selection’s value.
Ultimately, the margins of these trades is meaningless if the teams select players who work out, and no amount of “trade value” would make it sting less if a team moves on from a pick that lets another team take a superstar. However, over time, teams that are more effecient at making trades can capture small advantages for a team where a single toe inbounds or a ball getting an index card farther upfield makes the difference.