NFL trade deadline roundtable: Best deals, most improved, teams that needed to do more

The 2023 NFL trade deadline has come and gone. FOX Sports' NFL writers came together to talk about the biggest deals, winners, teams that should have done more and what we can take away from this year's deadline.

Which team improved most at the deadline?

Greg Auman: Seattle, after adding Leonard Williams from the Giants. They’re barely ahead of the 49ers right now, but if they have real expectations of winning the NFC West and getting a home playoff game, they needed a move to counter the inevitable addition San Francisco made in getting Chase Young. It wasn’t a high price by deadline standards and could end up the most impactful of all this week’s additions.

Which trade return surprised you most?

Henry McKenna: We’re going to get to the Montez Sweat deal in a second, so I’ll discuss the Packers sending cornerback Rasul Douglas to the Buffalo Bills. Douglas isn’t a buzzy name like Jaylon Johnson or Donte Jackson, two corners who were entrenched in trade rumors. Douglas is a journeyman, having played for seven different teams going back to 2017. The Bills will be his eighth. Buffalo gave up a third-rounder to get Douglas and a fifth. That’s a big chunk of draft capital. 

Now, Douglas has been playing very well this year, with the 16th-best coverage grade on PFF. But a third? That was rich. The Bills got into a pickle at the position after losing Tre’Davious White to an Achilles tear (and their first-rounder Kaiir Elam has been a bust). So Douglas will have to suffice. They might see him as their CB1 for a Super Bowl run. 

Which inactive team most needed to make a move?

McKenna: My initial focus was on the Chiefs, who need a receiver, but Patrick Mahomes will prove me wrong. I’m sure of it. So what about the Ravens? It would have been incredibly fun to see Derrick Henry in the same backfield as Lamar Jackson. Gus Edwards and Justice Hill are serviceable. Henry is special. And a Jackson-Henry backfield would make for incredible TV in the playoffs. 

Eric D. Williams: I know Patrick Mahomes is the best quarterback on the planet, but he needs a legitimate pass-catching threat other than Travis Kelce, particularly with the dynamic tight end playing through nagging injuries. Mahomes can only do so much to make an underperforming receiving group productive. 

The Chiefs have 12 drops on the season, according to Next Gen Stats, tied for fifth-most in the NFL. Losing JuJu Smith-Schuster in free agency has taken its toll, and because the Chiefs did not bring in a legitimate replacement in free agency or through trade (DeAndre Hopkins, anyone?), someone will have to emerge during the second half and in the postseason, when games matter most.

David Helman: Let’s just get this out of the way. It had to sting Dallas Cowboys fans to watch literally all of the other NFC contenders – Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and Detroit – make moves while Dallas sat idle. It must be particularly frustrating to watch the Eagles’ unique brand of aggressiveness play out in every month of the calendar. 

Remember, the Cowboys got aggressive in the spring by trading for Brandin Cooks and Stephon Gilmore. But the Eagles showed a willingness to do both. They traded for D’Andre Swift during the draft, and they turned around and added Kevin Byard to their safety room in October. The Cowboys are going to say that championships aren’t won at the trade deadline, and they’re not wrong — but a whole bunch of teams that have come closer than them seem to think it’s important to bolster their rosters. 

The Cowboys could have used some help at linebacker, cornerback, offensive tackle or running back. Instead, they’ll just hope that what they have is enough.

Ben Arthur: The Titans — and not to buy, but to sell. The trade last week of franchise cornerstone Kevin Byard seemed like it could be the first domino to offloading veteran salaries for draft picks. It turns out that was Tennessee’s only move by the deadline. The team has several veterans who may not be back in 2024 — running back Derrick Henry, quarterback Ryan Tannehill and defensive lineman Denico Autry are among those set to be unrestricted free agents — and now it risks losing them for nothing. 

Despite an encouraging win Sunday, sparked by a spectacular debut from rookie quarterback Will Levis, Tennessee is barreling toward a reset next season. The Titans currently have eight 2024 draft picks, but three of them are seventh-rounders and they don’t have a third-round pick.

Does this year’s trade deadline meaningfully impact power dynamics at the top of the league?

McKenna: If the NFL were a classroom, the 49ers must have been sitting next to the Eagles and saw that Philly got an A. San Francisco? Well, the Niners are stomaching an ugly A-. So the acquisition of Chase Young might just rectify the difference between the two teams in their race to the top of the NFC. I’m not sure that Young changes the dynamic in the conference — we’ll have to see how he fits into that defense — but clearly, the 49ers weren’t happy with how they stacked up. And, man, if those two teams are in the NFC Championship Game, it’s going to be fun. 

What did you think of the Bears trading away a high second-round pick for a second consecutive year?

Auman: Montez Sweat is almost certainly going to look better for Chicago than Chase Claypool did. It was the highest pick dealt at the deadline, but if you were worried you wouldn’t get an elite pass-rusher in free agency without a head start like this, it helps you address a key position that often has its best talents kept off the market by re-signing before free agency. They’re buyers, which seems odd, but it’s with a long-term vision, I think.

McKenna: The Bears must feel extremely confident about their chances of turning the season around, because, as of right now, they gave up the projected 35th overall pick for edge rusher Montez Sweat, who has 6.5 sacks in eight games and will be a free agent at the end of this year. He’s a good player who played even better because he was on an elite defensive line. Even with the high chance Chicago extends Sweat in the coming weeks, he probably wasn’t worth the draft capital they forfeited to get him for the second half of the season.

If he doesn’t help them make the playoffs — and their chances are remote — then you have to wonder whether they could have just signed him in free agency. And to make matters worse, if Sweat doesn’t help the Bears turn their season around, every loss will sting, because it makes that second-round pick, now in the hands of the Commanders, more valuable. 

[Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.]

This story was compiled by:

AFC South reporter Ben Arthur (@benyarthur)
NFC South reporter Greg Auman (@gregauman)
Dallas Cowboys reporter David Helman (@davidhelman_)
AFC East reporter Henry McKenna (@McKennAnalysis)
NFC West reporter Eric D. Williams (@eric_d_williams)