7 NFL Trades I’d Love to See Before the 2020 Deadline

GMs across the league have November 3rd circled on their calendar. Once the clock strikes 4:00 pm EST, the 2020 NFL Trade Deadline will have passed.

Don’t expect to see a flurry of transactions like you’d see in the hours leading up to the NBA Trade Deadline. At the same time, you shouldn’t be surprised if a few household names get moved to a new city.

I have no access to a crystal ball, but I can certainly drum up some ideas that would send shockwaves through the league. With that in mind, here are 7 NFL trades I would love to see completed.

Already splitting work with Malcolm Brown, the Rams RB room got a lot more crowded on the heels of Cam Akers returning.

You can expect to see more of Cam Akers moving forward.https://t.co/3p5PRYqpS7 pic.twitter.com/EeROXeLu1g

— Rams Newswire (@RamsNewswire) October 14, 2020

Darrell Henderson has been running hard for Sean McVay, but it’s clear this team is invested in the rookie from Florida State. While LA has the luxury of having three capable running backs, the same can’t be said for Matt Nagy’s bunch in Chicago.

The Bears already lost Tarik Cohen for the season. Let’s stop with these Cordarrelle Patterson packages too – the WR is averaging a paltry 3.3 ypc in 2020. Plugging Darrell Henderson would not only create competition for David Montgomery, but it would give Nagy a legitimate “1-2 punch” in his backfield.

The numbers don’t lie – A.J. Green has evolved into an “afterthought” in Cincinnati. Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins have been the Bengals top-two receivers, and that’s just the beginning.

Mike Thomas played more snaps than Green in week 5, and Auden Tate was hot on his trail.

Green’s been adamant that a shortage of reps is the biggest reason for his lack of output, but the writing is on the wall. This franchise is ready to move on from the 7x Pro Bowler.

As for where A.J. would fit, Russell Wilson would be doing backflips if Seattle can pull this trade-off. D.K. Metcalf is a beast and Tyler Lockett is a total burner, but here’s the thing.

Locket ranks 4th in the NFL in % of routes from the slot – meaning Tyler works the middle of the field. Green is a prototypical outside threat and would be a nice complement opposite of Metcalf.

Dallas signed Andy Dalton as an insurance policy in case something happened to Dak Prescott. Now that reality is setting in that Prescott won’t be available anytime soon, the Cowboys have two choices.

They can ride Andy Dalton to a subpar record and watch the depleted Eagles win the division again. Or Jerry Jones can aggressively trade for a proven commodity.

Enter Matt Ryan.

Atlanta isn’t going anywhere this season and just fired their head coach and general manager. With a one-way ticket to “rebuild” already booked in Atlanta, why not move Matt Ryan and get a head start on the process? Any additional draft capital at this point has to be considered a bonus.

Let the fire sale in A-T-L continue.

One way for the Falcons to secure a supplementary first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft is to deal Julio Jones to a team in need of a WR1. As in – the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Raiders first attempt at rostering a Pro-Bowl caliber wideout went south in a hurry, so it’s likely this is a move that would intrigue Mike Mayock. Keep in mind, the Chiefs just added another offensive weapon to their repertoire, and it’s more than evident that Jon Gruden’s wide receiving corps is in need of a boost.

Tight end Darren Waller has seen virtually twice as many targets as any WR on the Raiders depth chart. Henry Ruggs has lots of room for development, and who better to mentor Ruggs than another University of Alabama product.

Talk about a team who could use some speed on the outside, Philly is in a world of hurt. It seems like the Eagles are concerned with the health of Alshon Jeffery and DeSean Jackson week in and week out, and Jalen Reagor will be sidelined another few weeks.

Can we talk about how disastrous the #Eagles have been at the wide receiver position?

They’ve drafted 6 WRs in the past four drafts and are paying the 6th-highest amount of $ to WRs in the NFL, and yet their leading WR (Greg Ward) is a guy who played in the AAF last year.

— Jacob Infante (@jacobinfante24) October 14, 2020

The quickest way to solve this conundrum – as well as get Carson Wentz back on track – would be to trade for the NFL’s most productive wide receiver, Michael Thomas.

There’s clearly some type of rift between Thomas and Sean Payton, and the Saints have some time to mull things over during their bye. It would certainly take quite the haul for Philadelphia to be able to entice New Orleans, but we’ve all seen stranger things happen.

Had the boneheaded Bill O’Brien still been calling the shots in Houston, this is an NFL trade that conceivably could happen. Nevertheless, perhaps Watt’s heated exchange at practice is enough for the 3x NFL DPOY to demand to be dealt.

Houston doesn’t appear to be going anywhere in 2020, but I can think of another AFC team that does have Super Bowl aspirations. They also happened to lack a steady pass rush and could really use a ferocious DE.

Is it just me, or would J.J. Watt to New England be a match made in heaven?

Bill Belichick has been known to work wonders with whatever pieces he has at his disposal. Imagine how good the Patriots D would look if Watt joined the fray.

A lot has been written about the dynamic supporting cast that surrounds Tom Brady in Tampa Bay. However, the offensive line needs to play better if the Bucs are going to make some postseason noise. While rookie Tristan Wirfs has been nothing short of spectacular, Donovan Smith has been less than adequate.

Given Smith’s current status within the organization, cutting ties with the 27-year-old left tackle makes plenty of sense.

Donovan Smith is due to make another $14M next season.

None of it is guaranteed. No dead money if the Bucs move on.

— Spook Beasterling (@LukeEasterling) October 9, 2020

Bruce Arians may need to send a nice bottle of wine to Howie Roseman to encourage him to relinquish Lane Johnson, but boy would Lane’s presence bolster Tom Brady’s protection scheme. Rumors are swirling that Philly is considering shutting Johnson down due to a lingering ankle injury, although the top-tier right tackle has been able to persevere thus far.

It might not be the sexiest move of all the NFL Trade deadline deals, but it’s one that would go a long, long way in determining the next Super Bowl champs.