NFL Trades

Moves I’d like to see ahead of the 2025 NFL trade deadline:

With the 2025 NFL trade deadline coming up next Tuesday (Nov. 4) at 4pm ET, here are the ten moves I’d like to see happen!

(This is simply a copy of my social media post, rather than my typical full-fledged article)

 

 

Colts QB Anthony Richardson ➡️ Vikings

This is more of a long-term investment for Kevin O’Connell, potentially having two more years of contractual control. They can still give JJ McCarthy his opportunity, but could get Richardson onto the field late and give themselves options.

 

 

Titans RB Tony Pollard ➡️ Chiefs

There’s no need for Tennessee to limit touches for Tyjae Spears, off the high-ankle sprain. Meanwhile, Isiah Pacheco just got banged up and the Chiefs haven’t found much consistency on the ground. Pollard is scheme-versatile and adds some juice.

 

 

 

Saints WR Chris Olave ➡️ Steelers

New Orleans has been openly shopping their WRs. Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers is throwing the ball 3.1 yards short of the sticks on average, relying heavily on yards after the catch. Olave could provide some air underneath as a vertical threat.

 

 

 

TE David Njoku ➡️ Buccaneers

Tampa Bay has lost Mike Evans for the season, along with having other WRs in and out of the lineup. Adding Njoku’s explosiveness from the TE spot could diversify their passing attack. Cleveland can continue to lean more into rookie Harold Fannin Jr.

 

 

 

Raiders IOL Jackson Powers-Johnson ➡️ Texans

The Raiders OL has been a mess. With JPJ having started to settle in at guard, this would offer Houston options to either plug him in there or replace center Jake Andrews. We just saw what C.J. Stroud is capable of with a solid pocket.

 

 

 

Bengals EDGE Trey Hendrickson ➡️ 49ers

Cincy handed Hendrickson a one-year extension in the offseason, but now not competing for a title, it’s best for both sides to move on, and the Niners badly need pass-rush help. They could also be in the market for Jets LB Quincy Williams.

 

 

 

Eagles LB Nakobe Dean ➡️ Colts

Dean took a massive step forward last season and has looked solid in his return from injury. Yet, Philly can’t afford to take rookie Jihaad Campbell off the field. Meanwhile, LB is a major weakness for Indy (no one with a PFF grade higher than 58.0).

 

 

 

Giants EDGE Kayvon Thibodeaux ➡️ Ravens

Although NY’s defense has been best on defined dropbacks, putting KT on the field with Burns & Carter, they should try to get returns on the former top 10 pick, in the final year of his rookie deal. Baltimore is tied for 31st in sacks (9).

 

 

 

Jets CB Michael Carter II ➡️ Bears

NY traded for Jarvis Brownlee Jr. in Carter’s absence, who’s become a key contributor for them, limiting the veteran to 6 defensive snaps in his return. Chicago recently placed starting nickel Kyler Gordon on IR and Carter would be a great fit.

 

 

 

Cardinals SAF Jalen Thompson ➡️ Bills

Buffalo could use help at DT with Ed Oliver’s injury, but their biggest issue has been angles + missed tackles by their safeties – Thompson is right at his career average of just a 7%. Dadrion Taylor-Demerson is ready to step in for Arizona.

 

 

Other fun player-team matches:

Saints QB Spencer Rattler ➡️ Browns

Panthers RB Chuba Hubbard ➡️ Vikings

Jaguars WR Brian Thomas Jr. ➡️ Patriots

Titans IDL Jeffery Simmons ➡️ Cowboys

Jets LB Quincy Williams ➡️ 49ers

Vikings CB Isaiah Rodgers ➡️ Eagles

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Storylines around the NFL

Ten statistics that have defined the initial third of the 2025 NFL season:

Six weeks into the NFL season, you’ll hear a bunch of numbers thrown out there by different mainstream media shows but also niche podcasts, from basic yardage totals to hyper-specific metrics about efficiency by a certain unit, depending game situation, personnel grouping, and so much more.

So what I did once all games from this past slate were concluded, was to dive into a variety of outlets, play around with filters and compare statistics I found with the tape, to come up with what I believe are the ten most meaningful numbers, as I try to describe what this year has been about.

Just a quick disclaimer – these all concern teams that have earned equity to be deemed significant so far this year or at least came into the season as a franchise of note in regards to competing for the Super Bowl. So you’re not going to read about the Raiders’ atrocious run-blocking or the horrible splits for the winless Jets through the first three quarters compared to garbage time.

Let’s get into these:

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NFL Film Breakdowns, NFL Quarterbacks

Top five quarterback performances of NFL week five (2025)

Despite multiple highly talented quarterbacks either being on bye or currently injured, we got to witness excellent play at the position in several games. I went back to watch all of them and now want to highlight my personal top five, by breaking down their top plays!

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NFL Predictions

Bold predictions for the 2025 NFL season:

I’ve already previewed the entire 2025 NFL season in detail, but as an annual tradition, the day before we kick things off – here are my six bold predictions for the year!

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NFL Offseason

What does success look like for your favorite NFL team in 2025?

The following conversation goes against what the NFL’s shield is trying to sell the public at the start of every single season – the idea of all 32 teams having a chance to hoist the Lombardi Trophy at the end of it. As much as I love how they strive for parity, conceiving anything but achieving the ultimate goal as a failure would always leave all but one fan base dissatisfied. Generally, I sway away from asking questions like the one in the title, but due to several factors, I thought laying out which factors we should pay attention to and what constitutes a “successful campaign” was particularly interesting this year.

I’m fully aware that this by no means is an innovative concept, but looking back at this past season, I thought the gap between “the rich and the poor” was as large as ever once we got to around Thanksgiving. So I do believe it’s important to offer a frame of context for how we should probably view what these franchises are about to put onto the field once we kick things off. For some teams, simply measuring it by where the journey ends for them in 2025 is fair, yet for others, showing growth in certain areas may be even more crucial for their future outlook.

We’ll go through them all by division here!

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NFL Draft, NFL Offseason

NFC South Draft & Roster Review 2025

We enter the second half of our divisional draft and roster review series, where today we’ll taking a look at the Falcons, Panthers, Saints and Buccaneers. I’ll break down every single player they drafted, their roles on the roster, incorporating all the other offseason moves, and share my perspective on what they did overall.

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NFL Playoffs

Predicting the full 2024/25 NFL playoffs:

The NFL playoff bracket is set and I took on the exercise of previewing/predicting every single matchup, leading up to Super Bowl LIX! I’ll share a few thoughts on each side and how I came to all my decisions!

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Uncategorized

Under-the-radar NFL studs (2024):

I forgot to post this here last week already – so please bear in mind that the numbers are now slightly different!

Even though the NFL is headlined by superstar players, often times it’s the guys who don’t get talked about a whole lot that make a big difference for their team. So I decided to highlight three names on offense and defense each, to give them they attention they deserve!

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NFL Film Breakdowns

Pick 6: Best defensive plays of NFL week 6 (2024)

After focusing on the top quarterback plays last week, I decided to flip things around and highlight some of my favorite defensive moments from this past week!

We’ll go through the play-calls on both sides, discussing the rules/assignments for the individual pieces and how they ended up working in concert to win those downs as a unit!

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NFL Offseason, Storylines around the NFL

One burning question for each NFC team ahead of the 2024 season

Following my month-long divisional draft & roster review series, I’m back with a little two-piece project, where instead of diving into a bunch of individual players, I looked at each team as a whole and asked myself “what is the one burning question I have for them as I think about the 2024 NFL season?”

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