Well how about that for a trade deadline? We had eight trades come in day-of before the 4 pm ET trade deadline yesterday, including one massive blockbuster that no one saw coming. More trades are always more fun than no trades, so it made for an exciting day for NFL fans.
Below, I’ve broken down and graded every trade made at the deadline this year. This includes a pair of trades that came through on Monday, so 10 total for this article. There’s a lot to consider when grading trades, and it goes beyond the deal itself. The surrounding context is also important to take into account.
Let’s jump right in with that aforementioned blockbuster trade, one that included multiple first-round picks and a former All-Pro:
Colts/Jets
Colts get:
Jets get:
Whoa. Talk about the unthinkable happening. Even though the Jets were a classic fire sale candidate, no one thought Gardner was touchable. He and WR Garrett Wilson were thought to be unavailable no matter what. Clearly, though, every player has a price.
Let’s start with what this means for the Colts. At 7-2, they’re tied for the best record in the NFL and have one of the league’s most efficient offenses in recent memory. However, their defense has been more hit-or-miss, due in part to some bad injury luck at cornerback. Colts CB Charvarius Ward is the second-highest-graded cornerback in football this year per PFF, but he’s currently on IR with a concussion, the second one he’s sustained this season.
Gardner immediately slots in as a top-shelf corner and someone DC Lou Anarumo can stick on the opponent’s top receiver. Once Ward returns to the lineup, the Colts will have arguably the best starting trio of corners in the league between Gardner, Ward, and slot CB Kenny Moore II. They can run all sorts of different types of coverages with that group. That’s a far cry from where they were a few days ago, and their questionable starting options in Mekhi Blackmon and Jaylon Jones become good depth pieces instead.
Having just signed a massive contract extension with the Jets, Gardner costs a pretty penny on the cap, but less for the Colts than the Jets because New York has already paid him some bonus money. The Colts have him under team control through 2030 at just over $26 million a year compared to $30 million a year when he signed his extension. This is far more than just a short-term move — the Colts expect Gardner, alongside second-year ED Laiatu Latu , to anchor their defense for the next half-decade or more.
For the Jets, this move signals a true willingness to undergo a long-term rebuild. They add two first-round picks for a player who might be leaving his prime by the time the team is a real contender. Any time you can collect multiple firsts for a non-quarterback, you have to at least consider it. Clearly, New York thought this was a bounty worth taking.
Mitchell isn’t just a throw-in to this trade, either. The former second-round pick was buried on the depth chart in Indy and has been in HC Shane Steichen ’s doghouse since a pair of costly mental mistakes in a loss to the Rams earlier this season. But he’s one of the best separators in the league and his down-to-down advanced metrics are otherworldly given what his role was. Mitchell slots in as the immediate WR2 in New York and has a huge opportunity in front of him. There’s a real chance he’s the long-term running mate next to Wilson for the Jets.
