The NFL Trade deadline has passed and there was a lot of speculation as to what would happen when the day finally came and there were a couple of noteworthy trades. There were several teams that got better this week and internally – think they may have the missing piece to propel them on a deep playoff run. The trade deadline used to be just another day but thankfully those days are over. And in today’s’ video we’re going to break down both the biggest winners and losers from the NFL trade deadline. There’s a lot that goes into it from a team and player perspective and ultimately the goal of the player being successful both on and off the field and everything in between. We’ll break down every angle of all the trades and what’s next for the former teams of these players. Now let’s begin
And we are starting today’s video by discussing Marshon Lattimore going to the Washington Commanders. Lattiomre was a first round pick back in 2017 and he was a part of legendary draft class for the Saints. The 2017 Saints class featured guys like Lattimore, Ryan Ramczyk, Alvin Kamara, Marcus Wilma’s, Alex Anzalone, and Trey Hendrickson. But as we know – not everything lasts forever and the Saints are in a difficult situation at the moment. They recently fired their head coach and their future looks very bleak. So from the Saints side to trade a 28 year old corner and to get a 3rd round pick, a 4th round pick, and a 6th in exchange for Marshon and a 5th to me – was good value considering the situation. If you know anything about the cap or have truly followed the NFL during the offseason over the past couple of years – then you know the Saints are always against the cap and they push the money back every year. They routinely go in and the results aren’t there and they are one of the most frustrating teams to watch from afar.
So for them to pick up another top 100 pick and to have 4 swings in the top 100 in the 2025 draft – is big for them from a rebuilding standpoint. What needs to be remembered for the Saints right now – is this roster isn’t great, and it’s also pretty old. Their financial situation around Derek Carr is also bad and obviously Derek Carr isn’t a top 10 quarterback or anywhere close to top 10 quarterback. This team has needed to hit the rebuild button for a couple of years and this looks to be the first sign of them actually acknowledging how bad this situation is and preparing to have a long term plan – rather than use flex seal and try and fix 6 different holes at one time. The Saints were never going to get a first round pick and change for Lattimore at this point in his career as he is in year 8 and is owed $18 million dollars in each of the next two seasons and this is per Spotrac dot com. Yes the Saints departed with the best corner in franchise history and a player Saints fans have loved for years – but this was a needed step. And I thought the Saints did well in this trade. For Washington – this is also a very good trade.
Now not every trade we discuss today is going to be a win win – but I love this move for the Commanders. Washington has obviously over achieved this year and being able to significantly upgrade your corner room while contending is huge. Not only that, but this is also a good move for the next couple of years because of all of the receivers in the division. I mean look around – whether it’s CeeDee Lamb, Malik Nabers, or of course the duo of AJ Brown and Devonta Smith – you can never have enough good corners on a roster. I also have concerns with Emmanuel Forbes as the teams 4th corner and bringing in Marshon certainly eases those concerns. Marshon is a 4 time pro bowler and is a very good player and will also energize this defense.
Trading what is essentially a late 3 and a late 4 for a good corner is a trade teams would make 99% of the time. In the best case scenario – you have Marshon for the next 3 years and he is a player that can help transform the culture and help this team continue to build on what they have through the first 9 games of 2024. I loved this trade from GM Adam Peters because they didn’t overpay, and got a big mid season upgrade at one of the most important positions in football.
Za’Darius Smith is now a Detroit Lion after being traded from the Browns on the day of the deadline. This was a trade that had been discussed for weeks and the Lions finally made their move. Now what needs to be remembered for the Lions is who they’re getting as a player and who they’re not getting. There’s a reason Za’Darius was traded for a 2025 5th, and a 2026 6th. Yes I think he is a solid player and a guy who will contribute in a big way down the stretch – but this is far from an Aidan Hutchinson replacement. Hutch was having a generational season and I know there’s usually an eyebrow raise to the generational word – but to give you an idea of how good of a year Hutch was having – as I record this – Aidan is still top 5 in pressures in the NFL and hasn’t played since October 13th. And not only that – but he also had a bye week in there and for him to still be top 5 in pressures is downright insane. I think he was going to lead the league in pressures by a wide wide margin and I do think he was well on his way to winning the defensive player of the year. Za’Darius Smith is not going to be that player – not even close. And it wouldn’t be fair to Za’Darius or any other veteran to be expected to be the player Hutch was pre injury.
The big thing with bringing in Za’Darius is he is an upgrade from what the Lions currently have. Specifically at the edge position – the Lions have zero players with 9 or more pressures other than Hutch of course. Now if there is any team that can get to a Super Bowl or make a deep run with one position lacking – it’s the Lions mainly because of how complete their roster is. But Josh Paschal currently leads the edge group in pressures with 8 pressures on 148 pass rushing snaps. Hutch on the other hand 45 pressures on 198 pass rushing snaps. The Lions edge rushing unit wasn’t great and for reference – Za’Darius has 27 pressures on 204 pass rushing snaps. He has 55 or more pressures in 5 of the past 6 years and the only year he didn’t get 55 pressures was back in 2021 – when he played in a single game. And that’s the biggest thing the Lions need at the moment without one of the best players in football. They just need someone who can get after the quarterback and start to apply pressure because what they had before certainly wasn’t ideal. He also has another year on his contract and if he works out and has 5 sacks in the second half of the 2024 season – does it really matter if the Lions traded a 5th and 6th round pick for him? Are they going to bring in another elite player with one of those picks? Probably not and the Lions were in a position where they could go make a trade and it wouldn’t hurt them at all because of how loaded this roster is. Trading those couple of late round picks are nothing if they win the Super Bowl and if Zadarius has a good postseason run. And I would make this trade every time if I was in Brad Holmes shoes.
The Browns are in a similar situation as the Saints where their future is bleak and they needed as many swings in the draft as possible. The Deshaun Watson contract will limit this team soon and they needed cheap young talent. The likelihood they bring in a great player with a 5th or 6th round pick is slim – and we can all acknowledge that – but they dug themselves into quite a hole and this is how you start to dig yourself out. They have to get younger, and cheaper, and even in the worst case – if they really like a player in the second or third round next year – they have more ammo to trade up with. Za’Darius is 32 years old and he would probably be 35 by the time the Browns were in a position to seriously compete and they trimmed the fat and got what they could for a player who was not going to play for this franchise for forever. And I liked this move for both sides and think it is a win win.
We break all of this down and more in the video below! There were several trades prior to the trade deadline and even on the day of the trade deadline and I hope you enjoy!
