Could Commanders Pull Off 2 NFL Draft Trades in Round 1?

The Washington Commanders have a prime pick in the NFL Draft and could flip it more than once.

There are a lot of questions surrounding what the Washington Commanders might do with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. 

For starters, they could have their pick of quarterbacks to try and jumpstart the Commanders' on-field product similar to what the Houston Texans did with the same pick last year. 

Even if the Chicago Bears take one at the first spot or trade it to another team Washington could find its primary target waiting for them anyway.

Washington Commanders general manager Adam Peters / Clutch Points

Or, the Commanders and new general manager Adam Peters could decide to flip No. 2 for additional capital and do so by trading back to just No. 3 with the New England Patriots.

Peters was part of a staff that pulled off that exact trade in 2017 when the San Francisco 49ers and Bears switched spots so they could get quarterback Mitchell Trubisky and his team could get more picks.

In 2020, the 49ers executed another one-spot trade moving from No. 13 to No. 14 so the Tampa Bay Buccaneers could come up and grab offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs.

But what about trading back twice in the first round? It's not normal, but it's not unheard of either. 

Just this last NFL Draft the Jacksonville Jaguars moved from No. 24 to No. 25 and then down further to No. 27. All to net three more picks in the process.

Those trades specifically turned one pick for the Jaguars into offensive tackle Anton Harrison, defensive end Tyler Lacy, defensive back Antonio Johnson, and defensive end Derek Parish.

Just up the road from Washington the Baltimore Ravens last traded back in the first round twice in 2018.

The first of their trades that year moved the Ravens from No. 16 to No. 22 and then eventually to No. 25 where they picked tight end Hayden Hurst. They also got quarterback Lamar Jackson with the No. 32 overall pick later in that same round. 

Previous to 2018 Baltimore made two trades on Day 1 in 2008 as well but one was a move back while another was a move up to land quarterback Joe Flacco who would eventually help it win a Super Bowl.

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It's not common for NFL teams to pull off two trades on the first day of the NFL Draft, but it's not unheard of as well.

And given Peters' ties to a very trade-savvy organization like San Francisco it stands to reason if he doesn't make any deals in the first round it won't be from a lack of exploring opportunities to do so.