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This year’s NFL trade deadline could be spectacular or it could model out what we’ve seen of late: Coaches and general managers are horrified of the idea of being seen as “out of it” and, after a tidal wave of college football firings primed the pump, are more likely to lean into a desperate attempt to salvage every season.
Below are 12 dream trades, which range from dreams like “I finally scored a touchdown in a high school football game” to “I dreamed that the laundry was already done and folded, so I could go for a walk instead.” There are definite tiers to dreams and, thus, there are definite tiers to dream trades.
Bengals DE Trey Hendrickson to the Colts
Price: 2026 third- and conditional fourth-round picks
Hendrickson tidily reunites with his former defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo in a move that firmly stamps the Colts as Super Bowl contenders. Hendrickson is a great buy-low option for the Colts, who, in this scenario, wait out the Bengals until the last moment after Cincinnati loses to the Bears in Week 9 and decides to recoup some assets after its admirable attempt at an all-in season. Hendrickson joins a rotation with Kwity Paye and the excellent second-year edge rusher Laiatu Latu, helping Anarumo create increased chaos up front, with a slate of games coming up against quarterbacks who either struggle with escapability or have extreme deficiencies on the offensive line. Indianapolis still has two games against the offensive line-needy Texans, and Hendrickson can provide a boot to the throat of any potential comeback.
Browns TE David Njoku to the Broncos
Price: 2026 third-round pick
The 12-personnel craze was so last year. Now, it’s all about 13-personnel. The Colts, Steelers, Lions and Rams have all had success with three-tight end formations that could define the latter portions of the season and boost the run game’s efficiency. The Broncos have one of the lowest percentages of multi-tight end formational usage in the league. Still, Sean Payton has long been a fan of the position and talks about his ideal playmakers as positionless entities. After getting a glimpse of RJ Harvey on Sunday, his pass-catching abilities are receiver-esque, and a heavier personnel set could set him loose in the running game, get him to the edge more often or set him up on more screen plays. A personnel grouping with Njokou and Evan Engram would pose lots of problems for the opposition. The Chiefs’ defense has been somewhat vulnerable to 12-personnel packages this year.
Jets WR Garrett Wilson and a fifth-round pick to the Giants
Price: 2026 second-round pick, 2027 first-round pick
I wonder if the conclusion Aaron Glenn comes to at the end of this season is that there are certain players he needs to rebuild, and that Garrett Wilson is not one of them. Wilson is an in-prime, top-tier wide receiver who, at best, will be playing for a highly drafted rookie quarterback in 2026. The Jets are on a collision course to have the No. 1 pick, and, with few veteran options on the horizon, may have to begin the offense anew. That’s perilous territory for someone like Wilson, who has thrived despite meager quarterback play throughout his career. The Giants continue a trade deadline trend of scooping up pre-combine market stars from the Jets (Leonard Williams), despite being nowhere near playoff contention. Wilson would be valuable protection against Malik Nabers’s injury.
Browns G Wyatt Teller to the Seahawks
Price: 2026 fourth-round pick, 2027 sixth-round pick
Teller had a three-season run where he may have been the best guard in the NFL. At age 30 (and he’ll turn 31 next month), he is likely more valuable for his veteran expertise and would help shore up a glaring need for the Seahawks offensively. Offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak goes back a long way with Browns coach Kevin Stefanski and can gauge whether Teller still has enough in the tank to help solidify Seattle’s right side. However, Seattle isn’t done yet …
Price: 2026 fourth-round pick
The Eagles welcoming back Brandon Graham likely wouldn’t have happened if the team did not have a pronounced need on the edge. While the Vic Fangio Dolphins were a largely failed experiment in 2023, Chubb had what I would consider his best season under the now Eagles defensive coordinator. Chubb played in 16 games, nearly set a career high in sacks (11) and forced a staggering six fumbles. While Jalyx Hunt has probably had his best two games of the season in each of the past two weeks, Chubb, 29, adds a veteran presence alongside Graham, who, when properly protected, can still wreak havoc on an offense.
Giants OT Evan Neal to the Seahawks
Price: 2026 sixth-round pick
Neal, the No. 7 pick in 2022, has some outstanding traits for an offensive lineman, but for one reason or another, struggled to put together a consistent campaign for the Giants. This move provides depth for the Teller signing and a possible flier for the Seahawks, who may want to utilize Neal not only for his guard depth but for additional bigger personnel sets. While the Giants aren’t in a position of strength on the offensive line, with this deal general manager Joe Schoen recognizes the need to give Neal a much-needed change of scenery.
Jets QB Justin Fields to the Vikings
Price: Conditional 2026 fifth-round pick
With Carson Wentz battered to the point of being placed on injured reserve and the Vikings staring out at a very fine line between competency at the quarterback position and a deep, empty ravine, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O’Connell snag Fields from the Jets after the strength of Fields’s performance last week against the Bengals. Fields is the perfect high-upside quarterback for O’Connell to mix into the fold should J.J. McCarthy struggle to play with his injured ankle. The move is an attempt to restock the cupboard in Minnesota after both Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones left for high-end starting jobs elsewhere. O’Connell learned a valuable lesson about hubris and the limitations of coaching this offseason by also eschewing Aaron Rodgers after McCarthy’s promising spring. Fields, who is not valued by Jets ownership, would likely welcome the change with open arms.
Raiders DE Tyree Wilson to the Patriots
Price: 2026 fifth-round pick
The Patriots should be looking to improve their edge-rusher rotation heading into the trade deadline. Wilson was a draft pick of Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels back when McDaniels was the coach of the Raiders. While it’s an oversimplification to say that the scheme Wilson fit in Las Vegas would be similar to the one Vrabel runs in New England, McDaniels had done a lot of work on the former Texas Tech standout. Wilson’s gigantic wingspan also adds an interesting layer of intrigue, given how critical special teams have been to this season and the ability of top coordinators to block kicks with more regularity.
Saints RB Alvin Kamara to the Chiefs
Price: 2026 fifth-round pick, 2027 conditional sixth-round pick
I think this is one of the most popular model trades we’ve seen this season, and I would be remiss if I didn’t include it on my list (even if Kamara has said he doesn’t want to leave New Orleans). I think of Kamara less as a part of the busy Chiefs’ backfield rotation and more as someone else you can stick out wide and use to motion opposing teams to death with. Kamara could fill in that iconic Tyreek Hill role that made third-and-short plays nearly automatic thanks to his ability to destroy a slower defender at the line of scrimmage and find open space.
Saints OT Trevor Penning to the Lions
Price: 2026 fourth-round pick
Trevor Penning did not have his fifth-year option picked up by the Saints. The former first-round pick has guard/tackle flexibility and could help the Lions ease the burden of a banged-up Taylor Decker and continue the team’s push to replenish the lifeblood of their team. Penning had a promising rookie debut but has been subjected to some bad Saints teams and offensive lines that did not necessarily offer a lot of complementary aid. The Saints are going to push for as much draft equity as possible as they reshape a roster under Kellen Moore, who spent a first-round pick on a tackle, Kelvin Banks Jr., in this past year’s draft.
Raiders CB Eric Stokes to the Lions
Price: 2027 sixth-round pick
Eric Stokes, a former first-round pick of the Packers, has been a massive bright spot for an otherwise dreary Raiders defense this year. The 26-year-old has played 95% of Vegas’s defensive snaps and is allowing an opposing quarterback completion percentage of less than 50 on targeted passes. The Lions need to add depth to a secondary that can hang with any team despite mounting injury concerns. As the team learned a year ago, the Lions’ all-out physical style of play is effective so long as there is a constant replenishment of certain resources. Stokes knows the NFC North well and is incredibly fast.
Giants DT Dexter Lawrence to the Bills
Price: 2026 first-round pick
*Whiffs smelling salt* O.K., that’s the good stuff. Let’s end with a bang. Lawrence is a centerpiece of the Giants’ defensive line but has not played up to his brand name this season. The Lawrence situation recently came to a head when longtime Giants radio voice Carl Banks ripped the former first-round pick and three-time Pro Bowler by saying (as transcribed by the ):
“Your opponents do not—the pre-injury Dexter is not there in their heads. They don’t respect you. And there’s a difference. You’re on the field, they’re blocking you with a [five]-year backup center. You’re not making a difference. The old Dexter would. There are a lot of things that go into your performance, only you know what that is. Whether you’re still recovering or not, I’m just telling you now, I’m looking at enough tape to know that your opponents don’t respect you, not like they used to.”
While Lawrence is unlikely to land a first-round pick, the Bills’ sheer desperation and the glaring lack of interior defensive line help on the market elevate this to a must-consider for the Giants. Also, Joe Schoen was Bills GM Brandon Beane’s longtime assistant, if that matters for much.
