As fans of any sport, we always believe we can be a General Manager making trades and using draft picks the way we feel the roster should be built. The NFL Draft is only a few days away and while the New York Jets have four picks in the first two rounds, until they actually make the selection, it’s anyone’s guess as to what direction they will lean.
Draft weekend is also the time of year where we can’t help but to watch the 2014 film Draft Day starring Kevin Costner, Jennifer Garner and the late Chadwick Boseman. In the film, Costner plays Sonny Weaver Jr., the general manager of the Cleveland Browns who needs a strong draft as well as a winning season or he could lose his job.
The movie chronicles his thought process throughout the entire day leading up to the start of the Draft. Weaver deals with an owner who wants an impact player, a head coach who tries to undermine him, a player angling to be the newest member of the Browns and some news that will turn his personal life upside down.
Sonny makes three trades throughout the movie in order to get the Browns the players they want and keep everyone happy. But, would an actual NFL General Manager agree to any of the three trades made during the movie?
Jets Wire is going to take a break from all the current NFL Draft talk and break down each deal made during the film to see if Cleveland or the other teams involved would make these trades. We’ll use the 2026 draft and future years for the picks being swapped in the trades.
We’ll start with the first trade offer barely ten minutes into the film. The Seattle Seahawks GM, Tom Michaels, is facing pressure from upper management to fleece a team in hopes someone will bite and give them what they want. Ultimately, he calls Weaver, sensing his vulnerability, and both teams hammer out a deal for the number one overall pick.
The Offer
Cleveland Acquires: 2026 First-Round Pick (#1)
Seattle Acquires: 2026 First-Round Pick (#7), 2027 First-Round Pick and 2028 First-Round Pick
Would Jets Wire Make This Deal?
Cleveland–Yes
Seattle–Yes
The movie portrays this deal as giving up way too much to move up to the top spot. But, this is actually a pretty good deal to move up from the seventh spot. In essense, the Browns are giving up two first-round picks over the next two years and a pick swap in this draft.
If we use the 2026 draft as a guideline, Fernando Mendoza may not be the top overall player in the draft to some, but he is no doubt the top quarterback. It would probably cost more than two first-round picks to move up six spots in the draft to select the quarterback a team desperately needs. This could be considered a bargain for the Browns if they don’t have to part ways with any other picks or a player. I
In the movie, the top player available is Wisconsin Quarterback Bo Callahan. But, after digging deeper into Callahan’s past as well as an awkward conversation with the quarterback right before making the selection, Weaver shocks everyone by taking Vontae Mack, a linebacker out of Ohio State, who was expected to be available with the Browns original pick at seven.
The Offer
Cleveland trades: 2026 Second-Round Pick, 2027 Second-Round Pick, 2028 Second-Round Pick
Jacksonville trades: 2026 First-Round Pick (#6)
Would Jets Wire Do This Trade?
Cleveland–Absolutely.
Jacksonville–Absolutely Not
By passing on Callahan, Sonny has the other teams picking after him spooked. They have no idea why the Browns passed on him, but the teams picking after Cleveland sense something is up with Callahan and they all pass on him.
However, the perfect storm could hit as not only does Seattle have the Browns next three first-round picks, but could wind up with the best overall player in the draft. Sonny basically tries a hail mary and calls Jacksonville, who are selecting before Seattle.
Sonny’s plan is to take advantage of a rookie general manager to get Jacksonville’s first-round pick. He’s not armed with any first-round picks to trade, so he ultimately offers Jacksonville second-round picks for the next three seasons, which they accept.
This deal is arguably one of the worst trades of all-time for Jacksonville. I get that teams hire General Managers with little to no experience, but unless Jacksonville hired a third-grade kid to be their GM, no one would ever do this deal.
For starters, Jacksonville is trading out of the first round completely from the number six pick. To trade a Top-10 pick and not get a first-round pick or an impact player from the Browns roster is organizational malpractice.
Second, no one has any idea where these second-round picks from Cleveland will ultimately wind up. If Cleveland goes to the playoffs, then these picks are lower in the draft order and this trade looks even worse for Jacksonville. In the movie, Jacksonville agrees to the deal and their war room looks very happy with the return. But, I’m certain Jags owner Shad Khan would fire his GM immediately after making this terrible deal.
After making the trade with Jacksonville, Sonny calls the Seahawks and tells them he has the sixth overall pick. He says he’s going to select Callahan and that if Seattle wants him, then they need to make a deal.
The Offer
Seattle acquires: 2026 First-Round Pick (#6)
Cleveland acquires: 2026 First-Round Pick (#7), 2027 First-Round Pick, 2028 First-Round Pick and Kick Returner David Putney
Would Jets Wire Do This Trade?
Cleveland–Yes
Seattle–No.
Yes, I know. It’s Hollywood. You have to stretch reality just a bit to keep people entertained. Seattle trading all the picks back they received earlier that day just to move up one spot is just as bad of a trade as the Jacksonville deal. Seattle’s GM, Tom Michaels, is completely overpaying just to move up one spot from seventh to sixth for a quarterback that no team picking before him wanted.
While he does get the quarterback on a little bit of a cheaper contract, it won’t be that much of a bargain and Callahan’s agent could drag out talks arguing that he was the clear cut number one overall pick. Is this worth trading back multiple first-round picks that could have set your team up for a very bright future? Not by a longshot.
Plus, Sonny gets a bit vindictive with Michaels after they agree on the initial trade. Sonny pulls it off the table and demands Putney be included because he felt Tom initially made their deal for the number one pick in bad faith. If I’m Michaels, I hang up the phone on Sonny. He may not have liked the way the deal for the top pick went down, but Sonny could have backed out and he didn’t. It’s a very shady move by Sonny to strong arm Michaels for another player after agreeing to the deal. But, Michaels relents and agrees to the deal.
To recap Cleveland’s haul from the movie:
Browns acquire: #1 overall pick, #7 overall pick, 2027 first-round pick, 2028 first-round pick, KR David Putney
Browns trade: #6 overall pick, 2026 Second-Round Pick, 2027 Second-Round Pick, 2028 Second-Round Pick
It’s a pretty impressive haul, but Sonny Weaver Jr. is a pretty terrible general manager because he defied the owner’s wishes and also risked the team’s future that could have completely backfired against him. It’s also pretty interesting that Weaver allows himself to be manipulated by Mack to pass on Callahan and select him number one overall. Mack is a player with plenty of talent and passion, but shouldn’t be having personal conversations with the general manager about another player, regardless of his opinion of Callahan.
With that being said, Draft Day is still a pretty entertaining movie and one you can’t help but watch around this time of year, even if the deals being made are a bit over the top and serve only one purpose to make Sonny Weaver Jr. a hero in Cleveland.
This article originally appeared on Jets Wire: Analyzing the trades made in the movie ‘Draft Day’ for the Jets