There was a familiar refrain that echoed constantly during the 2023 NFL Draft. Every time a new speaker came to the podium on stage in Kansas City, they seemed to utter the same phrase.
"We have a trade to announce."
Indeed, picks were on the move with unprecedented frequency during the 2023 NFL Draft. Just how many trades were there? Here's what to know about the deals that characterized the 2023 iteration of the NFL Draft.
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How many trades were there in the 2023 NFL Draft?
There were 43 trades agreed to during the 2023 NFL Draft. That set a new record for trades in a single NFL draft.
The previous record for trades in a single draft came in 2019 when teams agreed to 40 trades. The Bills were the team that caused the record to be broken when they traded up for the Texans' sixth-round pick, No. 205 overall, to select Iowa State receiver Xavier Hutchinson.
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The first trade of the 2023 NFL Draft occurred when the Texans traded up to the No. 3 overall pick to select Alabama edge rusher Will Anderson. The last came in the seventh round when the Ravens traded a 2024 sixth-round pick to the Browns in order to spend a sixth-round pick on USC offensive lineman Andrew Voorhees.
Most of the trades agreed to in the 2023 NFL Draft were exclusively for draft pick compensation. However, a couple of veteran players were among the 43 trades. One came when the Lions sent D'Andre Swift to the Eagles in exchange for a seventh-round pick swap and a future fourth-round pick.
MORE: Trade grades for D'Andre Swift deal
The second came when the Broncos sent a sixth-round pick to the Saints for tight end Adam Trautman and a seventh-round pick. Trautman had previously played under coach Sean Payton during his time in New Orleans.
MORE: Grades & analysis for every pick in 2023 NFL Draft
Why were there so many trades in the 2023 NFL Draft?
The answer to that question is likely rooted in the strength of the 2023 draft class.
All told, the 2023 NFL Draft was considered to be relatively weak. The quarterback class was much better than the 2022 group, but the 2023 class was top-light and short on high-end prospects. And while the middle rounds were a bit deeper, there still were fewer prospects with draftable grades than usual.
So, what did this do? It caused teams to be a bit more desperate to trade up to avoid missing out on the prospects they felt fit their draft range. Meanwhile, other teams were more willing to trade down, especially when they believed they could select the prospects they were targeting later.
That — in addition to the usual pick-your-flavor jockeying for systems fits and leapfrogging of teams that might like a certain prospect — is what led the 2023 NFL Draft to be a historic one.
