Jimmy Johnson's Draft Trade Value Chart Set Standard, But Is Clearly Outdated

Former NFL Executive

Aug 5, 2022; Canton, OH, USA; The 2022 NFL Draft cards of first-round picks Travon Walker (Jacksonville Jaguars), Aidan Hutchinson (Detroit Lions), Derek Stingley (Texans) and Ahmad Gardner (Jets) on display at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

When NFL Draft Day trades are made, charts assigning numerical values to draft positions often are employed to evaluate the worth of picks. There are several out there, but only one is — and has been — used most by NFL clubs.

That would be the Jimmy Johnson trade value chart that the Hall of Fame coach devised in the 1990s.

It was as brilliant as it was groundbreaking, assigning the largest numerical values to the highest picks, and it was used by everyone. And for good reason: It made life simple when evaluating the fairness of trades involving draft picks. You knew when you were on the phone talking about a possible deal that you and your potential trade partner were looking at the same chart.

It was a game-changer then. But it is obsolete now.

OK, not completely. Johnson’s trade value chart was created three decades ago in a vastly different world order. It made sense when the top half of the first-round commanded gazillion-dollar contracts, but that changed with the 2011 collective bargaining agreement. It created a rookie pay scale that dramatically affected compensation at the top half of the first round and moderately affected it at the bottom.

But it did more than that. It diminished the value of Johnson’s trade chart, too.

That’s because it was created nearly 20 years prior to the 2011 CBA when first-round picks – especially No. 1 choices – gained monstrous deals before playing a down. In 2007, for instance, the Raiders signed quarterback JaMarcus Russell, the first overall choice, to a six-year, $68 million deal, making him one of the NFL’s highest-paid players. Three years later, the St. Louis Rams made No. 1 pick Sam Bradford the richest rookie ever with a $76 million deal.

That ended with the 2011 CBA, and I should know. I was the only person outside of people who worked for the league office who was one of its negotiators. By modifying compensation, especially at the top end of the first round, the CBA allowed teams to spend more on veteran players instead of having to use that money to write off lost cap charges if they missed on a top-15 choice.

That was a big deal, and it should be factored into a trade value chart. And it has been … except not by Jimmy Johnson.

Jimmy Johnson and Jerry Jones

Johnson's Draft Trade Value Chart

The value of every pick in the draft to help teams quickly evaluate the fairness of trades (does not include compensatory picks), as developed by Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson in the early 1990s:

Round 1		Round 2		Round 3		Round 4		Round 5		Round 6		Round 7
1	3,000	33	580	65	265	97	112	129	43	161	27	193	14.2
2	2,600	34	560	66	260	98	108	130	42	162	26.6	194	13.8
3	2,200	35	550	67	255	99	104	131	41	163	26.2	195	13.4
4	1,800	36	540	68	250	100	100	132	40	164	25.8	196	13
5	1,700	37	530	69	245	101	96	133	39.5	165	25.4	197	12.6
6	1,600	38	520	70	240	102	92	134	39	166	25	198	12.2
7	1,500	39	510	71	235	103	88	135	38.5	167	24.6	199	11.8
8	1,400	40	500	72	230	104	86	136	38	168	24.2	200	11.4
9	1,350	41	490	73	225	105	84	137	37.5	169	23.8	201	11
10	1,300	42	480	74	220	106	82	138	37	170	23.4	202	10.6
11	1,250	43	470	75	215	107	80	139	36.5	171	23	203	10.2
12	1,200	44	460	76	210	108	78	140	36	172	22.6	204	9.8
13	1,150	45	450	77	205	109	76	141	35.5	173	22.2	205	9.4
14	1,100	46	440	78	200	110	74	142	35	174	21.8	206	9
15	1,050	47	430	79	195	111	72	143	34.5	175	21.4	207	8.6
16	1,000	48	420	80	190	112	70	144	34	176	21	208	8.2
17	950	49	410	81	185	113	68	145	33.5	177	20.6	209	7.8
18	900	50	400	82	180	114	66	146	33	178	20.2	210	7.4
19	875	51	390	83	175	115	64	147	32.6	179	19.8	211	7
20	850	52	380	84	170	116	62	148	32.2	180	19.4	212	6.6
21	800	53	370	85	165	117	60	149	31.8	181	19	213	6.2
22	780	54	360	86	160	118	58	150	31.4	182	18.6	214	5.8
23	760	55	350	87	155	119	56	151	31	183	18.2	215	5.4
24	740	56	340	88	150	120	54	152	30.6	184	17.8	216	5
25	720	57	330	89	145	121	52	153	30.2	185	17.4	217	4.6
26	700	58	320	90	140	122	50	154	29.8	186	17	218	4.2
27	680	59	310	91	136	123	49	155	29.4	187	16.6	219	3.8
28	660	60	300	92	132	124	48	156	29	188	16.2	220	3.4
29	640	61	292	93	128	125	47	157	28.6	189	15.8	221	3
30	620	62	284	94	124	126	46	158	28.2	190	15.4	222	2.6
31	600	63	276	95	120	127	45	159	27.8	191	15	223	2.3
32	590	64	270	96	116	128	44	160	27.4	192	14.6	224	2

I’m not bashing his chart. It was brilliant. But it’s outmoded. In fact, when I was with the Philadelphia Eagles, we devised our own trade value chart. It was based on what we thought variations should be with cap and cash implications being so different for first-round picks from what they were before 2011.

It was invaluable to us. We didn’t make a move or trade we thought wasn’t at least reasonably close in value to what our chart said, and we shared it with no one.

While it varied drastically from Jimmy’s at the top of the first round and less substantially at the bottom, it wasn’t all that different from the second round on. I know other teams have their own charts, too, factoring in things that changed with the 2011 CBA. But, in our case, we had positions we cared about more than others. So that could affect what our chart advised vs. what we actually did. What I’m saying is we sometimes deviated from it, depending on how anxious we were to complete a deal.

Let’s say, for instance, we thought about trading up for a difference-making pass rusher. Then, we might consciously overpay if we believed he could make a significant impact. By the same token, we might underpay if we were looking at a guard or safety at the bottom of the round. If you lost out on one or the other, we believed you could find another in the second or third rounds. So we could fluctuate on how adamant or immovable we were with our chart depending on how important we thought a certain position was.

The bottom line is this: Times have changed with draft trades, and charts should, too, because some basic, obvious things have changed since the Jimmy Johnson chart was created. Honestly, I don’t think anyone should be using it today because so much of what it was based on is different. If they haven’t already, teams should be developing new charts or, at the very least, have their own revised version of Jimmy’s chart.

And if they don’t? Then they’re just lazy and not thinking strategically. It’s that simple.

Joe Banner is a former front office executive for the Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns. He was part of an Eagles franchise that made a Super Bowl and played in four NFC Championship Games. Follow him on Twitter at @JoeBanner13

Tags: NFL Draft

Joe Banner

Former NFL Executive

Joe Banner is a former front office executive for the Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns who was last in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons as a consultant in 2015. While in the NFL, Banner was part of an Eagles franchise that made a Super Bowl and played in four NFC Championship games.