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The 2022 NFL Draft is fast approaching and there’s still a few teams whose quarterback situations are on shaky ground heading into the three-day event. The option is always there for these franchises to simply draft one in the early rounds of the draft. But with this QB class being considered one of the weaker ones in recent memory however, they may elect to use some of their draft capital to trade for a veteran.
Quarterbacks like Baker Mayfield of the Cleveland Browns and Jimmy Garoppolo of the San Francisco 49ers are two of the signal-callers that are bound to be dealt sooner or later and a handful of teams would be willing to make a move for the right price. Here’s some of those teams you could see trade for a veteran QB during the draft.
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are in a precarious spot heading into the draft. Sam Darnold is clearly not the answer at QB and drafting a prospect like Kenny Pickett or Malik Willis with the No. 6 pick would be considered a desperate reach. That’s why you could see them make a move for their next starting quarterback via trade.
There’s been plenty of smoke surrounding the possibility of a Mayfield-Panthers union over the past few weeks, although leading wide receiver Robby Anderson is not fan of a potential move. If a trade like this is in the work, the question would be how much draft capital would the team have to give up.
Seattle Seahawks
Similar the Panthers, the Seahawks are also trying to find a starter after dealing longtime franchise QB Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos last month. They did get Drew Lock in return, but he’s not a viable long-term option.
Seattle could decide to take someone with a similar skillset like Willis with the No. 9 pick or it could throw its hat into the ring for the Jimmy G/Mayfield sweepstakes. Although, doing that would immediately raise the question of why would the team trade the face of the franchise just to trade for another QB later on in the same offseason.
Atlanta Falcons
Similar to the Seahawks, the Falcons dealt its face of the franchise quarterback last month with Matt Ryan now with the Indianapolis Colts. The Falcons quickly signed veteran Marcus Mariota but everyone understands that he’s a stopgap option. Whether the net full-time starter is a rookie or a veteran is anyone’s guess but it wouldn’t be surprising to see 49ers head coach/former Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan work out a deal with his former team to find a new home for Garoppolo.