Draft Pick Value Calculator

NFL draft trade value chart — full table (picks 1–256)

How the NFL trade value charts work

The Jimmy Johnson chart was built by the Dallas Cowboys in the early 1990s and became the league's common language for draft trades. It assigns 3,000 points to the first overall pick and drops steeply from there: pick 5 is worth 1,700, pick 10 is worth 1,300, pick 32 is worth 590, and the curve flattens so hard that by pick 224 a selection is worth just 2 points. The chart's message is blunt — early picks are worth enormously more than late ones, and two mid-round picks almost never equal one premium pick.

The Fitzgerald–Spielberger chart (Jason Fitzgerald and Brad Spielberger, OverTheCap) rebuilt the idea from salary data: they graded every draft slot from 2011–2015 by the second contracts players actually earned, then smoothed the curve. On their chart the drop is gentler — pick 10 is worth 61.1% of pick 1 (vs 43.3% on Johnson's), and pick 32 is worth 41.5% of pick 1 (vs 19.7%). In practice, the Johnson chart says "pay a fortune to move up"; the Fitzgerald–Spielberger chart says "the fortune is smaller than teams think." Running your trade on both charts — as this tool does — shows you the range of reasonable valuations instead of a single gospel number.

Fairness rule used here: a trade is called "fair" when the gap between the two packages is within 5% of the larger package's total. That 5% band reflects how real negotiations work — nobody walks away over a few dozen points on a multi-thousand-point deal. Anything outside the band names a winner and shows the gap in points and percent. The tool also suggests the single pick closest to covering the gap, so you can answer "what do I add to make this fair?" in one click.

Worked examples

Example 1 — Trading up from pick 10 to pick 5 (NFL)

You hold pick 10 and want pick 5. Step 1: look up both picks on the Johnson chart — pick 5 = 1,700, pick 10 = 1,300. Step 2: the gap is 1,700 − 1,300 = 400 points you must add. Step 3: find a combination near 400 — pick 60 (300) plus pick 91 (136) = 436. Step 4: your package is 1,300 + 436 = 1,736 vs 1,700 asked — you overpay by 36 points, or 2.1%, which lands inside the 5% fair band. On the Fitzgerald–Spielberger chart the same move is pick 5 (2,184) minus pick 10 (1,833) = 351 needed; adding pick 196 (325) gives 2,158 vs 2,184 — you underpay by 26 (1.2%), also fair. Same trade, two charts, both fair, slightly different sweeteners.

Example 2 — The RGIII trade, graded (NFL)

In 2012 Washington sent picks #6, #39, its 2013 first-rounder (#22) and its 2014 first-rounder (#2) to St. Louis for #2 overall. On the Johnson chart: 1,600 + 510 + 780 + 2,600 = 5,490 given up for a pick worth 2,600 — an overpay of 2,890 points, a 111.2% premium. On the Fitzgerald–Spielberger chart: 2,092 + 1,143 + 1,434 + 2,649 = 7,318 for a pick worth 2,649 — a 176.3% premium. Both charts agree directionally (Washington paid a historic premium); they disagree on how historic. Note: this grades the picks at nominal value — the tool's future-pick discount would reduce the 2013/2014 picks by about one round each.

Example 3 — Dynasty rookie trade (fantasy)

You are offered the 1.05 and 2.01 for your 1.01 (1QB league). Step 1: 1.01 = 83, 1.05 = 51, 2.01 = 26. Step 2: the offer totals 51 + 26 = 77 vs your 83. Step 3: the gap is 6 points, or 7.2% of 83 — outside the 5% fair band, so the 1.01 side wins and you should ask for a small sweetener (the tool suggests the closest single pick: a late 4th, worth about 5).

Example 4 — Redraft pick swap (fantasy)

You trade overall pick #5 (value 80) for #13 (67) plus #40 (38). The return totals 105 vs your 80 — the side receiving two picks wins by 25 points (23.8% of the larger package). Trading down one round early is expensive; the chart shows exactly how expensive before you accept.

Practical tips

• Run both NFL charts. If a trade is fair on Johnson and on Fitzgerald–Spielberger, it is fair in almost any war room. If the charts disagree, the truth is usually in the middle — and the disagreement itself is leverage.
• Discount future picks. A 2027 1st is not a 2026 1st. The standard rule of thumb discounts one round per year out; toggle it on in the NFL tab and the tool does the math.
• Mind the 5% band, not the exact tie. Real trades rarely balance to the point. Within 5% is a handshake; beyond it, name the gap and ask for the specific pick that closes it.
• Fantasy: keep player values consistent. The calculator is only as honest as the player numbers you type. Use one source for both sides of the deal.
• Superflex changes everything. In dynasty rookie drafts, flipping from 1QB to superflex moves 1.04 from 52 to 62 — always set the toggle to match your league before negotiating.
• Custom chart for your league. If your league has its own pick values (many dynasty leagues do), paste them as a comma list in custom mode and the whole evaluator — totals, verdict, suggestions — runs on your numbers.

How the fantasy mode works

Redraft mode values snake-draft slots for a 12-team league using 2026 startup-draft pick values (DraftSharks): overall pick 1 is worth 100, pick 13 (round 2, slot 1) is worth 67, pick 40 is worth 38, and values flatten to 10 by pick 180. Enter overall pick numbers (1–180) or round shorthand like R3 or R3.5.

Dynasty rookie mode values rookie draft slots (1.01 through 4.12) from Justin Boone's 2026 rookie trade value charts (Yahoo Sports), with separate tables for 1QB and superflex/2QB leagues — quarterbacks are worth more in superflex, so 1.04 jumps from 52 to 62 when you flip the toggle.

Both fantasy modes let you add players to either side (one per line, Name: value), so picks-plus-players offers like "my 1.05 and a WR3 for your 1.02" can be scored as a single package. Player values are yours to set — use your league's trade chart or last year's finish as the anchor, and be consistent on both sides.

Methodology & sources

Jimmy Johnson chart (picks 1–224): transcribed from the full table reproduced in High & Sommers, "Evaluating the NFL Draft, 2000-2010, Using Two Different Draft Pick Trade Value Charts" (Open Journal of Social Sciences, 2026), sourced to Pro Football Reference's draft trade value page; rounds 1–3 spot-checked pick-by-pick against NBC Sports' published chart (96/96 match). The classic chart ends at pick 224; picks beyond that predate the compensatory era and are not in the original chart.

Fitzgerald–Spielberger chart (picks 1–256): transcribed from the chart's primary page at OverTheCap (Jason Fitzgerald & Brad Spielberger), built from 2011–2015 rookie classes' post-rookie-contract salaries; relative anchors cross-checked against PFF's published percentages (8/8 within 0.06 pts).

Dynasty rookie values: Justin Boone, Yahoo Sports, 2026 rookie dynasty draft pick trade value charts (1QB / 2QB, 12-team PPR).

Redraft snake values: DraftSharks 2026 dynasty half-PPR superflex startup draft pick values (12 teams × 15 rounds), repurposed as a snake-draft guide and labeled as estimates.

Future-pick discount: one round per year out (common draft-media rule of thumb), toggleable. All computation is 100% client-side; no data leaves your browser.

Frequently asked questions