Kirk Cousins and the number one overall NFL Draft pick have been involved in trade rumors.
The 2025 NFL offseason has been filled with trade rumors. While looking less and less likely—due to stand-out pre-draft performances by Cam Ward—there is still a chance that the Tennessee Titans will trade the first overall pick. Likewise, Kirk Cousins of the Atlanta Falcons has continuously been thrown around in trade proposals. ESPN predicted a trade that included the number one pick and the veteran quarterback, as well as assets belonging to the Cleveland Browns. Is it a fair hypothetical deal for all three teams? Here are the trade grades for each team.
Hypothetical trade proposal
Titans get: 1-2, 3-67, 2026 second-round pick (from Browns), QB Kirk Cousins (from Falcons, with cash considerations)
Falcons get: 2026 seventh-round pick (from Titans)
Browns get: 1-1, 2026 sixth-round pick (from Titans)
Trade grade for Titans after adding Kirk Cousins
In this hypothetical trade, the Titans move back only one pick, yet they add the very next draft pick, a starting quarterback in the form of Cousins, and additional draft capital in the process. On the surface, that is pretty good trade value. However, all reports have signaled that Tennessee is becoming infatuated with Ward, and this trade means that they would almost certainly lose out on the chance to draft him. The Browns would likely select Ward with their new pick at the top of the draft.
Cousins would be the new signal-caller in Tennessee. The quarterback has tons of experience and production at a high level, but he simply wasn't the same player post-achilles tear last season with the Falcons. The 36-year-old struggled with mobility inside of the pocket in the first year of a four-year, $180 million deal. He also led the league with 16 interceptions.
Prior to that, Cousins was playing like one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL in 2023 before suffering his injury, and he was a 4,000-yard passer in seven of the eight seasons before that. Considering his age and injury history, it doesn't seem like Cousins will ever return to past form, though, and that ties the Titans to a huge contract for three more years with this hypothetical trade.
In theory, the Titans could draft Shedeur Sanders to be the quarterback of the future with the number two pick, but we already saw how the strategy of having a rookie quarterback learning behind Cousins as a bridge option worked out. The Falcons took Michael Penix Jr. eighth overall last season, and they benched Cousins in favor of him late in the season. Now Atlanta is stuck in a bind. That even goes without mentioning that Cousins doesn't want a young quarterback taking his place again, so he'd likely use his no-trade clause if the Titans planned on drafting a quarterback as his heir apparent.
Overall, this is solid trade value to move back only one draft slot, especially considering the team would add additional second and third-round picks. Cousins' regressing play and bad contract, combined with missing out on the chance to draft Ward, is what holds back the trade grade here, though. Ward has sky-high potential, and the Titans can't afford to pass on their potential quarterback of the future.
Grade: C+
Trade grade for Falcons after moving off of Kirk Cousins
The Falcons only add one draft pick in this hypothetical deal, and it is only a seventh-rounder in 2026. Even so, the team wouldn't complain at all. Getting off of Cousins' contract alone is a positive. Plus, this would eliminate the locker room drama of having two signal-callers who think that they should start for their team.
Penix deserves to have his team's full support going forward, and trading away Cousins would prove that he does. Atlanta would be unlikely to find anyone of value with the seventh-round pick they add here, but it is better than nothing. Sometimes, accepting a mistake and correcting it is the correct course of action. The Falcons would be smart to cut their losses from the Cousins deal sooner rather than later.
Grade: B+
Trade grade for Browns after adding the number one pick
It isn't quite clear what the Browns will do in the 2025 NFL Draft. They've been linked to Sanders as well as defensive players Abdul Carter and Travis Hunter, but recent reports suggest that they might prefer Ward. If that is the case, then trading up and selecting “their guy” is the smart move. Adding a second and third-round pick to a trade involving the number two overall selection would be well worth it if Ward becomes a franchise signal-caller, especially considering the Browns have struggled with quarterback play for most of the 21st century.
Settling for who most consider to be the second-best quarterback with the second overall pick is risky, especially considering all of Cleveland's recent quarterback blunders. Going all in on the top quarterback makes too much sense.
Ward is 6-foot-3, 233 pounds. He threw for 4,313 yards and 39 touchdowns in a season where he finished third in Heisman voting last season. The Miami product with five years of collegiate experience has Ben Roethlisberger-like potential, and Cleveland would be thrilled if he became anything close to the player that their long-time Pittsburgh Steelers rival was during his playing days.
Grade: A-
