With the 2024 NFL Draft less than one week away, all eyes are on the quarterbacks but there are other intriguing storylines fans should be following.
Among those are the already-rostered players who could be flipped on draft night as part of larger deals. Here are five players who could be part of blockbuster draft-night trades.
Brandon Aiyuk, WR, San Francisco 49ers
Aiyuk has made it clear he values getting paid more than he does staying with the 49ers and if his salary demands are too rich for their blood, perhaps moving the 26-year-old wideout to acquire more draft capital or move up higher in Round 1 is in the team’s best interest.
After posting back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons and garnering a second team All-Pro nod in 2023, Aiyuk could potentially fetch a first-round pick one-for-one from the right team or at worst be worth a first-round pick swap plus an additional mid-round pick.
Tee Higgins, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
Higgins has already requested a trade, but he did say he expects to play in Cincinnati in 2024. It’s highly unlikely the Bengals can keep him around long term after he plays this season on his $21.82 million franchise tag, so trading him now and at least getting something in return for him has to appeal to Cincy’s front office.
For teams likely to miss out on one of Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr., LSU’s Malik Nabers or Washington’s Rome Odunze, trading for Higgins might be a better option than rolling the dice on the second tier of receivers in the draft. Higgins’ value is slightly lower than Aiyuk’s, but a first-round pick swap or perhaps a second-rounder straight up shouldn’t be out of the question.
Greg Newsome II, CB, Cleveland Browns
The Browns signed Denzel Ward to a five-year, $100.5M extension in 2022 and they have until May 2 to decide whether or not to pick up Newsome’s $13.77M fifth-year option. He would be only 25 when he’s due his extension and Cleveland likely can’t afford to pay him what he would want while also keeping Ward’s high salary on the books.
Additionally, the emergence of Martin Emerson, a third-round pick in 2022, makes Newsome somewhat expendable. The Browns don’t have a first-rounder this year because of the Deshaun Watson trade, but perhaps they could flip Newsome to a CB-needy team with a late first like the Arizona Cardinals (No. 27) or Detroit Lions (No. 29) – or possibly a team needing to bolster its secondary depth with multiple second-rounders, such as the Carolina Panthers (Nos. 33 and 39 overall) or Houston Texans (Nos. 42 and 59 overall).
Patrick Surtain II, CB, Denver Broncos
Tony Pauline of Sportskeeda has reported this week that Broncos head coach Sean Payton is so frantic to land one of the top quarterback prospects in the draft that he could dangle one of the top cornerbacks in the league in Surtain II to move up and get him. There have been rumblings the Broncos were close to trading Surtain II before the trade deadline, but backed off last minute, so there’s certainly smoke here.
Surtain II, plus Denver’s 2024 first-rounder (No. 12 overall) and its 2025 first-rounder might be enough for Payton and crew to jump into the top four to get their guy, but the Cardinals (who pick fourth overall) are the only team in the top four with a real need at cornerback, which may limit the Broncos’ options. However, if Payton is desperate enough for a signal-caller, don’t rule out Surtain II being moved to make it happen.
Courtland Sutton, WR, Denver Broncos
Sutton has seemingly been on the trade block for the last two seasons and with Denver shipping Jerry Jeudy to the Browns a few weeks ago, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Sutton on his way out in addition.
The Broncos have just eight picks in the 2024 draft and they don’t hold a second-rounder, so perhaps Sutton could be a part of a package that helps them recoup that pick. If a receiver-needy team doesn’t like what’s on the board when they’re on the clock, perhaps flipping a second- or third-rounder for Sutton might be more enticing than gambling on an unproven rookie.
