The NFL trade deadline is 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Oct. 29. What kind of action could occur before the deal-making clock runs out? Jeremy Bergman proposes one buy/sell move for each NFC team.
ARIZONA CARDINALS: Buy defensive lineman Leonard Williams. Of the eight new coaches this season, only Matt LaFleur and Kliff Kingsbury have not led their teams to losing records. With Kliff at the helm, Arizona might not be playoff-bound in a tight NFC West, but that doesn’t mean Steve Keim can’t buy and build for the future. Instead of trading Patrick Peterson away, as we’ve prognosticated for over 12 months now, Arizona should locate a space-eater on the defensive line from East Rutherford to aid its 25th-ranked run defense. Potential compensation: 2020 third-round pick and 2021 seventh-round pick.
ATLANTA FALCONS: Sell edge rusher Vic Beasley. One down, one to go. Atlanta shipped Mohamed Sanu up to Boston early Tuesday morning, just hours after his name trickled out as a trade candidate. Now it’s time to cut bait with the other Falcon set to fly the coop. Beasley — a former first-round pick making $12.8 million in this, his final year under contract — is an All Pro-caliber edge rusher who just needs a change of scenery. Oakland and Baltimore could be options. Potential compensation: 2020 third-round pick.
CAROLINA PANTHERS: Buy wide receiver Robby Anderson. With Gang Green fresh off a disappointing Monday night for all Jets involved, Carolina should make a run at this field stretcher. Anderson is playing on a one-year tender and doesn’t figure to be in New York’s plan going forward, especially with new management in town. Carolina could use a bona fide deep threat to fill out a receiving corps with D.J. Moore and Curtis Samuel and clear out space for MVP candidate Christian McCaffrey and Greg Olsen. Potential compensation: 2020 and 2021 fourth-round picks.
CHICAGO BEARS: Buy running back Kenyan Drake. Seven carries a game ain’t gonna cut it. Paced by David Montgomery and Tarik Cohen, the Bears‘ 28th-ranked running game needs a reinvention. Enter Drake, whom Miami has been dangling as trade bait for a while now. Over the last two weeks, Mark Walton has earned more touches than the former third-rounder. A move to the Windy City won’t take a Miami miracle. Potential compensation: 2020 seventh-round pick and 2021 third-round pick.
DALLAS COWBOYS: Buy safety Reshad Jones. With Jeff Heath struggling some, Dallas should consider seeking help in the defensive backfield, if not from a free agent like Eric Berry, then a veteran under contract like Jones. Another Dolphins player rumored to be on the outs for months now, Jones has stayed in Miami largely due to his sizable salary ($13.1M in 2019). The safety told reporters before the season he was unlikely to be moved, but that was before the Dolphins sank to dark depths. I could see a desperate Jerry Jones adding another Jones to the Cowboy family before next week’s deadline. Potential compensation: 2021 third-round pick.
DETROIT LIONS: Buy running back Melvin Gordon. With Kerryon Johnson heading to injured reserve for at least eight games, Detroit is left with just rookie Ty Johnson and J.D. McKissic to pick up the back’s carries. That’s not going to do it in a competitive NFC North. Detroit should splurge for a half-year rental in Gordon, who has underperformed in Carson since returning from his ill-fated holdout, and use the back half of 2019 to see if he can carry in lieu of Kerryon. Potential compensation: 2020 second-round pick.
GREEN BAY PACKERS: Buy tight end O.J. Howard. As he proved Sunday, Aaron Rodgers can ball out with anybody in his supporting cast. Danny Vitale and Jake Kumerow for the win! But going forward, the Pack will need more reliable, versatile pass-catching weapons. Howard is being under-utilized in Tampa Bay and, in the third year of his rookie deal, has room to grow. The plan: Pair him or rotate him with Jimmy Graham in Green Bay in 2019, have him replace Graham in 2020 and see Rodgers develop a new favorite target across from Davante Adams. Potential compensation: 2020 second-round pick and 2021 sixth-round pick.
LOS ANGELES RAMS: Buy running back Chris Thompson. Les Snead and friends did most of their deadline dealing a little early this year, trading Marcus Peters to Baltimore and acquiring Jalen Ramsey from Jacksonville and Austin Corbett from Cleveland. There’s not much left to do to this roster in a deal or two to significantly improve its depth. But L.A. can and should try to complement Todd Gurley better with Malcolm Brown banged up. Investing whatever low-risk draft capital the Rams have left in a pass-catching back like Thompson could greatly help the backfield, a shaky Jared Goff included. Potential compensation: 2020 sixth-round pick and 2021 third-round pick.
MINNESOTA VIKINGS: Sell tight end Kyle Rudolph. I’m not saying the Vikings, winners of three straight, should change up anything on their offensive roster. Adam Thielen is a bargain (and currently injured), Stefon Diggs has shown up to practice and to play, and Dalvin Cook is a revelation in Year 3. But if Minnesota were to part with a piece at the deadline, it should be Rudolph, a reliable veteran tight end who, despite signing a big extension this offseason, was barely a factor in the passing game until last week. Potential compensation: 2020 third-round pick and 2021 fifth-round pick.
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS: Buy wide receiver DeVante Parker. The Saints have needed a reliable WR2 across from Michael Thomas since last season and have yet to land on one. Ted Ginn Jr. is third on the team with 18 catches, and the next-most-productive WR is Tre’Quan Smith (five grabs). A.J. Green feels unattainable at this point, so New Orleans should follow the league’s lead and raid Miami’s cupboard for its top receiving trade piece. Parker has been productive of late, but in his final year under contract, would serve Miami best as a trade asset. Potential compensation: 2020 third-round pick.
NEW YORK GIANTS: Sell cornerback Janoris Jenkins. Jenkins enjoyed one outstanding game this season against a flummoxed Dwayne Haskins in Week 4, a two-pick showing that earned him NFC Player of the Week honors. But other than that, Jackrabbit has done jack in his fourth season with Big Blue. Jenkins’ deal runs through 2020, but he was not a Dave Gettleman signing. So the GM should feel free to offload him to a CB-needy team. Potential compensation: 2020 third-round pick.
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES: Buy cornerback Chris Harris Jr. How does Howie Roseman attack this trade deadline? With an air-tight but underperforming and injury-prone roster, the Eagles don’t need much to sneak into the postseason except minor improvements and more consistent play on the outside. Enter the Broncos, who’ve made it known that Harris, a 30-something cornerback in the last year of his renegotiated deal, is available and garnering interest. A swash-buckling Roseman should take a Philadelphia flier on Harris, but the Eagles GM might have to give up a young cornerback in the process. Potential compensation: Ronald Darby and 2020 conditional fifth-round pick.
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS: Bought wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders. In previous drafts of this article, I first had San Francisco going after Mo Sanu. A WR on the trade block with ties to Kyle Shanahan? What a fit. New England put the kibosh on that. I then quickly wrote up a blurb projecting Sanders to the 49ers, as one of the only Pro Bowl-level wideouts left on the market. John Lynch made sure that fantasy became a reality mere minutes afterward. So in lieu of guessing another transaction in this space only to be preempted before publishing by a rogue roster manager, I will say this: The Niners needed to trade for a receiver before the deadline and did so. Mazel tov. Actual compensation: 2020 third-round and fourth-round picks (with a fifth-rounder going back to San Francisco).
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS: Sell running back Rashaad Penny. There’s no pressing need to get rid of the 2018 first-round pick, but Penny is not, by any stretch, Seattle’s every-down back of the future. Chris Carson has carried the ball at least 21 times in each of the Seahawks‘ last four games, while Penny has just 22 carries on the year and none since Week 5. Penny is not yet worth pennies on the dollar, and there are teams out there (Detroit, Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta) that could use a jolt in the backfield. Potential compensation: 2020 third-round pick.
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS: Sell tight end O.J. Howard. Howard has not broken out in his third season in Tampa Bay, as many had hoped. He’s averaging three targets and 2.2 receptions per game, his most impressive catch of the autumn coming at a Tampa Bay Rays home playoff game. Pass-catching tight ends are always of need, and Howard, whose fifth-year option must be picked up in the coming offseason, is a luxury in Tampa next to Cameron Brate. New England has reportedly already been rebuffed. Perhaps the Pats should try again. Potential compensation: 2020 sixth-round pick and 2021 second-round pick.
WASHINGTON REDSKINS: Sell everyone, but start with running back Chris Thompson. Should D.C. part ways with Trent Williams? Yes, yes, a thousand times yes. But all indications are Bruce Allen and associates have no interest in doing so. With Jay Gruden already out the door, it should be rebuilding time in Landover proper. Asked to choose just one player to offload, I’ll go with Thompson, a versatile pass-catching back in the final year of his deal in D.C. Adrian Peterson is clearly Bill Callahan’s favored back, and Derrius Guice should return from injury shortly. Potential compensation: 2020 fourth-round pick.
Follow Jeremy Bergman on Twitter @JABergman.