NFL Analysis
4/14/25
6 min read
5 Players Who Should Get Traded During the 2025 NFL Draft
The 2025 NFL Draft will feature the stars of tomorrow being selected to go to their first franchise. While the rookies get a ton of attention, chances are decent that we'll see a veteran moved in a trade. Whether it's because there's a falling prospect or a front office missed on a target, veteran trades can be an underrated mechanism during the draft.
Free agency is mostly done, so the highest-impact talent available might be a high-priced star who has worn out their welcome elsewhere. The draft could also be the deadline that interested trade partners need to kick their negotiations into high gear. Sometimes, we'll see an A.J. Brown-type star moved out of nowhere during the draft.
After scouring cap sheets, analyzing team directions, and considering roster needs, here are five players who could get traded during the 2025 NFL Draft.
Top Trade Candidates During the 2025 NFL Draft
Tyreek Hill, WR, Miami Dolphins
Fits: Raiders, Cowboys, Chargers
Miami missed the window to maximize a return on a Tyreek Hill trade, but it's also understandable as to why they wanted to see if he and Tua Tagovailoa could spark a playoff run after the quarterback returned from injury this past season.
Now, Miami is tight on cap flexibility and has an inexcusable number of roster needs for a team carrying seven players with at least a $10 million cap hit. The sooner they embrace a rebuild is needed, the better.
Moving Hill hurts an offense hoping to recapture the magic he created in 2022 and 2023, but the Dolphins should be more interested in building a winner than just an entertaining product. Hill still has enough to offer suitors as a future Hall of Famer who just turned 31 in March for the Dolphins to demand a Day 2 pick in return.
Miami would take a $28 million dead cap hit in 2025 but open more than $45 million in the next two years. It'll never roster him with a $51 million cap hit in 2026 anyway, so moving him now allows everyone to get what they want. Hill could renegotiate his deal for more guaranteed money on an affordable multi-year deal on a winning franchise.
James Cook, RB, Buffalo Bills
Fits: Browns, Commanders, Jaguars
Running backs are coming back into style, but there's no question that heads turned when it was reported James Cook wants $15 million a season on his first post-rookie contract.
Cook has developed into an explosive playmaker who complements Josh Allen well and fits Joe Brady's offensive scheme. However, as nice as it is to have a back average 4.9 yards per carry and score 16 rushing touchdowns in 2024, the Bills will be hard-pressed to pay Cook.
Cook has never played more than 54.5 percent of Buffalo's offensive snaps in a season, so he's more of a super-efficient, explosive presence than a true workhorse presence that Buffalo will use as a foundational piece. With the 2025 NFL Draft class boasting a tremendous amount of depth and high-end options alike, Buffalo's most obvious cost-saving measure is to trade Cook for whatever they can get and plug in a rookie to pair with Ray Davis.
Ranking 16th in rushing yards and 19th in carries last year, Cook is a talented player. However, paying him as the second-best back in the league would be ludicrous. The return on a Cook trade might not be huge, but the Bills can replenish their backfield during the draft weekend.
Trey Hendrickson, EDGE, Cincinnati Bengals
Fits: Patriots, Panthers, Cardinals
In most situations, money can help erase all hard feelings, but the Cincinnati Bengals don't seem too concerned with appeasing Trey Hendrickson. Paying a 30-year-old pass-rusher might be daunting for some franchises, but the two highest-paid defensive ends are at least 30. Hendrickson deserves at least $34 million per year.
The Bengals need to offload Hendrickson if they're not going to pay him. The rookie class has intriguing pass-rush options but is not flush with elite talent.
Hendrickson could fetch a first-round pick for Cincinnati to try to replace him immediately.
At best, Cincinnati will get another great year out of Hendrickson before he leaves in free agency next offseason. They'd net a 2027 third-rounder in that scenario. That's simply not good enough to justify keeping Hendrickson, barring them agreeing to an extension.
Jaire Alexander, CB, Green Bay Packers
Fits: Colts, Dolphins, Bengals
Unfortunately, Jaire Alexander has been defined by injuries in three out of the last four seasons. The playmaking cornerback has missed 34 games since 2021 started, and only one of those seasons featured more than seven games played.
Green Bay could give this one more go, but it's also understandable if it's ready to move on from a player with a $24.6 million cap hit in 2025.
The cap savings this year wouldn't be substantial, and trading him now is betting against his body holding up. Alexander offers rare versatility and ball skills, so the payoff to keep him on the roster might outweigh the financial cost. However, with this being a weak cornerback class, a desperate team might overpay for Alexander.
If offered the right package of Day 2 picks, Green Bay has to at least consider whether it's the right move to unload an aging, expensive, hurt star. Their cornerback room could use another body, either way, so opening another hole could be painful.
Kayvon Thibodeaux, EDGE, New York Giants
Fits: Cardinals, Bengals, Jets
The New York Giants might face an uncomfortable situation if Travis Hunter is selected No. 2 and they don't want to take Shedeur Sanders with their first pick.
Concerns about adding Abdul Carter to the pass-rush duo of Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux are overblown to me, but it'd make sense for New York to dangle Thibodeaux in a trade back into the first round. Leaving Round 1 with Carter and a quarterback would be ideal, and it would avoid giving up major draft capital.
Thibodeaux has been a good but not elite player through three seasons. With 21 sacks and average advanced pass-rush numbers, he's in line for a solid extension after 2025 if nothing changes. He hasn't emerged as an elite cornerstone piece, and the Giants can get ahead of investing in him.
His trade value might only be that of a Day 2 pick, but the right team will like the idea of moving back from the middle of the first round to No. 34 while picking up Thibodeaux as an immediate starter.
