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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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, NFL Predictions

NFL teams most likely to go from worst to first in 2025:

With how intent the NFL is on keeping an even playing field, we see a couple of teams turn things around every year. I ranked the eight teams who just finished last inside their division by how most likely to improve to number one!

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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

AFC South Draft & Roster Review 2025

Once again, switching conferences as part of this extensive video series, we’re taking a deep look at what the Texans, Colts, Jaguars and Titans did in the draft and the offseason as a hole to improve their rosters!

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NFL Quarterbacks, NFL Rookies, Player Rankings

Checking in with the rookie and sophomore NFL quarterbacks:

Over the last two drafts, ten quarterbacks were selected within the first 33 picks respectively and now that all but one of them have logged double-digit starts, I thought it was time to review what they’ve shown. I will provide my general thoughts, aided by some advanced metrics, and express my level of confidence in their long-time viability at the pro level.

Just to be clear, I won’t be discussing this year’s eighth and eighth overall selections Michael Penix Jr. (Falcons) and J.J. McCarthy (Vikings), who only saw very limited action in mop-up duty and unfortunately got hurt after a promising preseason showing respectively. Therefore, we’ll be looking at four guys from each of those draft classes.

Let’s dive in, going by chronological order of when they got selected:


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Storylines around the NFL

Misery index seven weeks into the 2024 NFL season:

Unlike most weeks where one topic jumps out to me for a video or article I want to write or even there’s a point in the season where it makes sense to do power rankings or mid-season awards, there were several ways I considered going here. However, as I looked a broader view at the NFL landscape, my one grand thought I came away with is the state of affairs for the teams at the bottom of the standings and their gap to the rest of the league. In large part because I currently don’t see a path where those franchise massively turn things around and I don’t want to ignore them until draft season rolls around.

With some teams having already had a bye week, I didn’t want the cut-off to be two wins, but rather I chose to go with the nine squads at least three games below .500 – meaning 2-5 or worse. That also made sense considering the two teams that criteria excludes are the 2-4 Rams and Dolphins, whose campaigns have been heavily affected by injuries and still have some hope to turn things around.

To illustrate that rift between the franchises in question and those in legitimate position to compete for playoff spots ultimately, here’s a number to consider – and I understand of course that it has to exist for this make sense mathematically – but the nine teams I’m about to discuss have an average point differential of -53.1 for the year, meaning the median outcome for them every week is pretty much losing by just over a touchdown. I did not go back to recent years to really dive into how this stacks up, but it feels like quite an extreme line of demarcation – and that calculation includes the Saints’ clearly unsustainable start, where they led the league with a +62 point differential through the first two weeks.

So this isn’t meant to be a way for me to trash the bottom-third of the league, but rather trying take a step back and reflect on how we got here, by going through these teams. And maybe give an outlook for the near future, as we think about how things could be course-corrected.

We’ll go by record first and then alphabetical order:


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NFL Predictions

NFL teams most likely to go from worst to first in 2024:

Going through all eight NFL divisions, I ranked the teams who finished last across those last season by likelihood of going first in 2024! Let me know who you think will make a jump!

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NFL Offseason

Key position battles across 2024 NFL training camps:

With all veterans across the NFL arriving at their team facilities for training camp, it’s time to look at the most interesting and/or meaningful competitions for starting jobs. I want to describe what role needs to be filled – some more distinctly defined than others – with a quick summary of why the spot is up for grabs, present the candidates with some statistics to back up their case, discuss some schematic nuances and who I consider as favorites based on what those coaching staffs are looking for as well.

I settled on six position battles on each side of the ball, without repeating positions. Some of the them may be more critical, as we’ll get to in a second – while others may be more niche roles or at least could look as much, as these battles play out. At the very end, I added one more position group for all 32 teams, where there’s some competition to keep your eye on, listed by alphabet.

Let’s dive in:

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NFL Offseason, Storylines around the NFL

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

In the second half of this little two-piece mini series, I’m switching over the AFC and ask myself “what is the one burning question I have for each team as I think about the 2024 NFL season?”

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