Nobody trades first round picks more often than the Los Angeles Rams and the team’s President is in full support of a proposed rule change to allow even more draft selections deals in the future. Rams President Kevin Demoff tweeted on Wednesday afternoon that “nothing creates more interest in the NFL than trades” and that a new rule change proposal to increase every team’s ability to move future picks “makes so much sense”.
The Browns proposed a rule change on Wednesday that would allow teams to trade draft picks up to 5 years out from the current year. The current rule is that teams can only trade picks up to 3 years out.
“Nothing creates more interest in the NFL than trades,” tweeted Demoff. “This is why Cleveland’s proposal to allow teams to trade picks up to 5 years out as opposed to 3 years out makes so much sense. More picks to trade = more trades = more interest & team building options.”
No team has been more willing to trade future picks than the Rams so if this rule change passes then Les Snead could propose dealing L.A.’s 2031 first round pick for a player.
You read that right: In the near future we might hear about the Rams trading picks from the 2030s!
The Rams traded future picks for Jared Goff in 2016. They traded their 2022 and 2023 first round picks for Matthew Stafford in 2021. They traded a 2026 first round pick for Trent McDuffie in 2026.
If this proposal passed, if Snead feels he really wants a player but needs his first round pick in the next couple of years, he could offer a 2031 first rounder for that player.
But what would it be worth?
The rule of thumb has been that a future pick is worth less than the same round pick of the current year, i.e. a 2027 second round pick is like a 2026 third round pick; a 2028 second round pick would be like a 2026 fourth round pick.
So what would a 2031 first round pick be worth?
Probably not as much as a 2026 first round pick. The GM who is acquiring that 2031 draft pick knows full well that there’s a good chance he won’t even be the GM in five years.
However, if a GM in the draft this year wanted to move up from the fourth round to the second round but didn’t want to give up too many picks in 2026 and 2027 while he knows he’s the GM, he might be willing to offer a second round pick in 2030. Would that be enough?
The owners are expected to vote on the rule change proposal later this month. At least two teams are known to be in favor.
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