Barnwell: 2026 NFL trade tiers: Players worth Round 1 picks by team

[ctpatsfan77]

tl;dr:

One first-round pick: WR A.J. Brown, DT Milton Williams.
One first-round pick and more: OT Will Campbell.
Two first-round picks: CB Christian Gonzalez.
Six first-round picks: QB Drake Maye.

He suggests that were it not for his lackluster playoff run, he might actually be worth more than Allen or Mahomes, who topped his list at seven firsts. Of course, even six firsts is basically impossible. This is more to indicate just how hard it would be to get him in a trade, even if the Pats were willing to trade him.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/49354774/2026-nfl-trade-tiers-players-worth-first-round-picks-all-32-teams-contract-value

 

[DoubleDeluxe]

Barnwell is usually a pretty good unbiased writer from my experience.
So obviously at 7 1sts he recognizes the value in Mahomes and Allen.
Yet we have several Pats posters who have written them both off.
Maybe, just maybe Pats fans aren’t the best judge of great QBs on opposing teams.
It’s not uncommon however.
Go on the Bills forum and they talk about how this proves just how great Allen is, but in the same breath talk about how “I don’t see it” with Maye and he can’t possibly be this valuable.

 

[Brotherblues]

Barnwell is usually a pretty good unbiased writer from my experience.
So obviously at 7 1sts he recognizes the value in Mahomes and Allen.
Yet we have several Pats posters who have written them both off.
Maybe, just maybe Pats fans aren’t the best judge of great QBs on opposing teams.
It’s not uncommon however.
Go on the Bills forum and they talk about how this proves just how great Allen is, but in the same breath talk about how “I don’t see it” with Maye and he can’t possibly be this valuable.

A lot of Pats fans do recognize Allen is incredible, but we still dump on him nonetheless for being a rival.

Mahomes is another matter. He has outright not been better than average for 3 years.

 

[Pape]

6 = player is off limits

Gonzo - based on other trades - 2 firsts and more

Williams - first and more

But we are not trading any of them, so its moot

 

[DoubleDeluxe]

A lot of Pats fans do recognize Allen is incredible, but we still dump on him nonetheless for being a rival.

Mahomes is another matter. He has outright not been better than average for 3 years.

And yet in 2 of those 3 years he lead his team to the SB. Winning one while being the MVP.
So now all of a sudden he’s a scrub.
I thought winning mattered.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

And yet in 2 of those 3 years he lead his team to the SB. Winning one while being the MVP.
So now all of a sudden he’s a scrub.
I thought winning mattered.

It helps when you have the refs clearing the path for you.

 

[Triumph]

Barnwell has been hitting the gin and juice.

 

[sb1]

Dumb.

So we get 6 1st rounders for Maye and Tommy DeVito is our QB. Yay?

 

[TommyD4207]

Dumb.

So we get 6 1st rounders for Maye and Tommy DeVito is our QB. Yay?

I mean...depends on what the first rounders are.
Then again I'm higher on DeVito than most. Obviously they'll be worse in the short term.

6 first rounders is a ****ing lot.

 

[DoubleDeluxe]

I mean...depends on what the first rounders are.
Then again I'm higher on DeVito than most. Obviously they'll be worse in the short term.

6 first rounders is a ****ing lot.

And the whole exercise it just fantasy.
For guys that would command 7 or 6 first rounders, that's just his way of saying they are untradeable.
Unless I'm incorrect, the most 1st rounders ever traded is 3, so again, 6 or 7 is just saying they will never be traded, the possibility is 0.000000000001%

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Dumb.

So we get 6 1st rounders for Maye and Tommy DeVito is our QB. Yay?

He's not saying they should do this, merely that, in theory, if they decided they wanted/needed to trade him, that would be a plausible trade return.

He also notes that it would be more like, say, three firsts and three players the Pats valued as first-rounders, since you can’t trade more than three years out.

 

[Rob0729]

Obviously, I don’t think you can take his article literally since trades for six and seven first round picks just don’t happen. Barnwell is just using draft picks to show how valuable top players are to the team they are on and other teams that may desire them. But anything over three first round picks and other lesser picks is just never going to happen.

Personally, I think Maye is the only player on the Pats that is untradeable. Not that I am advocating trading anyone else, but I think everyone else could be had for the right price. But that price may not be ever realistically offered.

Franchise QBs especially ones with Maye’s ceiling can take decades to find. Some teams have never found that guy. You just can’t give that up especially when he is so young for any price.

You would need a huge price to pry away Gonzalez, but elite CBs can be replaced far easier than elite QBs. I mean the Pats went from Talib to Revis to Gilmore in relatively short periods of time. And they had Law before that. I wouldn’t trade Gonzalez, but if someone offered a trade package that could be game changing the Pats have to consider it. Even it is only fleeting.

 

[JoeSixPat]

tl;dr:

One first-round pick: WR A.J. Brown, DT Milton Williams.
One first-round pick and more: OT Will Campbell.
Two first-round picks: CB Christian Gonzalez.
Six first-round picks: QB Drake Maye.

He suggests that were it not for his lackluster playoff run, he might actually be worth more than Allen or Mahomes, who topped his list at seven firsts. Of course, even six firsts is basically impossible. This is more to indicate just how hard it would be to get him in a trade, even if the Pats were willing to trade him.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/49354774/2026-nfl-trade-tiers-players-worth-first-round-picks-all-32-teams-contract-value

Six first rounders is the same as saying he would never be traded as it would take until 2032 for us to receive the full value of such a trade

Kraft won't be that patient for a rebuild!

I guess the value of a starting QB has gone up a little since we traded Bledsoe for a single first round pick.

The two firsts for Gonzo doesn't seem like a stretch to me and it could become relevant if the Pats are balking at an extension

 

[DoubleDeluxe]

Obviously, I don’t think you can take his article literally since trades for six and seven first round picks just don’t happen. Barnwell is just using draft picks to show how valuable top players are to the team they are on and other teams that may desire them. But anything over three first round picks and other lesser picks is just never going to happen.

Personally, I think Maye is the only player on the Pats that is untradeable. Not that I am advocating trading anyone else, but I think everyone else could be had for the right price. But that price may not be ever realistically offered.

Franchise QBs especially ones with Maye’s ceiling can take decades to find. Some teams have never found that guy. You just can’t give that up especially when he is so young for any price.

You would need a huge price to pry away Gonzalez, but elite CBs can be replaced far easier than elite QBs. I mean the Pats went from Talib to Revis to Gilmore in relatively short periods of time. And they had Law before that. I wouldn’t trade Gonzalez, but if someone offered a trade package that could be game changing the Pats have to consider it. Even it is only fleeting.

You know what's super weird.
I legit had a dream 2 nights ago (before this article) that we traded Maye.
I woke up in disbelief and anger, took me a sec to realize I was just dreaming.

 

[UGAPatsfan]

Real talk…two 1sts and a 2nd would make me at least consider trading Gonzo.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Six first rounders is the same as saying he would never be traded as it would take until 2032 for us to receive the full value of such a trade

Kraft won't be that patient for a rebuild!

I guess the value of a starting QB has gone up a little since we traded Bledsoe for a single first round pick.

The two firsts for Gonzo doesn't seem like a stretch to me and it could become relevant if the Pats are balking at an extension

Obviously, I don’t think you can take his article literally since trades for six and seven first round picks just don’t happen. Barnwell is just using draft picks to show how valuable top players are to the team they are on and other teams that may desire them. But anything over three first round picks and other lesser picks is just never going to happen.

Under current rules, they basically can't. The NFL won't allow teams to trade picks more than three years out (e.g., right now, the 2030 picks definitely don't exist). [Some team proposed making the limit five years, but that fizzled.]