5 Best NFL Draft Picks Who Were Traded Before Their Rookie Contracts Expired
The NFL Draft is coming soon and that means a ton of top prospects will be signing rookie contracts. Bryce Young, Will Anderson Jr., Jalen Carter, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Paris Johnson and others will find their new teams and sign a lengthy contract there.
However, just because a team lands a highly coveted prospect doesn't mean their future is set. Even when drafting a top quarterback, there's no guarantee they get a second contract with a team. In fact, some NFL Draft selections get traded before their rookie deals are even up.
NFL Draft selections that were moved before their first contract was up
5) Bradley Chubb
Bradley Chubb's trade has nothing to do with how well he panned out and everything to do with the Denver Broncos' dysfunction. Chubb was a strong pass rusher for them, but when they sent a ton of assets to the Seattle Seahawks for Russell Wilson and he didn't pan out, they had to recoup some of the loss.
4) Jalen Ramsey
Jalen Ramsey has been a stud everywhere he's gone. The only reason he's been traded twice now is because the teams around him weren't. Ramsey was taken in the first round of the 2016 Draft and became a star. However, he eventually requested a trade and ended up with the Los Angeles Rams. He won the Super Bowl with them but has now been traded again to the Miami Dolphins.
3) Sam Darnold
The Carolina Panthers sought to find their franchise quarterback after releasing Cam Newton, signing Teddy Bridgewater and then trading Bridgewater away. Their move for Darnold proved to be a failure as Darnold was only the starter on occasion and is now with the San Francisco 49ers. They spent a second-, fourth- and sixth-round pick to get Darnold before his rookie deal ended.
2) Jeff Okudah
Jeff Okudah is the most recent example of this trend. The third overall pick from the 2020 NFL Draft failed to materialize with the Detroit Lions. Now with Atlanta, he may be able to turn his career around. It only took the Lions three seasons to move on from the former defensive standout, so they probably regret their selection.
1) Baker Mayfield
Clearly, the Panthers love former first-round picks from the 2018 NFL Draft. After the Darnold experiment didn't work, they sent a fifth-round pick to the Cleveland Browns for the number one overall pick in 2018: Baker Mayfield.
This once again proved to be a disaster as Mayfield couldn't even outperform XFL legend PJ Walker before the former Browns star was cut and signed with the Los Angeles Rams.
After being the first overall pick, Mayfield has now been on four teams in the past two seasons.