Seth WalderNov 4, 2025, 03:05 PM ETCloseSeth Walder is an analytics writer at ESPN, specializing in quantitative analysis. He is also a regular on “ESPN Bet Live” and helps cover sports betting. Seth has been at ESPN since 2017. He previously worked at the New York Daily News covering the Jets and Giants. You can follow Seth on X via @SethWalder.
play1:03Schefter to McAfee: Jaguars, Steelers were interested in Jakobi MeyersAdam Schefter joins Pat McAfee to break down the Jaguars trading for Jakobi Meyers.
play0:39Schefter: Eagles bolster defense with Jaelan Phillips tradeAdam Schefter reports on the Eagles’ trade with the Dolphins for Jaelan Phillips.
play0:59Should Ravens make a trade before the deadline?Bart Scott joins “Get Up” to explain why the Ravens should be trying to make a defensive acquisition ahead of the NFL trade deadline.
Schefter to McAfee: Jets, Colts felt comfortable to make Sauce Gardner trade (2:08)Adam Schefter joins Pat McAfee to break down how the Colts were able to trade for Sauce Gardner. (2:08)
Schefter to McAfee: Jaguars, Steelers were interested in Jakobi MeyersAdam Schefter joins Pat McAfee to break down the Jaguars trading for Jakobi Meyers.
Schefter: Eagles bolster defense with Jaelan Phillips tradeAdam Schefter reports on the Eagles’ trade with the Dolphins for Jaelan Phillips.
Should Ravens make a trade before the deadline?Bart Scott joins “Get Up” to explain why the Ravens should be trying to make a defensive acquisition ahead of the NFL trade deadline.
Bart Scott joins “Get Up” to explain why the Ravens should be trying to make a defensive acquisition ahead of the NFL trade deadline.
Jets trade CB Gardner to Colts for WR Mitchell, picks
Let’s grade trades from the 2025 NFL season. When a deal happens, we often hear the old adage that it will take years to know how well each team did. To that I say: Nonsense. General managers don’t get the benefit of hindsight while they are making their decisions, so why should we when evaluating those decisions?
They’ll both play a role in our grades, though a low-impact decision can still receive a strong or poor grade. Low-stakes, clear-cut wins or losses still matter.
Shaheed, 27, is averaging 1.8 yards per route run this season. But I think that sells him short because that number is down a bit from his career average entering this year (2.0) and he’s been playing a role that includes running fewer vertical routes (34%) compared to last year (44%). Shaheed also has consistently posted above average open scores in ESPN’s receiver score metrics, including a 63 this season that ranks 28th among wide receivers.
As a complement to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, I expect Shaheed will run downfield more often and be a bigger threat in that role than rookie Tory Horton was. When Cooper Kupp returns, he and Shaheed will make for a nice pair of secondary threats behind one of the best receivers in the league in Smith-Njigba.
This is the time to strike for the Seahawks. FPI gives Seattle an 84% chance to make the playoffs and a 5% shot at winning the Super Bowl. This addition helps boost their chances without mortgaging their future the way the Colts did in the Sauce Gardner trade.
The Saints are not rolling in cap space the way the Seahawks are — and thus would land a compensatory pick for Shaheed — but they got more draft capital this way than they otherwise would have. Considering New Orleans’ 1-8 record, this should to have been an easy decision.
Colts get: CB Sauce Gardner Jets get: WR Adonai Mitchell, 2026 first-round pick, 2027 first-round pick
Wow. Only four months after inking Gardner to a lucrative extension, the Jets shipped him off to the Colts in a shocking move. And you know what? They were absolutely right to do so.
All of that keeps this deal from being an F for Indianapolis. There is a world where Gardner is the difference between a Super Bowl and not — and that leverage is certainly worth something. But the cost was enormous. Two first-round picks for Gardner elevates him into a tier of non-QB trade compensation I’m not sure he belongs, alongside players such as Micah Parsons, Laremy Tunsil, Khalil Mack and Jamal Adams (another Jets trade success).
While I mentioned the upside of the deal earlier, we can’t overlook the downside: This trade hamstrings the Colts for years to come.
Considering the Jets’ record, their very lacking receiver depth chart, Mitchell’s age (23) and his potential, he is the ideal player for them to bet on.
The Jaguars opened the season believing they had an elite pair of young wide receivers in Brian Thomas Jr. and Travis Hunter. It’s hasn’t worked out that way.
Thomas has had a shocking drop-off from his exceptional rookie season — so much that he has been speculated as a potential trade candidate. Hunter hasn’t lived up to his draft hype so far, though he was showing some positive signs prior to suffering a knee injury that landed him on IR. Thomas also suffered an ankle injury in Sunday’s overtime win over the Raiders, but has a chance to play this week.
Schefter to McAfee: Jaguars, Steelers were interested in Jakobi Meyers
Adam Schefter joins Pat McAfee to break down the Jaguars trading for Jakobi Meyers.
Meyers has primarily aligned as a slot receiver with the Raiders this season (he played more outside last year). Hunter played in the slot 55% of the time prior to his injury, per NFL Next Gen Stats, so there’s some overlap, though both receivers can play outside. By acquiring Meyers the Jaguars can keep Thomas outside, where he has had more success this season (though the opposite was true last year).
This is a nice deal for the Raiders. They are noncontenders with tons of cap space next year, so they were in no position to expect compensatory picks. So dealing Meyers for as much as possible was the obvious move. They did well to get the compensation they did.
One factor unknown as of this writing is whether the Jaguars are taking on the remainder of the prorated portion of Meyers’ $10.5 million 2025 salary. The grades above reflect an assumption that they are.
Wilson, 29, started 65 games for the Bengals since being drafted in 2020 and signed an extension prior to the 2023 season. He recorded a 32.5% run stop win rate in 2025, almost perfectly average among qualifying linebackers (he was average in the category in 2024, too). He has also allowed 0.8 yards per coverage snap this season, per NFL Next Gen Stats, a shade better than average for a linebacker.
Now, without Wilson, the Bengals will primarily rely on a pair of rookies — Demetrius Knight Jr. and Barrett Carter — at linebacker.
When the Ravens traded Odafe Oweh for Alohi Gilman I thought it was a fine move — Oweh was losing out on snaps in Baltimore and Gilman helped upgrade another area of need for the defense. But there was no question that it left the Ravens’ pass rush wanting — especially with Nnamdi Madubuike out for the season. It left the Ravens with an edge rushing group consisting of Kyle Van Noy, rookie Mike Green, David Ojabo and the now-injured Tavius Robinson.
Jones has been playing as a full-time edge rusher, as he did last season. But earlier in his career, he moved around the line and aligned more often as a three-technique in some seasons. It’s feasible Baltimore could use him inside some, especially without Madubuike.
Jones’ $8.5 million deal included a $6 million signing bonus, so Baltimore is taking on at most the proration of the remaining $2.5 million. Jones, 28, is a pending free agent, so he could yield a compensatory pick for Baltimore if he signs a qualifying contract. The fifth-round draft pick compensation feels reasonable, though if the (currently unknown) conditions turn that pick into a fourth-rounder that might be a shade high.
This is a logical move for the Titans. They’re going nowhere in 2025 and are currently sitting on $108.6 million in cap space in 2026, per OverTheCap.com, so it’s unlikely that Tennessee will receive compensatory picks for departing free agents. They need to deal as many players on expiring contracts — and then consider moves for others — for as much draft capital as they can acquire.
Considering his track record and that he’s getting back to form after his ACL injury, I think it’s reasonable for the Eagles to expect him to be little better than that in the second half of the season. Phillips also generally scores well in run stop win rate, and that has particularly been the case this season, when his 30.5% RSWR at edge ranks 11th among edge rushers.
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman will not rest until he has turned over every rock looking for the best option at outside cornerback opposite Quinyon Mitchell. Earlier this week, he traded with the Jets for Michael Carter II — a nickel whose presence might allow Cooper DeJean to play outside in nickel packages. Now, it’s Alexander, the former Packers star turned healthy scratch with the Ravens.
But I can understand the sentiment: The Eagles are trying to maximize their chances of finding a solution — whether it’s Alexander or Kelee Ringo or Jackson or rookie Mac McWilliams or DeJean or Jakorian Bennett outside with Carter in the slot. And if they think Alexander increases the probability of finding an answer by even a couple of percentage points, then it’s worth it.
For the Ravens, this is a freebie. They’re saving a little money (Alexander’s contract was guaranteed) and gaining a little draft capital for a player who wasn’t playing for them anyway.
Eagles get: CB Michael Carter II, 2027 seventh-round pick Jets get: WR John Metchie III, 2027 sixth-round pick
The Eagles needed a third cornerback and hope they’ve found an upgrade in Carter. Philadelphia is in good shape at the other two corner spots with second-year players Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean. But with DeJean most effective in the slot, the outside corner spot opposite Mitchell has been an area of concern.
Adoree’ Jackson allowed 1.9 yards per coverage snap and a 27% target rate per NFL Next Gen Stats — higher than any outside corner with at least 100 coverage snaps by a hefty margin. Kelee Ringo, who took over for Jackson in Week 4, had more success, with 1.2 yards per coverage snap — just a shade over average. The team took a flier in trading for Jakorian Bennett earlier this year, but he has been on injured reserve over the past month (but has had his practice window to return opened).