Could the Washington Football Team be the first team to make a trade in the first round of the NFL Draft Thursday night?
That's exactly what NBC analyst Chris Simms posits, predicting in his 2021 Mock Draft that Washington makes a trade with the Carolina Panthers on draft night to move up from the 19th overall pick to the eighth spot in the draft.
Even more to the point, Simms has Washington selecting North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance with the pick.
"I've got [Carolina] trading back, because the Washington Football Team is coming up to take Trey Lance," Simms said on Monday. "I just feel like Washington's a team that's got a lot of things on their roster that are really good. I know there's some teams that are hot on Trey Lance. I've been told by some people in the know. I don't know for sure if it's Washington, but I'm going to say that they are one of the teams here that makes a play."
While such a move would certainly seem out of left field, the notion's not entirely unfounded. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano reported on Wednesday that Washington has "done legwork" about what it might take to make a potential move "in or around the top-10," speaking with teams currently in those slots.
Citing a "few personnel evaluators," however, the ESPN scribes believe Washington is not targeting a quarterback.
Whatever happens, jumping up 11 spots in the draft would surely cost Washington some serious draft capital.
"It might take a swapping of this first round, next year's first round and probably some other stuff to go along with it," Simms estimated.
Simms' rationale for the move didn't appear to be rooted in the soundest of footing.
"Trey Lance sitting there, big time talent," he said. "The Washington Football Team, Ron Rivera, the way they're setting it up with Norv Turner's son. I'm blanking on his first name. I have so many damn names in my head."
"Their history with Cam Newton. Trey Lance can be that type of quarterback," he went on to say. "Yes, he might not be ready right now. Okay, we've got Ryan Fitzpatrick. He can sit here for a year, learn. Those type of things. I'm gonna play that. I think somebody's gonna make a play here. Washington to me is the team that jumps out, so if I had to pick one, I'm going with Washington making the move."
It's worth noting Simms isn't on an island with this take. The latest Audacy Sports mock draft published on Monday also has Washington trading up, moving six spots to grab Lance at 13 (Chargers).
It should also be noted that Simms has Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields plummeting all the way to 32.
