5 Best Trade-Ups in the 2018 NFL Draft

5.) Honorable Mentions

Cardinals fly over Dolphins at pick 10 for Josh Rosen
-Miami was desperate for QB, and everyone knew it. Cardinals secured their guy by giving up some late round fire power.

Buccaneers steal Vita Vea at pick 12 from Redskins
-Redskins were clearly targeting Vea

Lions rip Ragnow right from the heart of the Bengals at 20
-Bengals had a well known infatuation with Ragnow

4.) Titans step in front of Patriots for Rashaan Evans at 22

Patriots defense was hurting last season and it stems from the absence of Donta Hightower. Evans fits the Patriots mold and was a rumored target for the New England team. Isaish Wynn is a solid consolation prize, but Titans GM Jon Robinson knows how Bellichick operates and his trade up immediately in front of the Pats was intentional.

3.) Ravens soar to end of first round to steal Lamar Jackson from Giants at 32

One of the biggest articles of debate leading up to the draft was whether the Giants would add a QB of the future or Barkley with the second pick. When NYG passed on a QB, their intentions of grabbing one of the top 5 QBs with their second pick became obvious. Ravens moved up to the 32nd pick, 2 spots ahead of NYG, in order to nab Jackson. Excluding the Giants picks 32-40 were all made by teams with established QBs. The only franchise that was a threat to take Jackson was the Giants.

2.) Philly steals Dallas Goedert from Dallas Cowboys at 49

With longtime Cowboy Jason Witten announcing his retirement shortly before the draft started, the Cowboys plans were thrown out of wack. The Cowboys failed to find a decent backup in free agency and have not addressed the position in the draft. They had to take a TE, the question was when. Eagles trade up 1 pick in front of their Rivals to steal the player that many considered to be TE 1.

1.) Bengals leap in front of Panthers, take Jessie Bates at 54

When Daniel Jeremiah and Matt Miller both tweet out that the Panthers have interest in Jessie Bates, you know that teams have already began plotting ways to steal him. The Bengals, after missing out on their main round 1 target in Frank Ragnow, desperately wanted to add an instant starter to their secondary. Bengals made the trade to move up an entire round and steal their guy from the Carolina Panthers.