The NFL Trade Deadline: What Have We Learned?

This year’s trade deadline in the NFL was quite busy. There was a total of 22 trades since the start of the season, the most since 1995. Furthermore, there were a whopping 12 players traded in the final two days leading up to the November 4th deadline.

Many players are having to call new places “home” these past couple weeks. A lot of them are at the hands of the New York Jets, whether they are moving in or moving out.

The Jets were by far the most active team this cycle, with first-team All-Pros, Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams, leaving town for Indianapolis and Dallas respectively.

The Jets were also able to bring in a couple players, including young star receiver Adonai Mitchell, and core special teams player Ja’Sir Taylor from the Chargers. The Jets were able to receive major draft capitol for trading away the aforementioned Gardner and Williams.

They were able to receive a total of 3 first-round picks and 2 second-round picks among others in those two trades. The Jets have set themselves up quite well for the future with some great players left on the team like Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson.

Rookie Head Coach Aaron Glenn and General Manager Darren Mougey are looking to revamp the team.

From the other team’s perspective, The Colts were able to add a great player at the deadline in Gardner, who will help them in their playoff push. The offense has been the star of the show in Indianapolis, led by Jonathon Taylor and the resurgence of Daniel Jones. Hopefully Gardner is just what this defense needs in their pursuit of the Super Bowl.

The Colts currently sit atop the AFC at 8-2. As for the Dallas Cowboys, they traded away former first-round defensive tackle Mazi Smith, as well as a first-round and second-round draft pick for one of the best defensive linemen in the entire league. However, it should be noted that they traded away Micah Parsons, arguably the best defensive lineman and at a more valuable position, for roughly the same return as they sent for the former Jet.

As for winners and losers, the Jets and Colts are major winners, while the Cowboys are the losers of the deadline.

Other than the two headline trades, there were many minor trades that show who is buying, selling, and who is pushing to win this year. Notably, the reigning Super Bowl champion, Philadelphia Eagles, traded for star pass rusher Jaelan Phillips from the Miami Dolphins. The rich get richer as they look to repeat their success from last season.

The Los Angeles Chargers made a last second move landing Trevor Penning from the Saints. The Chargers offensive line has been abysmal this season after the loss of Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt at tackle. Trevor Penning will look to fill the void at left tackle for the Chargers, though he is versatile and has played multiple positions for the Saints including guard.

While there were other trades between teams looking to patch positions and get some value like Rashid Shaheed to the Seahawks, or Jakobi Meyers to the Jaguars, we learned a lot about which teams are looking to rebuild like the Jets, getting multiple picks in the upcoming drafts.

Which teams are trying to fix holes left by injuries in order to make a run in the playoffs like the Chargers trading for Trevor Penning filling the role of Alt and Slater. Which teams are looking to win it all by getting the last player they need to further improve their deep rosters like the Eagles and the Colts. All in all, the trade deadline this season will not only shake up depth charts the rest of the season, but it will also reshape the direction of many seasons to come. The true winners and losers aren’t defined by initial reactions or on paper evaluations. In the NFL, the real verdict is written on Sundays.