What if Carolina trades Cam Newton?
Much like Detroit with Stafford, Cam Newton’s departure has been rumored for a few weeks now, with mixed reviews. It’s impossible to know from here how an NFL team will think in this scenario, or what the value of Cam may be. With a new coach in Matt Rhule and a new owner in David Tepper, the team may simply agree and start fresh at QB.
Carolina could entertain selecting Love. New offensive coordinator Joe Brady saw Love first-hand when the Aggies came to LSU last season. Love has elite arm talent and would be an exciting playmaker at the helm for the new staff to build around. The team could also look into free agency. Teddy Bridgewater, Phillip Rivers, Dak Prescott, Jameis Winston, and a slew of other quarterbacks could potentially become free agents. Trading Cam would give them about $50M in cap space for this year to try and nab one of these targets.
Or maybe the Panthers have their answer on their roster already? Rhule has publicly stated his own belief in Will Grier, and the team did select him in the third round last year. With Joe Brady at the helm, Grier could be an option for the current coaching staff to start its rebuild with.
What if the Las Vegas Raiders trade up for a QB?
As I stated above, the Raiders have been actively looking for every option at quarterback, including preparing a lucrative deal for Tom Brady. In a talented quarterback class, the Raiders could trade up for one that the current administration can build around.
The Raiders have five top-100 picks, including two first-rounders, which is plenty of draft capital to move up if need be. This would spark excitement for the team after their relocation to Las Vegas. Would they go all-in on one of these quarterbacks?
What if Cleveland pulls a Sashi?
This is the last of the team-specific What-If scenarios for the 2020 NFL Draft, and it’s an interesting one. Cleveland is a team to monitor sitting at pick #10 overall. With a new front office and staff, they could look to capitalize on a trade down to pick up more necessary capital. If a team wants to leapfrog the aforementioned Raiders, as well as the Colts and the Buccaneers for a quarterback, Cleveland could benefit.
If some of the scenarios above play out and Miami passes on Jordan Love at five but can’t see him making it to 18, they could offer 18, 26, and a couple other picks to sweeten the pot for Cleveland. The Raiders could offer their first-round picks and an extra third-rounder to make this pick even more interesting. If the Colts wanted to move ahead of the Raiders, they have three top-50 selections to offer Cleveland.
While I think the Browns have moved on from Sashi and the constant accumulation of assets, all of these offers would certainly be tempting.
What if a playoff team trades up?
I keep emphasizing the talent of this quarterback class tempting teams to trade up, and the playoff teams of this draft could be tempted. New England isn’t guaranteed to have Tom Brady return, and even then, Brady started to show his age last season. This is the same scenario with the New Orleans Saints. Drew Brees is returning for 2020, but they don’t have his heir apparent at quarterback, especially with Teddy Bridgewater likely leaving in free agency.
This type of trade-up has happened before in recent years. In the 2017 NFL Draft, the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans made the playoffs and still traded up for their quarterbacks of the future. Kansas City gave up their first-rounder in 2017 and 2018 as well as a 2017 third-round pick to go from pick 27 to pick 10. Houston gave up their first-rounder in 2017 and 2018 to move up from pick 25 to pick 12. In the 2018 NFL Draft, Buffalo gave up OT Cordy Glenn, a first-rounder, and a fifth-round pick to move up from pick 21 to pick 12 and then gave up pick 12 and two second-rounders to draft Josh Allen at pick 7.
Moves like this shake the foundation of the draft, as these are typically for significant capital. It’s probably the most fun “What-If” NFL Draft scenario on this list because the possibilities (and the prizes) are endless.
What if Grant Delpit falls out of the first round?
I’ve seen this happen a few times, and I even made this pick in my most recent 2-round mock draft. Grant Delpit’s fall from grace has been catastrophic this season after dealing with numerous injuries and tackling woes. He has the coverage talent to be a first-round pick, but the question marks are a factor in his evaluation. A consensus has started to form around many draft analysts, including myself, that Alabama’s Xavier McKinney has taken over the top safety spot in this year’s draft.
Talented safety prospects have fallen before. Many people thought Budda Baker or Marcus Williams could sneak into the first-round in 2017. Jessie Bates in the 2018 NFL Draft went 54th overall due to an injury and tackling concerns, despite being excellent in coverage. While Bates had to contend with superstars like Minkah Fitzpatrick and Derwin James, Terrell Edmunds was even drafted over him. Delpit falling out of the first-round seemed like complete nonsense four months ago. Now? Not so much.
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