Another trade involving a draft pick that is nearly two years away took place in the NFL this week. The New York Jets and Detroit Lions agreed to a deal that involves not one but two selections in the 2025 NFL draft.
The trade sent 2020 second-round pick Denzel Mims from New York to Detroit. The Jets dealt the disappointing wideout for the very low compensation of a pick swap in the late rounds of 2025. New York will receive a 2025 sixth-round pick from Detroit but only if Mims makes the Lions roster. The Jets sent back a 2025 seventh-rounder that is not conditional.
This deal joins a small but growing list of picks in the 2025 draft that have already been traded. Among the others:
- The Panthers’ second-round pick belongs to the Chicago Bears as part of the trade for Carolina to move up to No. 1 overall in 2023 and select QB Bryce Young.
- The Eagles’ fourth-rounder which was sent to the Lions as part of the trade for RB D’Andre Swift.
- A deal between the Browns and Vikings that sent EDGE Za’Darius Smith to Cleveland. The Browns included a fifth-round pick in 2025 in the deal, while Minnesota sent back a sixth and a seventh in 2025
Trades of far future picks like this didn’t use to happen in the NFL.