Since the Carolina Panthers traded for the No. 1 pick, quarterback-needy teams will try trading for the Arizona Cardinals’ No. 3 pick to jump the Indianapolis Colts.
The Carolina Panthers were the team that put together the best trade package for the Chicago Bears’ No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Now, there are three teams in the top four that are expected to select quarterbacks. Those teams are the Panthers at No. 1, the Houston Texans at No. 2, and the Indianapolis Colts at No. 4.
Since the Arizona Cardinals at No. 3 aren’t taking a quarterback, there’s a growing belief that Arizona could be willing to trade the pick to one of the quarterback-needy teams. The Colts, who are one spot behind the Cardinals, are hoping this isn’t the case. If Arizona is open for business, Indianapolis would either have to trade up to No. 3, or let another team jump them in draft order and Indy would have to settle with the fourth quarterback taken.
The best-case scenario would be Indianapolis staying at No. 4 and getting QB3. In reality, Arizona could be on the move. In a recent article by Brent Sobleski of Bleacher Report, Sobleski listed three teams that could jump Indy. The teams were the Detroit Lions, the Tennessee Titans, and the Atlanta Falcons.
Will Colts have to trade with Cardinals for the No. 3 pick?
The Lions, Titans, and Falcons all have uncertainty for the future of their quarterback position. Detroit has Jared Goff, who can be pretty polarizing, Tennessee has Ryan Tannehill and Malik Willis, and Atlanta has Desmond Ridder who will be entering his second season. There’s a case for each team to move forward with their current quarterbacks, and also to trade up and select a quarterback.
Indianapolis is hoping that they all stick with their current guys. Sobleski believes the most likely outcome is the Colts trading up to No. 3 to ensure they can select the third quarterback of the draft. That would be an understandable move, because Indianapolis really needs a quarterback, and it makes sense to go get the one you want.
The questions Indy will have to balance are if the team believes there’s a real difference between QB3 and QB4, and also if the compensation to move up is worth it. Although it’s just a trade for a one-spot swap, Indianapolis will have to compete with all of the packages of the teams behind it. That can make the cost of the No. 3 pick costly to a point where Indy decides to just stay at No. 4.
Whatever the Colts decide to do, the decision will be one of the most important decisions in recent franchise history, and will have a huge impact on the immediate future of the franchise. It’ll be interesting to see what Indy decides to do.
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