nfl picks

How much does it take to trade up? What can a team get by trading down? Just check the draft pick value chart to find out, right? Well, maybe not. While the value chart might be a valuable reference tool, it's only a guide. In reality, picks are worth whatever teams decide they're worth. Teams might be willing to pay more to trade up for a player they really like or take less to trade down when they have multiple players they like and know they can get one with a lower pick.

Along with looking the value chart, another way of determining the value of picks is to look at previous trades involving those picks. After all, the true value of draft picks is determined by the teams themselves, not the chart. And given that 58 percent of the trades from 1992 to 2008 were simple two-for-one deals and that only 12 percent involved more than one pick going to each team, it's apparent that teams don't usually quibble over a few points on the value chart.

Below is a list of almost every trade from 1992 to 2008 that involved only draft picks (not players). I might be missing some trades from the 1992 draft, and I don't have the trades from the second day (Rounds 5-7) of the 1995 draft. And there might be some trades made prior to draft day that are missing, as well. But this should be every other trade since 1992. Picks in the following year's draft are referred to as "next 1st," "next 2nd," etc. And that is not a typo at the end of the list of 1997 trades. The Green Bay Packers really did give up the 193rd pick for the 213th pick -right up. They moved down 20 spots and got absolutely nothing in return. GM Ron Wolf said he "just wanted to make a trade."