Heading into the 2023 NFL Draft, there were plenty of people speculating that it would be a wild and unpredictable draft like we’d never seen before. And based on one absolutely wild stat that emerged after the conclusion of the draft, it appears that all that speculation was right.
If you were following the draft and thought that there were an inordinate number of trades throughout Draft Weekend, you weren’t wrong. As Brad Spielberger of Pro Football Focus pointed out on Twitter on Saturday afternoon, the league set a new record for most picks in a single NFL Draft.
“41 Draft trades now a record (at least in the rookie wage scale era),” Spielberger said in a tweet. “A ton of movement this year.”
41 Draft trades now a record (at least in the rookie wage scale era)
A ton of movement this year
— Brad Spielberger, Esq. (@SpielbergerBrad) April 29, 2023
By the end of the draft, there were 43 total trades of players and picks that took place Thursday, Friday and Saturday, easily setting a new record. And the NFL world had plenty to say about all the movement on Twitter.
Curious what you might attribute this to? With free agency drying up fairly quickly, maybe teams looked to attack the draft more? Seems like more future picks traded as well, although that’s anecdotal, would be interested to see the numbers.
— Matt Ungashick (@Matt_Ungie) April 29, 2023
And the Seahawks only had 1. #NFLDraft https://t.co/baavte0M9k
— Field Gulls (@FieldGulls) April 29, 2023
And none were from the Ravens https://t.co/xIEFw3yNMv
— Mayonnaise Menace (@StayRuthless37) April 29, 2023
I wonder what’s driving the change in behavior… https://t.co/ec7jLEffYB
— Robert Martinez (@RobbMtzzz) April 29, 2023
Doing our part 🫡 https://t.co/VJA71hyHQ4
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) April 29, 2023
Chargers didn’t make one of them trades lol https://t.co/QpVfBACcjP
— Jus (@IDKMAN30) April 29, 2023
The 2023 NFL Draft was hyped as one of the most unpredictable in recent memory. And based on all the movement between teams that occurred through the three days of the draft, it’s safe to say that it lived up to the hype.
