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The 2018 NFL trade deadline has come and gone, and we have never seen it before. There were a flurry of late deals and a bunch of big names throughout the day.
It's a different era for NFL roster management in terms of trading guys. Front offices are not scared to sacrifice picks for veterans who can make make a difference. Teams above or around .500 see the landscape and understanding just how much is right now. Even with a few good teams, most anyone can make a deep run in the postseason with a sniff of offense and a decent quarterback.
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With that in mind let's look at some of the aggressive moves during this deadline and some winners and losers.
You can check out our full trade deadline right here for every single move made yell at me on Twitter @WillBrinson with any questions or complaints. Also make sure and check out all of the moves that were made with CBS Sports NFL Jason Insider The Canfora and Sr. Fantasy Analyst Dave Richard on the post deadline edition of the Pick Six Podcast.
WINNERS
Jon Gruden
Did not see THIS coming, but here we are. Look after the landscape of the NFL after the trade deadline and it was clear that one club was more than anyone else there, and it was the Raiders. Gruden secured two first-round picks for Khalil Mack before the season and another one when he shipped Amari Cooper to Dallas. No one expected the Raiders to bring in a first-round pick in return for Cooper – it was by far the biggest deadline-week haul – goal Gruden managed to extract serious value from the Cowboys. It's clear the Raiders are planning for Vegas and Gruden, but it's worthwhile, but it's worth it to stock the franchise with five first-round picks over the next two years.
Carson Wentz
The Eagles quarterback is playing some really good football so far this year and he just got the best value acquisition at the deadline in the form of Golden Tate. It's nice to work for a GM willing to aggressively make moves and add talent in typically unconventional ways. Wentz has that in the form of Howie Roseman, who has acquired Jay Ajayi and Tate in the last two seasons to help his young quarterback. Tate has caught 63 percent of the past year, but that's actually its lowest total since 2011. Maybe that's part of why the Lions were willing to send him packing; Tate is a free agent after the 2018 season, so he could certainly be an eight-game rental. But Tate is only 30 and should get paid again in free agency, which means the Eagles should get a third- or fourth-round compensatory pick back in worst case in 2020.
Courtland Sutton
The departure of Demaryius Thomas means Sutton gets to start playing the role of the Broncos and more than anyone else. Sutton is already averaging 19.1 yards per catch on his 17 catches this season, he only has a 45.9 percent catch rate. It was worth noting he had 376 on the season, 69 percent worth, while Thomas was out there for only 74 percent of the Broncos snaps ) and will get a chance to flash his skillset now instead of waiting for the Broncos parted ways with Thomas this offseason. Worth noting: the Broncos get a big win here because they're doing it they're doing a lot of things to do with the Texans, instead of having to wait and see them the coming offseason.
Washington Redskins
The Redskins are a surprise leader in the NFC East as we make the midway turn of the season, and it's in large part to their impressive defensive performance. Washington is climbing the DVOA ranks (currently 14th) and was already on the way before adding a starting point in Ha-Ha Clinton-Ten from the Packers in a deadline deal on Tuesday. Clinton-Ten is a real deal, unless the Redskins want to try and sign him to a longer deal, but it's a Worthwhile gamble for Washington at just the cost of a fourth-round pick. Clinton-Dix, D.J. Swearinger, Quincy Dunbar and Josh Norman give them a great deal. Washington's defense is a unit to be reckoned with.
Le'eon Bell
Bell did not want to increase its value through the trade deadline, but he did not control it in 2018 (assuming he does play). The Steelers wanted to try and move Bell, but they could not trade Bell unless he came in and signed up for the deadline. It was pretty obvious he did not want to play anywhere else – there are concerns about where he might be, learning a new offense, etc. – and now Bell guarantees he'll play for the Steelers on the franchise when he reports in the next week. He could show up as early as Wednesday, but Monday after Week 9 seems like a logical time for him to show up to work.
Dante Fowler
To form No. 3 overall pick, Fowler was wrapped up with the Jaguars after they took him in the 2015 NFL Draft and his tenure was not ending in impressive fashion. Fowler missed his rookie season, struggled in 2016, finally broke through with an eight-sack campaign last year but only produced two sacks this year. He gets a new lease on life by heading to Los Angeles to work with Wade Phillips. He will be a part of a defense featuring Ndamukong Suh, Aaron Donald and Michael Brockers on the defensive line, which should be seen at least once in a while. I do not think he's going to magically solve the rushing issues the Rams have, but this is a good thing to do. Do not love the Rams giving up to a third-round pick for a guy who will only be an eight-game rental, but I understand why they're going all over the place.
LOSERS
Arizona Cardinals
There was a lot of chatter about the Cardinals making moves and bringing in a bunch of draft picks in order to stock up for the future, and Arizona ended up standing pat. Maybe it was the momentum of the win over the 49ers – Larry Fitzgerald had his first post-touchdown spike of his career – or maybe it was just an inflated market that made it too difficult for the Cardinals to get value in return. It's also possible they're looking at the roster, with guys like Deone Bucannon who do not fit the current coaching scheme, and want to make sure the current coaching scheme will still be around when it's time to make more roster decisions. Whatever the case, Arizona was thinking to be a big-time player at the deadline and not up anyone. It's a weird move for a team that has two wins.
New York Giants
Picking on the wounded here, the Giants are one of the worst teams in football and the reality of their situation. Not only did they sit back and watch every other team in the make-move division, but the Giants were not able to pull off the score. The Redskins landed safety help, the Cowboys landed Amari Cooper earlier in the week and the Eagles got better with the addition of Tate. Meanwhile, the Giants are clearly the worst team in this division by a large margin, have a quarterback in Eli Manning who offers more questions about this stage of the career, have a backup quarterback in Kyle Lauletta who just got cited for evading police and Damon Harrison and Eli Apple for marginal returns.
Matthew Stafford
The Lions should be fine on offense, because they still have Marvin Jones and Kenny Golladay. Kerryon Johnson utilizes Kerryon Johnson in an effective manner and creating a balanced offense. It has not occurred in Stafford, but the Lions are better off for it as a team. Unfortunately for Stafford, he just lost his top receiving option in Tate, so the team could land a third-round pick. Not only does it take a guy to develop a relationship with other people, but it might signal the Lions do not know themselves just in the process of becoming NFC just yet. That's fair; There are much better teams right now. But it's not the move you want to see if you're starting a new team. You want to be the guy getting the weapon.
The 2015 First-Round Draft Class
This article was prepared for a second time by a quarterback franchise and it has turned into an absolute mess. Let's run through some of the picks:
1 Jameis Winston – Benched for Ryan Fitzpatrick multiple times, may or may not get a new deal
2. Marcus Mariota – Struggling to be consistent in Tennessee
3. Dante Fowler – Traded
4. Amari Cooper – Traded
5. Brandon Scherff – GREAT PICK
6. Leonard Williams – GREAT PICK
7. Kevin White – Huge bust, almost had a Hail Mary once
8. Vic Beasley – Led the league in sacks
9. Ereck Flowers – Enormous bust
10. Todd Gurley – GREAT PICK
Marcus Peters, who walks a fine line here. Melvin Gordon actually looks like a great pick now, which is a reminder not to judge after a single year. It's just a good look when you're ready for the final year of their contract at the deadline. It says a lot about the selections.
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