Duane Brown from Houston to Seattle
The news broke today that Jeremy Lane failed a medical in Houston and won’t be part of the trade. Here are the new terms:
Seahawks get: Duane Brown and a 2018 5th round pick
Texans get: Seattle’s 2018 3rd round and 2019 2nd round picks
The second day of the draft won’t be very interesting for Seahawks fans in April unless they trade out of the first round again.
It’s quite an expensive deal now in terms of draft stock. Seattle has one pick in the first three rounds in 2018. The mid-season nature of the trade and the cost makes it arguably their most aggressive deal to date.
At the point of Lane failing his medical the Seahawks lost a lot of leverage. They had to get this deal done. This is an unfortunate albeit necessary decision to trade the 2018 third round pick.
You’d rather not lose so much draft stock but there just aren’t that many good three techniques or left tackles available. Sheldon Richardson and Duane Brown are quality additions befitting of the price.
The expectation is surely for Richardson to be a long term fixture and you won’t find a player of his talent level in the second round next year (not even close). Brown at age 32 isn’t a long term solution but he’s one of the few good left tackles in the NFL.
Look at this list of all the offensive tackles currently playing in the league. How many would you covet or want to pay a big contract to? Then consider the complete lack of options in the upcoming draft. Notre Dame’s Mike McGlinchey will likely go in the top-20. Trey Adams is reportedly returning to Washington and Connor Williams at Texas is raw and hurt.
Furthermore the Seahawks needed some security next season with George Fant continuing to recover from a serious knee injury.
So while the Duane Brown deal ended up being more expensive than expected — it gives the Seahawks a better chance of succeeding this season and next. For that reason, the cost is probably a moot point.
Jimmy Garoppolo from New England to San Francisco
This was a highly surprising move, costing the 49ers their 2018 second round pick. For a long time it felt inevitable that Kirk Cousins would be reunited with Kyle Shanahan next year. It felt like a good match — Cousins is able and experienced enough to be a successful quarterback in Shanahan’s productive system.
Clearly the Niners didn’t want to wait around or get into a bidding war, which is understandable. Did they want to wait until March for a chance to woo Cousins, only to miss out and then need to look for an alternative? By that point Garoppolo could’ve signed elsewhere.
Adding to the problem is the quarterback draft class. Multiple reports are suggesting Sam Darnold intends to return to USC. Josh Allen has not lived up to the slightly strange national media hype going into the season. Josh Rosen has played well but many people have touched on his personality being a bit of an acquired taste — while Lamar Jackson has felt the strain of having to carry Louisville all year.
It’s not clear which or any of these quarterbacks will actually declare. Even Josh Allen has been talked about as a possible graduate transfer, as he maybe looks to bolster his stock at a better team than Wyoming.
All things considered, the Garoppolo deal makes sense. The Niners make a statement to the player that you are our guy. They’re not turning to him having missed out on Cousins. They’re making a firm commitment now. That matters to players.
The rest of this season can be used to climatise the new quarterback into the system. They can be creative in the draft and free agency — improving other areas of the team, possibly trading down for more picks and selecting the best player available to keep rebuilding a team desperately in need of talent.
Jay Ajayi from Miami to Philadelphia
Adam Gase labelled his offense the worst in the league after last weeks embarrassing loss to Baltimore. Matt Moore is considered a respectable backup but he’s still Miami’s third choice at quarterback. It’s pretty remarkable that had the Dolphins beaten the Ravens they would’ve been in first place in the AFC.
Ajayi and Gase clashed from day one. If you recall he didn’t travel to Seattle for the week one game last year. Eventually he worked himself back into favour and managed to put a string of good performances together. This season, however, he hasn’t had much of an impact.
He ran for 122 yards against the Chargers and 130 against the Falcons. Apart from that, Ajayi is averaging 2.5 yards per carry in his other five games. He hasn’t scored a touchdown. There have also been some concerns about the health of his knees — a problem that saw him fall to the fifth round in the 2015 draft.
A change of scenery might be best for both parties. Gase gets to make a statement to his struggling offense in the hope this will trigger a reaction. Ajayi gets to play in an offense that has to account for a prolific Carson Wentz and he might get more favourable opportunities to run the ball.
For a fourth round pick it was worth the gamble by the Eagles. Even if he doesn’t work out it’s a deal worth making. The paltry return though suggests Ajayi, while a big name who enjoyed a strong 2016 season, might be more of a headache than a productive runner. And before anyone makes the comparison to a certain trade in 2010 — he isn’t Marshawn Lynch.
Kelvin Benjamin from Carolina to Buffalo
You have to admire what the Bills have done this year. They’ve created a tough, physical team that is punching above its weight. They’re 5-2 and challenging in the AFC East. They’ve also made several big moves.
Sean McDermott clearly wants his guys. And when you’re winning games after making all of these different trades, people are going to start trusting your judgement.
They’ve accumulated so much draft stock so far with an extra pick in rounds one, two and three in 2018. Dealing one of those early picks (a third rounder) to Carolina for Kelvin Benjamin was totally justifiable.
It’s a peculiar move by the Panthers considering they lack great depth at receiver. Remember Greg Olsen is also still injured. Are they considering trying Christian McCaffrey in the slot, at least temporarily?
Benjamin has had a bit of an enigmatic career. He made a number of big plays in his final year at Florida State, showing off fantastic size and strength and dynamic athleticism for his incredible frame. He also had plenty of drops — thus why he lasted into the late first round.
He missed Carolina’s Super Bowl season through injury and his weight has fluctuated. When healthy, however, he’s been reasonably productive.
McDermott seems like a good judge of character and has been around Benjamin so he’ll know what he’s bringing in. Considering they have those extra picks in rounds one and two, trading a third rounder for Benjamin seems like a low risk move to get Tyrod Taylor a big target on the outside.
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