The Nov. 4 NFL trade deadline is a little over a week away. While the complete list of buyers and sellers remains to be seen, teams at the bottom of the NFL standings in need of a rebuild jumpstart should be presented with an intriguing opportunity.
Trade season is in full swing, which started on Tuesday with the New England Patriots trading safety Kyle Dugger and former second-round pick Keion White. The Patriots are an intriguing storyline to watch in the coming week, as they could be the rare deadline buyer that's also open to dealing from their current roster. Add in typical deadline players like the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs, and this has a chance to be one of the more active deadlines in recent memory.
Patriots deadline plan isn't so simple
One look at the standings suggests the Patriots would be trade deadline buyers. At 6-2 and sitting atop the AFC East, New England and dark horse MVP candidate Drake Maye could make a serious run in the postseason. That being said, no front office is more self-aware and realistic when setting expectations than New England's. That's why, per Dianna Russini, the Patriots are expected to both buy and sell at the trade deadline. That began on Tuesday, when the Patriots traded former second-round pick Keion White to the San Francisco 49ers and sent safety Kyle Dugger to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Dugger move, in particular, should come as no surprise. While the Patriots signed him to a four-year, $68 million deal just last year, that was before Mike Vrabel arrived. Vrabel has earned the right to build this team in his image, and the 29-year-old Dugger is nearing the end of his football prime. The Steelers dealt a sixth-round pick for his services anyway. Pittsburgh is desperate for secondary help and, despite pleas from their fans to finally embrace a retooling on the defensive side of the ball, are all-in this season.
From the Patriots' perspective, this strategy makes all the sense in the world. Vrabel wants to build through the draft, and Maye is only in the second year of his rookie contract. Addition by subtraction could pay off in a big way in the seasons to come.
Should the Chiefs trade for Breece Hall?
The Chiefs defeated the Washington Commanders on Monday Night Football to push their winning streak to three games. However, they still sit a game behind Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos, who have won five straight after beating the Dallas Cowboys by 20 points on Sunday. For the Chiefs to get where they want to go – which is undoubtedly another AFC playoff run and Super Bowl appearance – they'll have to add at the trade deadline.
Brett Veach has never been shy about making such moves, and his decisions will be weighted more heavily than years past as he tries to keep the Chiefs' dynasty window wide open. In Week 8, Kansas City lost running back Isiah Pacheco to a knee injury. Kansas City's running game was already lacking to some extent, and now Pacheco is expected to miss a few weeks of action. Kareem Hunt can hold down the backfield if needed, but at 30 years old, he could use some help.
That's where Breece Hall comes into play. The Jets finally won a game last week, but they're still 1-7 on the season. Aaron Glenn is here for the long haul, it would appear, and that means a rebuild is just around the corner. As talented as Hall is, there's a reason the Chiefs have been connected to him these past few weeks. Kansas City is desperate to add to their rushing attack, and if New York can get a Day 2 pick for Hall, they'd be hard-pressed to hang up the phone.
Brian Thomas Jr. trade buzz
It's been a down year for Brian Thomas Jr. and the Jacksonville Jaguars. What started out as a promising season – the Jags were challenging the Colts in the AFC South in Liam Coen's first season at the helm – has taken a downhill turn. A report from The Athletic this weekend suggested the team would take calls on Thomas Jr., who is just one year removed from an impressive rookie season in which he had 87 receptions for 1,282 yards and 10 touchdowns. On the surface, dealing away Trevor Lawrence's top target doesn't make a ton of sense unless the return is immense, and Coen shut down reports of a trade on Monday.
With that being said, the Jaguars also traded up last April to select combo wide receiver-cornerback Travis Hunter. While Jacksonville and Hunter were hopeful he'd be able to make a difference on both sides of the ball, that hasn't necessarily been the case halfway through his rookie season.
Reports surfaced last week that Hunter will receive more opportunities on offense moving forward, where he could emerge as Lawrence's new favorite target. If the Jaguars believe they have another WR1 to offer their high-priced quarterback, then dealing Thomas would create more chances for Hunter to prove he can be just that.