Winners and losers from the NFL Trade Deadline: 49ers, Bills make splashes
All told, the 2023 NFL Trade Deadline was nothing like a year ago. There were several deals on deadline day that went down, but very few of the deals that transpired were true needle-movers in any meaningful way -- and the big names we saw on the move last year were in short order this time around too.
Having said that, the NFL Trade Deadline is now in the books and we have the deals that were made sitting before us, though we still have no idea how these trades will work out on the field.
But hey, where's the fun in waiting on that to happen before assessing the deadline? So with that, let's label some winners and losers from the 2023 NFL Trade Deadline.
NFL Trade Deadline Winner: San Francisco 49ers
Should we just go ahead and schedule a San Francisco 49ers blockbuster trade for next year's trade deadline too?
Last year, it was the Christian McCaffrey deal that shook up the NFL landscape as the league's most dangerous weapon was put in the hands of offensive mastermind Kyle Shanahan. Now, on the heels of three straight losses, the 49ers are making sure to fortify the defense by trading a third-round compensatory pick for Chase Young, the former No. 2 overall pick.
Young has been fantastic this season but injuries have hampered his career to this point. Having said that, giving the 49ers a deeper and higher-tier rotation up front with Young joining Nick Bosa and another trade acquisition, Randy Gregory, could be something lethal. San Francisco needed to get Steve Wilks' defense back on track and adding a player with Young's talent at a reasonable price -- even if it's just a half-season rental -- seems like the exact right move to accomplish that.
NFL Trade Deadline Loser: Ravens, Chiefs, Cowboys, Dolphins and quiet contenders
On one hand, you have to respect the approach from contenders like the Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs, Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins and so on. These teams are in a position to contend because of their front office and head coaches' work. Moreover, there were reportedly some high-end draft picks being floated as asking prices, per MMQB's Albert Breer, so not wanting to give up the most valuable draft picks in the arsenal also makes sense.
At the same time, we're looking at a real logjam atop most of these conferences. The Ravens might have a stronghold on the AFC North, but are among four teams at 6-2... the same of which is true for the Chiefs. These are teams with clear areas to improve at the deadline, and they didn't do much at all (KC did trade for a Mecole Hardman reunion prior to this week).
The Dolphins might be the most forgivable contender in this capacity. The flip side of that, however, is the Cowboys. Yes, Jerry Jones and Dallas traded quite a bit in the offseason and earlier in the year, taking away a lot of their early Day 3 draft capital. But this team watched the rival Eagles trade for Kevin Byard to fill a void and they didn't do anything to deepen the WR room, replace Trevon Diggs or Leighton Vander Esch, or anything at all.
You could certainly look at the deadline as an opportunity for contenders to separate themselves. At the end of the day, though, very few actually did so.