Well you guessed it: this year’s trade deadline was insane. It has been one of biggest up-and-down years in the NFL. Star athletes are dropping like flies with injuries, and players who are usually fantasy studs have been fantasy duds heading up to the trade deadline.
The first trade bomb dropped when the New England Patriots traded Jimmy Garoppolo to the San Francisco 49ers for a second-round pick in the 2018 draft.
This was shocking because the Patriots traded third-string quarterback Jacoby Brissett to the Colts at the beginning of the season.
Now, with Jimmy Garoppolo gone, the Patriots have put all their eggs in one basket; even though they did sign Brian Hoyer to back up Brady. The general consensus is the Pats don’t plan on keeping Hoyer as their franchise quarterback when Brady retires. I’m not sure what the Patriots plans are, but for now Tom Brady is holding it down.
As for the Niners, they are going to have to resign or franchise-tag Garoppolo due to his impending free agency after this season. They don’t plan on playing him this season because there isn’t a point. They are 1-8, have no weapons and no playoff aspirations. Hopefully they get some weapons for him in this upcoming draft or else it will hurt Garoppolo’s development.
Speaking of weapons, another blockbuster trade occurred when the Carolina Panthers traded Benjamin to the Buffalo Bills for their third and seventh-round 2018 draft picks.
This is another surprising trade because the Panthers don’t have many wide receivers for Cam Newton. I don’t know how they will do with the absence of Benjamin.
The Bills on the other hand are getting a big, physical receiver who sometimes costs quarterbacks a few interceptions, but who will also make some unbelievable touchdown catches.
It’ll be nice for the Bills to finally have Benjamin, who currently has 32 catches, 475 yards and two touchdowns. That’s a lot better than the Bills No. 1 receiver Jordan Matthews, who has 21 catches, 239 yards and one touchdown.
With the addition of Benjamin, hopefully the Bills will throw the ball more and climb up for 29th ranking in passing yards. To do that, they need to improve their 31st ranking in passing attempts and trust their quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who’s proven he can get it done without committing many turnovers.
The Jay Ajayi trade was the most lopsided of the deadline. e Eagles traded away a fourth-round 2018 draft pick to the Dolphins in exchange for the Pro Bowl running back. I can’t believe the Dolphins think Ajayi is worth a fourth-round pick. I understand you can find a running back anywhere, but there aren’t many running backs with back-to-back 200-yard games who finished third in rushing last season.
I’m sure he is a happy camper because he was a superstar running back with a below-average Dolphins’ offensive line. Now he gets to go to a much better offensive line on the Philadelphia Eagles. Ajayi will be more motivated, running for real purpose—a shot at the Super Bowl.
If this trade works out anything like the Adrian Peterson deal Philly fans will be pleased. The New Orleans Saints traded Peterson to the Arizona Cardinals, and in his first game with the Cardinals he had 26 carries for 134 yards and two touchdowns.
In Ajayi’s first game with the Eagles, he was featured in a small role, but was quick to make use of his 77 yards and one touchdown. That’s already an improvement from the 3.1 yards he was averaging per carry with the Dolphins.
Now, you can’t talk about running backs without talking about the offensive line, and the Seattle Seahawks woke up and finally traded their third-round 2018 and second-round 2019 draft picks for left tackle Duane Brown. is is huge for Seattle, which can now finally protect their most valuable player, Russell Wilson.
Take a look at the numbers for Seattle’s o ensive line. According to profootballfocus.com, Seattle’s line ranks 19th in pass protection, has allowed Russell to be pressured 42.6 percent of his drop backs and is second highest in the NFL. Both of Seattle’s tackles are ranked in the top 50 in their respective positions.
With Brown, you’re getting a tackle who has only allowed one sack in the past 428 pass attempts. This move could shore up Seattle’s offense and take that next step back to the Super Bowl.
