There is considerable speculation we'll see more trades in this draft because of the new format stretched over three days. Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome suspects there will be more dialog between teams, but not necessarily more trades.
"I guess with all that time that we will have going from Day 1 to Day 2 to Day 3, it will allow for some phone calls to be made," Newsome said. "But I think in the end, people are just going to pick players. Sometimes too much time can be a detriment to you, too. [You think] 'Why would I want to get rid of this player?' So you have more time to think about it, so it could also work against you having too much time."
ESPN's Jon Gruden thinks there will be more trades before the second round, but not in the first. "I think you'll see a little more aggressiveness, possibly some more trades at the start of Day 2 and Day 3," he said. "I like the idea of the format the way it was, but that first round felt like three weeks at the end of the day."
NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock says not everybody in the NFL likes the move to three days. The first round will run from 7:30 p.m. Thursday to approximately 11 p.m. The second and third rounds will be held Friday night and the rest of the draft on Saturday.
"Some of the better historically drafting teams are not wild about it because it gives some other teams time to go home and think about it," Mayock said. "I think it allows the teams to go home, reset the boards and perhaps not be impulsive. The flip sid eof that, it could be a lot of fun."