With so much wheeling and dealing, maybe the NFL draft should move to Wall Street.
Minutes before Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III went 1-2 to the Indianapolis Colts and Washington Redskins, respectively, on Thursday night, the draft at Radio City Music Hall turned into a deal-a-thon. Through the first seven picks, only the Colts kept their original draft spot.
The Vikings swapped their No. 3 choice for the Cleveland Browns' No. 4 pick, with Minnesota also receiving fourth-, fifth- and seventh-rounders (Nos. 118, 139 and 211). After the Browns went for running back Trent Richardson, and before the Vikings took offensive tackle Matt Kalil, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Jacksonville Jaguars swung a deal.
Jacksonville moved up to No. 5 from No. 7 and grabbed wide receiver Justin Blackmon. Tampa Bay, at No. 7, chose safety Mark Barron. The Buccaneers also received pick No. 101.
Minnesota wasn't done, though. The Vikings opted to move into the end of the first-round by giving the Ravens the No. 35 pick and No. 98 pick for the No. 29 pick, which they used on Notre Dame safety Harrison Smith.
There was another swap when the St. Louis Rams, who acquired the No. 6 pick after trading away the second pick to the Redskins last month, traded that choice to the Dallas Cowboys for the No. 14 overall pick and the 45th pick. Dallas selected cornerback Morris Claiborne.
The Philadelphia Eagles joined in on the fun by trading up to the No. 12 pick to select defensive tackle Fletcher Cox. The Eagles' trading partner in that deal, the Seattle Seahawks, received the No. 15 pick, which they used to select defensive end Bruce Irvin. Seattle also received the No. 114 pick and the No. 172 selection.
The New England Patriots have developed a reputation for trading down throughout the years, but the team made two moves up on Thursday. After acquiring the No. 21 pick from the Cincinnati Bengals for the No. 27 pick and No. 93 pick, the Patriots selected Syracuse defensive end Chandler Jones. Bill Belichick and Co. then grabbed the No. 25 pick from the Denver Broncos in exchange for the No. 31 pick and a fourth-round selection (No. 126), using it to select Alabama linebacker Dont'a Hightower.
The Broncos moved out of the first round entirely when they dealt the No. 31 pick and the No. 126 pick (fourth round) to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the No. 36 pick (second round) and the No. 101 pick (fourth round). The Buccaneers used the 31st pick on Boise State running back Doug Martin.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
