Atlanta Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff has built a
reputation as one of the NFL’s most active executives during the draft.
He’s
pulled off at least one trade during each draft since he was hired in
2008, and six years ago pulled off one of the biggest draft-day deals in
recent memory, when he sent five picks to the Cleveland Browns in order
to move up 21 spots, from No. 27 to No. 6, to select wide receiver
Julio Jones.
“I’m not a big believer of sitting on your hands and
waiting,” Dimitroff told USA TODAY Sports last week. “You have to make
things happen and be aggressive about going after what you need.”
But
those type of draft-day trades aren't last-minute decisions. At least
when it comes to first-round trades, teams have been plotting for weeks,
if not months, in advance.
“Well before actual draft day, you've
come to the conclusion that you're willing to trade back, or, you're in
that mode that you’ve targeted one or two people, and we're going to get
them however it takes,” Los Angeles Rams general manager Les Snead told
USA TODAY Sports.
MORE COVERAGE:
Across
the NFL this week, general managers and personnel executives are
exchanging phone calls, trying to get a sense of which teams are looking
to move up in the first round of the draft, and who might be trying to
trade down and acquire more picks later in the draft.
Teams
are already discussing potential compensation, and using the league’s
trade value chart while negotiating how many picks it would cost to make
potential moves. In some cases, like when the Falcons made their trade
for Jones in 2011, teams might have verbal agreements in place for
first-round trades days or hours before the first team is officially on
the clock.
Last year’s draft weekend included 25 trades – five in the first round, and then 10 each on the next two days.
(Before
the 2016 draft even started, the top two picks had been dealt, with
Snead’s Los Angeles Rams and the Philadelphia Eagles moving into
position to take quarterbacks Jared Goff and Carson Wentz,
respectively.)
This year there is more uncertainty at the top of
the draft, where Cleveland owns the No. 1 pick. That could mean even
more action:
— San Francisco 49ers first-year general manager John
Lynch has already said he is willing to trade back, which would not be
an uncommon move for a team that has as many holes to fill as the Niners
do.
— Tennessee Titans general manager Jon Robinson, whose team
has the No. 5 pick from the Rams as well as the No. 18 selection, and
Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan, with the No. 6 pick, have also been
on the record this spring about their willingness to move back.
—
Among the teams that might be looking to move up are the Browns, who
also own the No. 12 pick and have a major hole to fill at quarterback;
the Denver Broncos, who have moved up in the first round in each of the
last two drafts; and the New England Patriots, who currently don’t own a
pick in the first two rounds. The Patriots, while lacking in draft pick
capital to make a move, do have two players, quarterback Jimmy
Garoppolo and cornerback Malcolm Butler, who could be used as trading
chips.
“I think anytime you move up or down it’s usually
player-driven and player-specific. So until you actually know what
you’re comparing and who you’re comparing to then it’s hard to make that
decision,” Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio said at a
news conference last week. “There are a lot of variables involved and
ultimately it’s going to be player-specific and player-driven. We’re not
going to really know until we’re actually sitting there or kind of
going through the draft once it gets started.”
MORE COVERAGE:
In
the days leading up to the draft, in addition to the exploratory phone
calls, teams are also exchanging lists of contact information to be used
throughout draft weekend. The lists include landlines and cell phone
numbers for general managers, head coaches, football operations
personnel and other executives who will be in each team’s war rooms.
As the draft begins to unfold, and players begin coming off the board, those phones are buzzing.
“As
soon as you get on the clock you might get one or two calls, or three,
depending on how many people behind you you've said you would trade back
with. At that point, things can get a little hectic. As soon as you get
on the clock you can say, ‘Hey, do you want to do it?’” Snead said.
“But what's interesting is when you get another team that calls in that
maybe you weren't expecting, maybe they're more desperate, and all of a
sudden you might have a better deal on the table so now you’re
frantically working to analyze that. And the clock is ticking.”
Once
teams have reached a verbal agreement on a trade, someone from each
side will call the NFL’s head table, and the trade becomes official. But
for many teams, that doesn’t mean the conversations stop. Trading picks
continues throughout the weekend, with teams moving up in later rounds
to grab specific players who may have fallen, or moving back to stock
pile picks for future drafts.
“When people feel the draft talent
is dwindling, that’s when you’re willing to dole out their picks to
acquire future picks,” Dimitroff said. “I personally believe there are
benefits of acquiring. But you have to continue to build your team and
you have to play now.”
Recent draft-day trades for the Falcons
have netted linebacker Deion Jones in 2016, the result of moving back,
and defensive tackle Grady Jarrett after moving up in the fifth round in
2015. Both were key players on the NFC championship defense last year,
and proof that Dimitroff’s aggressive philosophy can pay off.
“Most
general managers and head coaches are cognizant of the fact they better
capitalize now with their organization or in three or four years they
won’t be around to reap the benefits,” Dimitroff said. “There’s
certainly the aggressiveness to go and get the pieces you need to build
your team into a contender.”
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