NFL Draft rumors: Giants trading up, DeAndre Hopkins trade, and Hendon Hooker to the Chiefs?

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Keeping tabs on all the latest 2023 NFL Draft rumors

After all there’s only one more sleep ‘til Draft Day.

But that will not stop the rumor mill.

In today’s installment we look at the Seattle Seahawks and their thoughts on Jalen Carter, ponder a DeAndre Hopkins trade — fueled in part by a cryptic Lamar Jackson tweet — and of course talk about the quarterbacks.

Including the idea of Hendon Hooker to the Kansas City Chiefs in the first round.

One more sleep, friends.

Seattle expected to pass on Jalen Carter

Thanks to the Russell Wilson trade, the Seahawks are in a position to dominate the 2023 NFL Draft, and potentially set themselves up to dominate future ones as well. As outlined in this fantastic piece by Mookie Alexander, Seattle can add a quarterback, they could trade down (or up), or they could draft the best defensive player or players available when they are on the clock.

However, if they take the latter approach, Jalen Carter is reportedly not an option.

According to ESPN’s Todd McShay, he has been told that Seattle would pass on Carter if the interior defensive lineman is on the board when they are on the cl

I have a strong sense Seattle won’t leave Round 1 without a quarterback. The more I talk to execs, scouts, coaches and agents, the more I think the Seahawks could be targeting Stroud or even Florida’s Anthony Richardson at this spot, depending on who is there. Stroud is 21 years old and Richardson is 20, and the idea is either could sit behind Geno Smith in the short term and develop into the answer for the long term.

If both are gone, that means either Anderson or Wilson will be there, and I expect that’d be the direction Seattle goes. Multiple sources have told me Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter isn’t expected be the pick. I don’t see Carter falling out of the top 10, but it’s reasonable he could slide to the back end of it.

Carter has not enjoyed the strongest pre-draft process, which could see him slide a bit on Thursday night. But as noted by McShay, it is hard to see him sliding too far.

But maybe at least past Seattle at 5.

DeAndre Hopkins trade this week?

Could we see veteran wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins traded this week?

On the Pat McAfee Show this week, Adam “Pacman” Jones indicated that he was told that a Hopkins trade would be coming on Thursday:

One of the teams linked to the veteran wide receiver? The Baltimore Ravens. While the organization recently added Odell Beckham Jr., there is a thought that the Ravens are not done adding to their WR room.

Which made this rather cryptic tweet from Lamar Jackson on Tuesday night fascinating to try and decode:

Was Lamar finally getting paid? Are the Ravens trading for Hopkins?

Or maybe both things are happening?

Arizona to draft offensive line?

When it comes to the Arizona Cardinals and the third-overall pick, there seems to be two lines of thought. The first? Arizona trades out as part of a deal with a QB-needy team. The second? Arizona stays put and drafts the best defensive player available.

According to NFLMockDraftDatabase, the three most common selections right now for Arizona in mock drafts are: Will Anderson Jr., Jalen Carter, and Tyree Wilson. All defensive players.

However, NFL insider Gabe Gabriel floated another idea on Tuesday.

Offensive line:

The Cardinals certainly have a need up front, as well as in numerous other spots, which makes the idea of a trade down likely in many minds. But this move would be quite the surprise.

However, as we keep hearing as the draft inches closer, we should expect the unexpected this weekend.

Kansas City a landing spot for … Hendon Hooker?

When smart people and/or NFL insiders put together a mock draft, it is worth noting.

PFF’s Cris Collinsworth put together his mock draft on Tuesday and it had some surprises up and down the board.

However the biggest surprise came with the final pick of the first round. As the Kansas CIty Chiefs added … Hendon Hooker:

Now, we’ve all been there. You are putting together a mock draft and you get to the end and realize there is someone you wanted to get into the first round but never found a spot for. Perhaps that happened here.

Yet to be fair, Collinsworth makes a strong case for it, and the Chiefs adding a QB does have some merit. As he notes one of the biggest threats to another Kansas City run is the idea that Patrick Mahomes goes down for a few games and the Chiefs are floundering without him. So upgrading behind Mahomes — currently Blaine Gabbert, Shane Buechele, and Chris Oladokun are the other options — might be a wise investment.

Of course, there is the old saw relayed about Tom Moore, who was the offensive coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts during the Peyton Manning years:

Carolina knows the pick

At least someone knows how to start their mock drafts.

According to Carolina Panthers head coach Frank Reich, the organization has reached “consensus” on who they are taking Thursday night to open the draft. As described by the coach, general manager Scott Fitterer popped into his office on Monday to make sure they were on the same page. “It was kind of like a proposal of sorts. And I said yes,” Reich said. “There is consensus, and we’re excited.”

Of course, analysts immediately latched onto that word, consensus.

Does this mean there is a dissenting voice? Did someone in the room need convincing?

Reich briefly elaborated on Carolina’s thinking, and the process that brought them to consensus. “There was ebbs and flows during the process,” said Reich. ”I don’t want to say there’s any drastic change of mind, but there’s ebbs and flows of how much you like a guy, and that’s why you have to resist the temptation of making your mind up too early. So I thought we as a scouting staff and coaches did a good job of not falling into that trap.”

The Colts like all four of the top quarterbacks

We know the Colts are going to take a quarterback. General manager Chris Ballard said as much when the offseason began, and owner Jim Irsay seemed of similar mind when he pushed send on this Tweet:

However, the tougher question to pin down an answer to is this: Which QB do they want?

Part of the reason that has been a tough question to answer? They like all four, and think new head coach Shane Steichen is in a position to craft an offense for each option.

Here is, perhaps, the biggest reason it’s been so difficult to handicap the Colts’ preferred style of quarterback: Because there isn’t one.

The Colts, under first-year coach Shane Steichen, have taken a particularly open-minded approach to scouting this year’s quarterback class. The reason? Because Steichen’s offensive adaptability allows them to do so.

“I think you fit the system around the guy that’s playing,” Steichen said.

That’s been something of a game-changer for the organization as it sets out to make one of its biggest selections in years. The Colts feel they are not beholden to a certain profile in the quarterback they are seeking because their offensive philosophy is flexible.

“That broadens the field for you,” Ballard said. “That’s a good thing. And I think as we’ve gone through the process of all the evaluations, and coming down to what we think will be best for the Indianapolis Colts, whoever we end up taking is going to be that guy and [Steichen] will make it work.”

The Colts have been linked to all four quarterbacks throughout the process, and perhaps they feel that each would be an option for them, whether at four, or elsewhere, in the first round.

New York Giants looking to move up?

Finally, we can add the New York Giants to the list of teams that might be looking to move up in the first round.

As outlined in the New York Post, general manager Joe Schoen drafted 11 players a season ago, and has another ten selections over the three days of the 2023 NFL Draft. But should he stay put and make all those picks, the Giants would have an extremely young roster as they try and return to the playoffs. “Adding 10 more rookies could mean later committing 39.6 percent of a 53-man roster (or 30.4 percent of a full roster if willing to risk passing a draft pick through waivers to the practice squad) to just the last two draft classes while trying to return to the playoffs.”

Instead, the Giants might look to package some of those picks in a move up in the first round: “League sources told The Post that they believe the Giants will actively pursue trading up by packaging some of their seven picks in the fourth round or later.”