The NFL Trade Deadline was at 4 PM EST on November 1. A lot of teams were calling other general managers to get some deals done. Some of the trades were absolutely amazing, while some, not so much.
Roquan Smith To Ravens
Compensation: Ravens get MLB Roquan Smith; Bears get a second and fifth-round pick.
The Bears traded Roquan Smith to the Ravens for a second and fifth-round pick on Halloween. Baltimore needed to boost their interior linebackers as Patrick Queen has not lived up to expectations. Queen has graded poorly so far this year and has ranked ninth in missed tackles on the season. So an upgrade at linebacker was necessary. However, Smith has not been so great himself. While yes, he leads the league in tackles, tackles are very misleading box-score stats. Most of them are not “important tackles,” meaning that they are further down the field than the defense needs them to be. Either way, adding Roquan to this defense still helps them out because it is a veteran, former two-time all-pro second-team member that can come in and bring some energy to this front seven. As for the Bears, they got two picks in this deal that will help their future rebuild around Justin Fields (or another quarterback). Picks always help out, especially when you get to trade a player who was already frustrated and due for an extension.
Ravens: B
Bears: B+
TJ Hockenson To The Vikings
Compensation: Vikings get TE TJ Hockenson, a 2023 fourth-round, and a 2024 conditional fourth-round pick; Lions get a 2023 second-round and a 2024 fourth-round pick.
The Vikings lost TE Irv Smith JR due to a high ankle sprain, so adding another tight end makes sense. Hockenson is an ultra-talented player that has shown flashes but has not broken out yet. Earlier this year he posted an insane 8-179-2 game against the Seahawks that came out of absolutely nowhere. The Lions clearly are not a good football team so offloading a future star for picks seems like a great move. However, the compensation is not that great considering they basically only get a second-round pick out of the deal and lose out on another fourth. Had the Lions just included one pick, I would grade them better, but considering they gave up two picks, makes it kind of a loss. As for the Vikings, I love this trade. Adding another weapon for Cousins is always a great idea. Playing alongside Jefferson and Thielen will open up single coverage for Hock to dominate. Hockenson is uber-athletic and will fill the void left by Smith at the tight end position.
Lions: C+
Vikings: A-
Chase Claypool To The Bears
Compensation: Bears get WR Chase Claypool; Bears get a second-round pick.
The Steelers got a great haul for Chase, as he has been unproductive outside of one game. Pittsburgh’s wide receiver core is already good, with rookie George Pickens and veteran Diontae Johnson, so losing Claypool does not hurt too much. Even with Claypool, the offense could not do anything as Kenny Pickett develops and Matt Canada’s inability to call plays that fit the team’s strengths. The lack of deep shots called by Canada may be why Chase has not looked great but with the targets, he has gotten he still has not been productive. Great job by Omar Khan getting Claypool off of their hands. As for the Bears, they add a deep threat and just a wide receiver in general to this struggling passing game. The Bears rank last in passing yards per game so any weapon to help Justin Fields is considered a win in my books. A second-round pick does seem much for a wide receiver that has never topped the 1,000 yards mark, but Chase is still young and can figure it out with a new system and quarterback.
Steelers: A+
Bears: B
William Jackson To The Steelers
Compensation: Pittsburgh gets CB William Jackson, conditional 2025 seventh; Washington gets conditional 2025 sixth.
William Jackson asked for a trade weeks ago, as he does not fit the Washington zone scheme. He moves to Pittsburgh where he will fit a lot better into the scheme. The Steelers get a much-needed cornerback, as there’s have been struggling all year. Pittsburgh is still not a good team, but the defense definitely did get better with this trade. As for Washington, trading Jackson was the right move as he did not want to stay there. There really is not much to say about this deal until we see what happens on the field.
Steelers: B+
Washington: A
Bradley Chubb To Miami
Compensation: Miami gets OLB Bradley Chubb, 202th fifth-round pick; Denver gets a 2023 first-round pick, 2024 fourth, RB Chase Edmonds.
Wow. This was my favorite trade of the day. Bradley Chubb is an ultra-talented pass rusher and has shown flashes of that when healthy. That is the issue though, his health. Chubb is in his fifth year and has already missed twenty-four out of seventy-three possible games. Chubb ranks in the top 20 of sacks and pressures so far and Miami needs a pass rush desperately. The Dolphins rank twenty-third in sacks and twenty-eighth in pressures so adding Bradley fixes those problems almost immediately. As for Denver, getting a first for Chubb is absolutely amazing for a team that just traded multiple firsts for Russell Wilson.
Miami: A+
Denver: A+
Jeff Wilson To Miami
Compensation: Miami gets RB Jeff Wilson; 49ers get 2023 fifth-round pick.
Miami adds much-needed running back depth behind Raheem Mostert. Wilson has been solid this year in Elijah Mitchell’s absence ranking fifteenth in rushing yards. The 49ers traded for Christian McCaffrey recently so Wilson becomes basically useless in the offense, so getting rid of him makes sense. You weren’t going to get much for Wilson, so a fifth is fine. Jeff can start immediately for Mike McDaniel’s offense, who was the 49ers’ offensive coordinator last season. He is familiar with the system so he basically is a plug-and-play guy for McDaniel and will produce instantly.
Miami: B
San Francisco: B
Calvin Ridley to Jaguars
Compensation: Jaguars get Calvin Ridley; Falcons get conditional pick(s)
Honestly, the Jaguars are kind of stupid and smart at the same time regarding this trade. They get a good wide receiver, who is suspended the whole season… When Ridley plays, he will be good for Trevor Lawrence, but he will not until 2023. He will be a good number-one option for TLaw when the time comes, but for now, this is a deal for the future. As for Atlanta, you get rid of a guy who will be asking for a payday soon on a rebuilding team so it’s a great move to get rid of him now. It is hard to talk about the compensation because it can be anywhere from a fourth to a second-round pick, so the Falcons will remain ungraded.
Jaguars: B
Falcons: N/A
Jacob Martin To Broncos
Compensation: Broncos get Jacob Martin, 2024 fifth; Jets get 2024 fourth.
Overall decent move, but kind of irrelevant. Jacob adds to the Denver pass rush group that just got rid of Bradley Chubb. It is now Randy Gregory, Nik Bonitto, Baron Browning, Jonathan Cooper, and Jacob Martin. Gregory has been pressuring the quarterback a lot (19) but not getting a ton of sacks (2). The Jets get rid of a pass rusher on a unit that may have the defensive player of the year, Quinnen Williams, so it hurts but you still get a pick out of it.
Denver: B-
Jets: C+
Nyheim Hines to Buffalo
Compensation: Buffalo gets RB Nyheim Hines; Colts get RB Zack Moss, conditional 2023 sixth.
This trade adds depth to the running back and returner positions for the Bills. Hines is a special receiving back, not a great rusher but will be amazing on third downs for Josh Allen.
Bills: B+
Colts: B-
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