Teams Wheeling And Dealing In Second Round Of NFL Draft

If you tuned into the NFL Draft's first round expecting a ton of trades, especially early in the festivities, you were definitely disappointed because the Patriots didn't trade down, the Cardinals didn't trade down, the Giants didn't trade up, there wasn't the movement the pundits expected.

Welcome to the NFL Draft's second round. A way to make amends.

Georgia wide receiver Ladd McConkey catches a touchdown pass. (Getty Images)

Ladd McConkey Goes To Chargers

The first way to make amends is by giving fans the trade action they expected Thursday night. So, there were six trades in the 14 picks of the round.

That's one more trade than was made the entire first round.

So what happened?

The Chargers traded up with the Patriots to select Georgia wide receiver Ladd McConkey.

The Falcons traded up with the Cardinals to select Clemson defensive tackle Ruke Orhorhoro.

AUSTIN, Tex. - Texas Longhorns RB Jonathan Brooks runs for yardage during a game between the Kansas State Wildcats and the Texas Longhorns on November 4, 2023, at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. (Photo by John Rivera/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Jonathan Brooks First RB Picked

The Rams traded up with the Panthers to select Florida State defensive tackle Braden Fiske.

The Eagles and the Commanders pulled off a rare inter-division trade that allowed Philly to select cornerback Cooper DeJean.

The Saints traded up with the Packers to select Texas A&M linebacker Edgerrin Cooper.

The Panthers traded up with the Colts to select Texas running back Jonathan Brooks. Brooks is the first running back selected this draft.

The second round is so far being dominated by defense, whereas Thursday night was about the six quarterbacks selected in the first round.

Six defensive tackles have been picked in the second round so far. Five cornerbacks have also been selected so far. 

The trades that have not been made, however, are ones involving 49ers receivers Deebo Samuel or Brandon Aiyuk or Bengals receiver Tee Martin.

Seems that, so far, teams would good players would prefer to keep those good players.