A player each team should be thinking about trading up for in Round 1

2014 NFL draft Round 1 trade scenarios: Players, positions each team should targetBy Chris Burke      SI.comApril 18th  2014Safety doesn’t offer a luxury of depth, which could convince teams to trade up for someone like Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. (Damian Strohmeyer/SI) With an additional two weeks before the NFL draft this offseason, the rumor mill is spinning like never before. Could a surprise team make a move for one of the top quarterbacks? Will Houston or St. Louis dangle Jadeveon Clowney as trade bait? Is Detroit really considering a run at Sammy Watkins? Much of what we hear in the weeks before the draft turns out to be noise — either teams attempting to lay a smokescreen on their actual plans or scouts doing what they can to diminish a player’s value, thus making it easier to land that prospect with a later pick. No matter what is true or false right now, the 2014 draft sets up as one of the most unpredictable in recent memory. Several teams could be in the trade market come May 8. Here’s a look at which player or position each franchise should be thinking about trading up for in Round 1: 1. Houston Should consider trading up for: No one here, obviously, but … If Houston heads down the Jadeveon Clowney road with the No. 1 overall selection, it immediately would become a potential trade-up team later in Round 1. With the top pick in every round of the draft, the Texans have some worthwhile pieces to deal, and they may put some to use if the quarterback they want is sitting on the board near pick 25. They may wind up with two first-round selections before all is said and done. 2. St. Louis Should consider trading up for: Jadeveon Clowney. Obviously, there is not a whole lot of ground to cover for the Rams here. The only reason that St. Louis would even toy with the notion of jumping from No. 2 to No. 1 is if it is 100 percent set on one specific prospect. Clowney might be just such a game-changer, so the Rams could take all the mystery out of the equation by swapping spots with Houston. 3. Jacksonville Should consider trading up for: No one. The Jaguars do not really have a worst-case scenario at No. 3 — and given the uncertainty surrounding this draft, they actually sit in a pretty enviable spot. If Clowney and Sammy Watkins are drafted 1-2, the Jaguars have their pick of talent: QBs, Mike Evans, Khalil Mack, every OT; if only one of Clowney or Watkins goes ahead of them, the Jaguars gain even more value with the No. 3 pick. Perhaps a similar argument could be made here as for St. Louis at No. 2, in that if Jacksonville absolutely wants Clowney, moving up would be on the table. For a team that’s still rebuilding, holding firm or moving down for additional draft choices makes for a far better play. 4. Cleveland Should consider trading up for: No one. Like the Jaguars, the Browns can craft just about any scenario and walk away with a dynamic player. Even if other teams trade up and Blake Bortles, Teddy Bridgewater and Johnny Manziel all land in the top three (an astronomically unlikely outcome), the Browns would have Clowney, Sammy Watkins and the option to trade down leading their list. The Trent Richardson trade stole them another first-round pick. There’s no reason to cough up that gain to move a spot or two. 5. Oakland Should consider trading up for: Sammy Watkins. Watkins is talented enough to justify the Raiders — or several other teams coming up below them — making an aggressive move into one of the top-four spots (St. Louis’ selection at No. 2 may be very available, when all is said and done). Oakland needs to find a QB somewhere along the line, but adding Watkins to a corps that includes James Jones, Rod Streater, Denarius Moore and others would make it a lot easier for Matt Schaub to look competent as a starter. Oakland has no picks in Rounds 5 or 6, so sacrificing a high choice in Round 2 or 3 to move up from here does not look particularly appealing. If Watkins is there to be had, though, the opinion may change.6. Atlanta Should consider trading up for: Khalil Mack. While it is tough to read the tea leaves for many of the teams picking up this high, Atlanta’s most pressing need — a pass-rusher — is obvious. There are a boatload of options later in this draft, so if, say, Houston takes Clowney No. 1 and Jacksonville nabs Mack, the Falcons would not be totally out of luck. (In that scenario, one of the top tackles or a trade down would jump to the forefront.) But the draft is not the ideal time to be rolling out Plan B. Even if Clowney becomes a Texan, Atlanta should have a shot to go get Mack. 7. Tampa Bay Should consider trading up for: Mike Evans. Would the Buccaneers even need to do this if Evans is the goal? It may all depend on where Watkins falls. The pro-trade up argument here is similar to that for St. Louis at No. 2, if Clowney is the ideal choice: Waiting for a player to fall into your lap at the draft is a crap shoot, and leaves the door open for another team to make a move. 8. Minnesota Should consider trading up for: Whichever QB it wants. This all depends on whether you — or, more importantly, the Vikings — believe the current hype that this QB class is destined for a collective tumble come draft day. Should that happen, Minnesota could sit at No. 8 and have its choice or even hold off until Round 2. Should even one of the Bortles-Bridgewater-Manziel trio hear his name called in the top five, the Vikings could pay for the fallout. Swapping spots for a future franchise QB would erase that issue. 9. Buffalo Should consider trading up for: Jake Matthews. Actually, there are several guys Buffalo could justify trading up for, including either Watkins or Evans. This scenario presumes that Greg Robinson is the first tackle off the board, likely to the Rams at No. 2. That occurrence would leave the polished, NFL-ready Matthews there for the taking, with only Atlanta standing above Buffalo as an obvious suitor. Several teams in the top 10 could be looking to trade down on May 8. If the Bills can solve their issues at RT by trading up for Matthews without breaking the bank, they should. 10. Detroit Should consider trading up for: Khalil Mack. Yes, the Watkins-to-Detroit buzz has been all over the place recently. And there is no doubt that the Lions are at least toying with the possibility of adding another dominant receiver to its Calvin Johnson-Golden Tate tandem. Conventional wisdom, however, says that this team is more in need of an impact defender than another offensive weapon. Mack may be a better 3-4 fit than a 4-3, but he would upgrade the Lions’ OLB spot plus provide a Von Miller-esque pass rusher that the coaching staff has stated repeatedly that it wants.For the complete 1st round... http://nfl.si.com/2014/04/15/2014-nfl-draft-round-1-trade-possibilities/