2017 NFL Mock Draft: Texans headline nine teams who should explore trading up

You know that feeling. You’ve done all your research, read countless mock drafts and are more than ready for the NFL Draft to begin. You nail the first few picks, and think to yourself that this draft prognosticating thing couldn’t be easier.

Then the first trade of the night is struck, and all that research goes out the window.

Personnel departments do countless hours of work sizing up hundreds of prospects in the draft each year, and when one in particular sticks out as the perfect marriage of need and talent, it’s hard to sit tight and hope no other team scoops that kid up before you have the opportunity. Oftentimes we see teams trade up for quarterbacks -- just look at last year’s draft -- but the perfect blue-chipper can come at almost any position.

Last year, we saw five teams trade up during Thursday night to ensure they landed their preferred target. Those were in addition to the Rams and Eagles moving up before draft night to secure the top two quarterbacks in the draft.

This year, it’s possible we could see even more deals. After all, compensatory picks are now eligible to be traded, meaning certain teams have an additional cache of assets to flip in order to move up. There are also plenty of teams who as always should be looking to move down and amass draft picks, not only from talent-starved rosters such as the 49ers and Jets but even playoff teams with multiple holes to fill.

While it’s impossible to know what specific deals will be struck when teams go on the clock, we can get a feel for the top candidates to move up and down in the first round of the draft, depending on which prospects start to come off the board and whether they might be in danger of losing out on a top-tier player at their critical position of need. Before getting to this week’s mock draft, let’s do that now, shall we?

Candidates to trade up

Cincinnati Bengals (No. 9)

I don’t have a feel for who the Bengals could be targeting at No. 9, but if they want to jump up and snag one of the draft’s blue-chippers, they’re well positioned to do so. The Bengals landed compensatory picks in the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh rounds, and they hold the ninth pick in every round of the draft. That means they have plenty of ammo to move up from either the ninth or 41st overall pick to land a specific target. Maybe trading up to add Jonathan Allen or Solomon Thomas to their now undermanned defensive line makes sense if one gets out of the first few picks.

If Allen starts to slip, the Bengals have the ammo to move up. USATSI

Cleveland Browns (No. 12)

The Browns are almost certainly taking pass rusher Myles Garrett with the No. 1 overall pick, but that leaves them with still no answer at quarterback, neither for 2017 or the future. The Browns have of course spent the last year-plus hoarding draft picks in whatever way they can, and that gives them the opportunity to move up whenever they’d like. If they decide Mitchell Trubisky is the guy they want at quarterback for the next five years (and hopefully longer), they could move up as far as they wanted to ensure no one snags him first. In last week’s mock, I explored what it would cost to move all the way up to No. 2, but it’s possible they make a cheaper move up to the 4-6 range if he’s still there.

Washington Redskins (No. 17)

The Redskins could go one of several ways with their first-round pick, and it probably makes the most sense to let the draft come to them and not spend resources moving up. But they do have the benefit of owning seven Day 3 picks to go along with their original selections in the first three rounds, so if they want to make a move to grab a particular prospect in the first two days, their stock of draft picks won’t stop them. Maybe they’ll eye a particular receiver or pass-rusher -- or even a quarterback of the future with Kirk Cousins likely to be playing elsewhere in 2018 -- and jump a few spots to land him.

Denver Broncos (No. 20)

The Broncos have a clear need at left tackle after losing Russell Okung this offseason. They’ve done plenty of work to shore up the right side, but whoever is starting at quarterback has little chance to succeed if he’s constantly on his back. At 20, the Broncos are well-positioned to land one of the draft’s three top-tier left tackles in Cam Robinson, Garett Bolles and Ryan Ramczyk, but if one in particular stands out, a move up to secure him may be in order. They’ll also have to worry about other teams with left tackle needs behind them making a move up, especially if a tackle comes off the board earlier than expected. Good news for Denver: it has compensatory picks in the third and fifth rounds as well as two more in the seventh to play with.

New York Giants (No. 23)

Like the Broncos, the Giants have a huge need to land a left tackle and move Ereck Flowers to the right side. However, they’re not as well-positioned to make that happen, with the Broncos ahead of them and several other teams from No. 8 on down possibly looking at drafting a tackle. Unlike the Broncos, they don’t have a large trove of picks from which to trade, holding just one pick in each round of this year’s draft. That leaves them most likely to stay put and hope for the best, with a linebacker or tight end possibly being in the cards if the tackle well dries up early.

Houston Texans (No. 25)

The Texans have a playoff-caliber roster in place but no quarterback to take the reins of the offense, depending on how you feel about Tom Savage. Signing a veteran like Jay Cutler makes the most sense for a Super Bowl run, but who’s going to be their quarterback of the future? They’ve obviously done a lot of work on this year’s quarterback class due to their situation, so a move up to guarantee their top guy could be in order, especially if only one quarterback goes in the first 12 picks of the draft. They’re not incredibly stocked in the picks department but do have an extra fourth-rounder as well as the ability to trade from next year’s cache.

Seattle Seahawks (No. 26)

Perhaps no team is worse off at left tackle than the Seahawks. While they signed former first-round pick Luke Joeckel this offseason, he works better inside at guard. If the season started now, they’d likely go back to George Fant on the blind side, and neither Russell Wilson nor Seattle fans should be comfortable with that. Unfortunately, picking at No. 26 probably makes it unrealistic that one of the three top-tier left tackles in this class makes it to them. Not with the Broncos and Giants picking ahead of them. If everything breaks right and all the tackles are still on the board when Denver picks at No. 20, maybe there’s a chance. However, using one of their three third-round picks to hop the Giants makes the most sense.

The Seahawks can’t sit around and hope a tackle like Ramczyk falls. USATSI

Kansas City Chiefs (No. 27)

Like the Bengals, the Chiefs are a team that doesn’t necessarily need to make a leap to land a particular prospect, but a quality stock of picks at their disposal could see them make a move. They picked up a third, a fifth and two sixths in the compensatory parts of the draft, and one or two of those could be used to land the perfect prospect. If they do take that route, it could very well be for a linebacker prospect like Haason Reddick or Zach Cunningham to start in the middle of their defense, or possibly for a quarterback of the future, which has been part of their focus in scouting for this draft. If they like Patrick Mahomes or DeShone Kizer, can they risk the Texans scooping their guy up a few picks earlier?

Dallas Cowboys (No. 28)

The Cowboys have plenty of needs on defense, both in finding talent to add to their depleted secondary and finding a difference-maker to rush the passer. If they stay put, there should be plenty of options to fill the former need. But a premier pass rusher this late? That might be asking a bit much. If they have their eye on someone in particular and the cost isn’t too prohibitive -- think moving up six or seven spots for a guy like Taco Charlton -- a deal could be in the cards. They don’t really have the ammo to make a huge jump up the first round, considering all the holes remaining on defense, but never say never, especially if they only need to sacrifice one pick to make the move.

It takes two to tango of course, so who might be interested in moving back in the draft? Probably almost every other team aside from the nine above, and maybe even a few of those teams as well depending on who’s available when they come on the clock. If we’re looking at needs matching up with the talent expected to be available, teams that could make particular sense in a trade down include:

Jaguars at No. 4, who could select either Leonard Fournette or O.J. Howard a little later in the top 12,
Jets at No. 6, who have needs up and down their roster and should be looking to amass as many picks as possible,
Bengals at No. 9, if they don’t trade up, as they could decide to move into the teens before taking a left tackle,
Bills at No. 10, who could find a receiver, cornerback, linebacker or right tackle later in the first round,
Browns at No. 12, again if there’s no trade up, as they could just keep adding more and more ammo to their stock,
Eagles at No. 14, who could miss out of the draft’s top two cornerbacks and instead trade down,
Redskins at No. 17, who might not have a great fit depending on how the first half of Day 1 shakes out.
Just about any team from 24-32, if teams in the 30s or early 40s are looking to trade back into the first.