The future of the NFL draft and roster construction could see a major shift if owners decide to approve a potential landmark proposal.
During an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Monday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter said a source told him there would be a push very soon to increase the number of first-round selections a team can trade in the future from three to five years. The proposal has not yet been formally submitted, but the NFL typically releases the proposals made by teams and the league’s competition committee days before the spring annual league meeting, which will start March 31 in Phoenix.
On Wednesday, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio contacted the NFL about the viability of the proposal and NFL Vice President of Communication Brian McCarthy responded by saying the measure would have to be voted on “by the full membership.”
The change would need approval from 24 of the league’s 32 team owners to vote in favor of the change. The ability to trade first-round selections that far into the future would make the NFL similar to the NBA, which allows picks to be traded years ahead. However, the NBA has a rule that prevents first-round selections from being traded in consecutive years.
The ability to trade additional future first-round selections could lead to an arms race if teams are trying to trade for top-tier talent. For example, there are rumors that Las Vegas Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby wants to be traded. There are only a handful of teams that could currently offer the draft assets necessary to make the Raiders think about pulling off a trade.
However, if the rule were to pass, significantly more teams could enter the bidding for elite players like Crosby by offering future first-round picks, driving up the price. It could also benefit rebuilding teams like the Raiders by giving them more valuable draft capital to accelerate their roster construction.