Even for those of us that expected plenty of deals before Tuesday's NFL Trade Deadline, what we got still shook us to our core. The New York Jets executed a proverbial fire sale, sending Sauce Gardner to the Indianapolis Colts and Quinnen Williams to the Dallas Cowboys, getting three first-round picks in total for the deal. But they also made those moves while holding onto Breece Hall and Jermaine Johnson, further complicating things. For right now, though, the one thing we can definitively say is that they'll be bottoming out in our NFL Power Rankings.
Power rankings are a fickle thing, especially at a time like the trade deadline. We just came out of Week 9, and there were plenty of results already that could've shaken up the hierarchy of the league — but now we add a ton of roster shakeups, additions, subtractions, and so on to the mix.
How do things shake out? Let's take a look at the Week 10 NFL power rankings while factoring in all of the trade deadline moves before diving further into the risers, fallers, and questions we still have.
NFL Power Rankings after Tuesday's trade deadline
NFL Power Rankings | |
|---|---|
1. Buffalo Bills | 4 |
2. Indianapolis Colts | 2 |
3. Seattle Seahawks | 7 |
4. Kansas City Chiefs | 3 |
5. Detroit Lions | 1 |
6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 6 |
7. Philadelphia Eagles | 8 |
8. New England Patriots | 9 |
9. Green Bay Packers | 5 |
10. Los Angeles Rams | 10 |
11. San Francisco 49ers | 11 |
12. Denver Broncos | 13 |
13. Los Angeles Chargers | 12 |
14. Chicago Bears | 14 |
15. Jacksonville Jaguars | 15 |
16. Pittsburgh Steelers | 20 |
17. Baltimore Ravens | 17 |
18. Carolina Panthers | 18 |
19. Dallas Cowboys | 19 |
20. Arizona Cardinals | 22 |
21. Minnesota Vikings | 24 |
22. Houston Texans | 16 |
23. Washington Commanders | 21 |
24. New York Giants | 24 |
25. Atlanta Falcons | 23 |
26. Cincinnati Bengals | 27 |
27. Cleveland Browns | 26 |
28. Las Vegas Raiders | 30 |
29. Miami Dolphins | 28 |
30. New Orleans Saints | 29 |
31. Tennessee Titans | 32 |
32. New York Jets | 31 |
Just to refresh here, we aren't just talking about what happened in Week 9 — that's part of the equation, but not the entirety of it. We're also looking at some of the biggest moves at the trade deadline. That's why you see some teams that lost on Sunday or Monday moving up, others who won possibly staying put or even moving down, and so on.
All this is to say, don't come at me about your team winning and moving down. We just saw rosters get major facelifts, and that's a big factor in how we're viewing these teams moving forward. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Biggest risers and fallers after the NFL trade deadline
Big Riser: Indianapolis Colts
While Sauce Gardner hasn't necessarily been the same caliber of cornerback that he was earlier in his career (and comes with a $30.1 million AAV on his new deal), this was a move for the Colts to solidify their place as contenders. Furthermore, it's a clear sign, namely sending away two first-round picks, that they are working (or will be) to keep Daniel Jones long term after his renaissance in Indianpolis this season.
It's definitely a gamble, but it's a gamble well worth taking in Indianapolis. On paper, the secondary was lacking to a degree that would likely be wholly detrimental come the playoff push or even the postseason itself. Gardner, especially with the chance of being rejuvenated by a change of scenery, is about as good of a remedy for the Colts' biggest issue as they could've found, and they deserve credit for being aggressive at the right time.
Big Faller: New York Jets
If there were a spot below No. 32 in the power rankings, that's where the Jets would've fallen. This team was already quite clearly one of the worst in the league, and now they've traded arguably their two best players on the side of the ball that has been at least marginally functional with Gardner and Williams going to Indianapolis and Dallas, respectively.
Here's the rub, though: That's a good thing for the Jets! Don't get me wrong, the rest of this season is going to be nothing short of unwatchable for this team, and I would recommend highly that Jets fans find a hobby that preferably is done on Sundays. At the same time, they now have four first-round picks in the next two years, two second-round picks in 2026 and are in prime position to go all-in on a rebuild under a new regime.
Sneaky Big Riser: Seattle Seahawks
Though Seattle wasn't the most active team at the trade deadline, the Seahawks may have made one of the most impactful additions with Rashid Shaheed. We've heard all about the historic target rate and usage for Jaxon Smith-Njigba this season with Sam Darnold, and one of the thing's that's been lacking — even when Cooper Kupp has been healthy — is the deep element for the offense outside of JSN. Lucky for them, that's Shaheed's specialty.
Because they aren't the Bills, the Chiefs, the Eagles, or so on, it feels like the Seahawks haven't properly been given their due this season. This wasn't a roster with a ton of meaningful holes coming into the deadline, and now they just made the offense even stronger. We need to start having a conversation about this Seattle team being a legitimate Super Bowl threat, and Shaheed coming to town only amplifies that case.
Sneaky Big Faller: Green Bay Packers
It was not the best week for the Packers, we can definitively say. Not only did they suffer an embarrassingly lifeless (and inexplicable) loss to the Panthers on Sunday, but they followed that up by doing essentially nothing at the trade deadline.
Now, of course, Green Bay dealing two first-round picks to Dallas for Micah Parsons before the start of the regular season has to be factored into that equation. With no first-rounders for two seasons, dealing draft capital had to be a no-brainer situation for Brian Gutekunst and Company to pull the trigger.
At the same time, this is clearly not a complete roster right now, and their baffling losses to Carolina and Cleveland (not to mention the tie with the Cowboys) stand as proof of that. You'd have loved to see them at least find a distressed asset for a Day 3 pick to improve the depth, but there was no deal to be found.
Smartest Team for Not Going Crazy: Pittsburgh Steelers
After buying on Kyle Dugger in a deal with the Pats and then upsetting the Colts on Sunday, I was convinced that Mike Tomlin and Omar Khan were about to be foolish at the trade deadline. Instead, they stood their ground and didn't get over their skis in an attempt to win now with Aaron Rodgers. And frankly, they deserve more credit than they're probably going to get from most for taking that direction at the deadline.
Pittsburgh is a good team but with plenty of flaws. The offense has actually largely out-performed the defense this season, though we did just see perhaps the best outing of the year on that side of the ball against Indianapolis. But is this team really a Super Bowl contender? Could they really afford to sacrifice some of their future in the way of draft capital with a 40+ year old quarterback? The answer, for me, is no, and they deserve their flowers for pushing forward with the bed they already made.
What's the Plan Here: Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys got arguably the best player at the trade deadline in Quinnen Williams. And yet, I'm not sure why they did it. Dallas gave up a first-round pick in 2027, a second-rounder this year, and Mazi Smith to the Jets in this deal, which came less than 24 hours after they got cooked by Jacoby Brissett and the Cardinals. That's hard to marry in itself, but even harder when you consider that the team is 3-5-1, meaning that the playoffs are going to be hard to make it into as things stand.
Yes, Williams is a piece for now and the future, and he undeniably makes the porous Dallas defense much more formidable immediately. However, it feels like Jerry Jones is just out there trying to make splashes and headlines without any real plan, especially when you weigh a move like this with the Parsons trade. I'm not sure there actually is a plan other than to make sure the spotlight always remains at least partially pointed the way of the Cowboys.