5 NFL Teams Whose Fortunes Changed After the 2022 NFL Draft

The NFL Draft is one of the most drama-filled events on the sports calendar, especially when you consider that the event doesn’t even take place on the field!

But the direction of a franchise can be shaped by a good or poor draft, and while there weren’t a ton of quarterbacks going in the first round like in recent years, several picks and trades made this an interesting weekend.

There was little movement as far as Super Bowl LVII odds went, but plenty of moves left teams in better or worse shape than they were prior to the proceedings in Las Vegas.

We take a look at five teams whose fortunes changed following the 2022 NFL Draft.

1. philadelphia eagles

The Eagles are the one team that saw its Super Bowl futures odds rise in its favor, as they went into the event at +5000 (BetMGM) and are now at +4000. This is primarily due to the team trading a first- and third-round pick for wide receiver A.J. Brown.

Reports indicate that the team wasn’t thrilled about trading Brown, but salaries for wide receivers have skyrocketed this offseason, and the team was far apart in negotiations for an extension. The Titans said they would agree to the deal if the Eagles could come to terms with Brown on a new contract, and they were able to.

It’s just the latest in the recent trend of trading draft picks for top stars, which the Los Angeles Rams popularized last offseason when they acquired Matthew Stafford for a boatload of picks. That deal, and also trading for Von Miller during the season last year, paid off in a Super Bowl title, so teams are more willing than ever to trade draft capital for stars.

Philly parted ways with two valuable draft picks, but in return, they got an elite player who would go higher than No. 18 in the draft were he to be available this year, and it gives young quarterback Jalen Hurts a top weapon to target.

2. tennessee titans

Naturally, the Titans come next, as they were the only team to see their Super Bowl 57 odds drop, going from +2500 (Caesars) at the start of the draft to +3000 afterward. Tennessee now lost quarterback Ryan Tannehill‘s top two targets from last season in Brown and Julio Jones, even though the oft-injured former Falcons star was allowed to walk in free agency.

Tennessee, however, did use the 18th pick they received from the Eagles to draft Arkansas wide receiver Treylon Burks, who had 1,104 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns during his junior season with the Razorbacks last year. But while Burks has potential, it’s a tough pill to swallow to lose a sure-fire No. 1 receiver, and it puts more pressure on running back Derrick Henry to carry the offense in 2022.

3. green bay packers

The Packers entered the draft with two first-round picks and two second-round picks after trading Davante Adams to the Raiders. Two years ago, the team used their first-rounder on quarterback Jordan Love, which turned out to not be the best move. This year, after having signed Aaron Rodgers to a new contract, you would think that one of those two first-rounders would be used on a wide receiver to replace Adams.

Instead, Green Bay used its two first-rounders on the defensive front seven. They then traded their second-round picks to Detroit move up to No. 34 to draft Christian Watson from North Dakota State. The 6’4″ Watson has the size to be one of Rodgers’ go-to guys this year, but with the number of wide outs who went in the first round, Green Bay likely could’ve filled a greater need early on.

4. arizona cardinals

The Cardinals also made a big splash via trade on draft night, acquiring Marquise Brown from Baltimore in exchange for their first-round pick. “Hollywood” Brown had become unsatisfied in Baltimore, and the discontent between Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray and the team was also well-documented. The Cards, who made the playoffs last year in Murray and head coach Kliff Kingsbury’s third seasons, made a big move to not only give Murray a down-field threat to go with DeAndre Hopkins, but it also reunites the duo who starred at the University of Oklahoma and are close friends.

With the Seahawks appearing to be in rebuild mode and San Francisco having question marks at quarterback and at wide receiver with Deebo Samuel, this move really helps Arizona in the NFC West.

5. pittsburgh steelers

Despite a miracle win over Baltimore to reach the playoffs in quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s final season, it was clear that the Steelers were falling behind in the AFC. Not only did AFC North rival Cincinnati Bengals reach the Super Bowl, but the Ravens have a great quarterback in Lamar Jackson, and the Browns improved at QB with Deshaun Watson. That left the Steelers with a free-agent signing of Mitchell Trubisky at quarterback to compete with those three proven QBs.

Fortunately for the Steelers, this wasn’t a QB-heavy draft, and they were able to keep Kenny Pickett in Pittsburgh after he led college football’s Panthers to an ACC championship last year and finished third in the Heisman Trophy race, throwing for 4,319 yards and 42 touchdowns to just seven interceptions.

Picket spent five years with the Panthers, so he’s 23, 6’3″ and 220 pounds, so he will look the part. Expect him to compete right away with Trubisky, and the Steelers’ defense showed last year that it could win games with a struggling offense, so don’t write off Pittsburgh for 2022 and beyond in an extremely competitive division.