TRANSACTION · MLBDodgers: Sent RHP Blake Treinen on a rehab assignment to Ontario (CAL) (Aug 15)
TRANSACTION · MLBDiamondbacks: Sent RHP Drey Jameson on a rehab assignment to Reno (PCL) (Aug 15)
TRANSACTION · MLBRangers: Reinstated RHP Jakob Junis from the 15-day IL (Aug 15)
TRANSACTION · WNBASun: Matched Ashlon Jackson's offer sheet from Los Angeles (Aug 15)
TRANSACTION · WNBASparks: Signed G Tonie Morgan (Aug 15)
TRANSACTION · NFLBengals: Signed CB Matthew McDoom (Aug 15)
Free during beta —to track favorites + alerts

Free tool

Draft Pick
Trade Value

Compare both sides of a pick swap on the chart the market actually uses — the NFL Jimmy Johnson chart or the NBA pick-value curve. See who it favors. Pure math, no signup.

Questions, answered

How are draft picks valued in trades?+

The NFL side uses the classic Jimmy Johnson chart — the reference table front offices have anchored to for decades. The NBA side uses a Pelton/Morey-style decreasing-value curve. Both describe how the MARKET has valued picks, not what any specific player will become.

What does 'even' mean in a pick trade?+

Within about 5% of total chart value on both sides. Real trades routinely deviate — teams pay premiums to move up for a specific player — so the chart is the baseline, not a verdict.

Do these values predict how good the players will be?+

No. Chart value measures the market price of the SLOT, not the outcome of the pick. History is full of late picks who outplayed early ones; the chart just tells you what the capital usually costs.

picks 1–256
Side A gives3000
Pick3000
Side B gives2600
Pick1500
Pick1100
Side A wins by 400 pts · 13.3%
A 3000 · B 2600

Values are the classic Jimmy Johnson chart — the NFL's longtime reference for pick trades. This is how the market has valued draft capital — not our model, and not a judgment of the players taken. “Even” = within ~5%.

More like this — daily graded slate + new free tools

How it works

  • Each pick has a chart value; a side's total is the sum of its picks. The bigger total is the side getting more draft capital.
  • NFL uses the classic Jimmy Johnson chart (the league's longtime reference); NBA uses a Pelton/Morey-style decreasing-value curve.
  • These are how the market values picks — not our model, and not a forecast of the players taken. A trade within ~5% reads as even.

The honest explainer

What a pick-value chart actually is

Trade charts encode a market convention: what draft capital has historically been exchanged for, smoothed into points. Comparing two sides on a chart measures whether a trade is normal by that convention — not whether it will work out.

Different charts disagree on purpose. The classic trade-desk chart prices the top of the draft steeply; research-derived surplus-value charts flatten it. The disagreement is information about the market, not an error to resolve.

Worked example

NFL, classic chart: pick 10 is 1,300 points; picks 25 + 40 are 720 + 500 = 1,220. The single pick 'wins' by 80 points — roughly what the same chart assigns an early fourth-rounder. Whether consolidating for one premium player beats two swings is exactly the judgment the chart cannot make for you.

When NOT to use it

  • Quarterback moves: teams trading up for a QB knowingly overpay every chart. The chart isn't wrong; it's answering a different question.
  • Rebuild math: a win-now team and a teardown discount future picks completely differently — one chart can't hold both time horizons.
  • Don't treat chart deltas as scouting. A 'fair' trade that moves you away from the player your board loved is only fair on paper.