Five Potential Blockbuster Trades for the 1st Round of the 2022 NFL Draft
Kansas City moves up to get a new number one receiver
Due to a surplus in draft capital, the Kansas City Chiefs are one of the most intriguing teams in the 2022 NFL Draft. The Chiefs have two selections in each of the first, second, third, and fourth rounds. It is almost guaranteed that the Chiefs will not use all 12 of their selections in this draft. They should be very active using their extra draft capital to move up the draft board and trading current draft capital to teams for picks in the 2023 NFL Draft.
It seems like the Chiefs may select an edge rusher and cornerback in the first round and address their need for a wider receiver with one of their day two selections. However if one of the top receivers in this year’s class begins to fall down the draft board they may have to use their extra capital to move up the board and grab a game-changing receiver. Based on the speculation around USC’s Drake London and Alabama’s Jamison Williams, the receiver that could slip down draft boards is many scouts’ top receiver which is Ohio State’s Garrett Wilson.
After trading Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins, Kansas City’s top receivers are JuJu Smith-Schuster, Marquez Valez-Scantling, and Mecole Hardman. All the receivers have shown flashes, but none of them should be trusted to be a team’s number one receiver. Wilson has all the tools to be a number one receiver at the next level. His excellent route running and underrated speed will translate very well in whatever offense he is a part of during his rookie season. If he was to land in Kansas City, he would immediately be the Chiefs’ best wide receiver despite playing a different role than Tyreek Hill did.
Kansas City would likely not mind parting with the 29th overall pick, one of their second-round picks, and one of their third-round picks to move up the Houston Texans’ 13th overall selection. It would make a lot of sense for them to move up to this spot of the 2022 NFL Draft because many believe Houston is looking to move out of this spot. The Texans need to add a lot of young potential foundational pieces to this rebuilding team in this draft because of the lack of high draft picks currently on this roster.
Houston should be targeting not only players that address major needs on their roster but the best players available because of all the major holes across their roster. One player they could target late in the draft if they were to trade down with Kansas City is Georgia safety Lewis Cine. After Justin Reid left this offseason, Houston is in dire need of safety help. Cine would immediately be a massive upgrade over who is currently projected to start for the Texans. He is a hard-hitting safety who has great ball skills that can be trusted to make impactful plays when necessary.
In the second round, Houston could target Minnesota tackle Daniel Faalele with Kansas City’s second-round pick. It is unclear whether the Texans want to start former first-round pick Tytus Howard at guard or tackle. If they want to keep him at guard, Faalele is a massive right tackle who can come in and possibly be a bookend tackle opposite Laremy Tunsil on this rebuilding Texans offensive line.
After taking Nico Collins in the third round last offseason, the Texans could address the receiver position in the third round again this year. One player they can target is Nevada wide receiver Romeo Doubs. He has the size and speed to be a starting wide receiver in the NFL. Doubs would be the 50/50 ball receiver the Texans are lacking in their receiver room. The trio of Brandin Cooks, Nico Collins, and Romeo Doubs would be a solid group of receivers for Davis Mills to throw the ball to next season.