We’ve learned a lot through 7 weeks of football. The NFC West and AFC North are both very competitive. The NFC East barely has a pulse, and some have joked that the east should be forced to send an all-star team to the playoffs (š§). Even though the current playoff format could possibly leave some solid teams out in favor of a not-as-great team, there is something about it that heightens team rivalries. You have to worry first and foremost about those in your division. Some teams make draft decisions based on the teams they know they will have to compete with at the end of the day.
Have playoff hopeful teams seen enough to reach out and make a bold move to improve their fortunes? These 4 need to seriously consider bringing in reinforcements to accomplish their goals (which are slightly different for each).
Philadelphia Eagles – OG. You’re in a putrid division that is the laughing stock of the league, and could incite change to how divisions and playoffs are set up if a team like the Cardinals doesn’t get in because of you. Despite the offensive line being in shambles, Wentz is the best QB in the division. Its not enough to just win the AFC East division though. You have to look to greatly improve before you get there, or that accomplishment will mean nothing. You’d almost rather be the Giants (with a similar record) and get a much higher draft pick if you’re just going to go and get ran in the first round. Trade for a solid guard to help your line. Lane Johnson returned, Jason Peters is coming back, and Jordan Mailata has been a pleasant surprise as a fill-in for all of the injuries. You make a move at guard and all of a sudden the O-line issues could be heavily mitigated in the next few weeks! Brandon Brooks even has a shot to get back in the playoffs, so this could help you really unlock all of those skill position players. Kevin Zeitler may be available for the taking from a lowly Giants roster. If not from a division rival, then you need to find someone who allows Carson to get back to his MVP-caliber ways.
Seattle Seahawks – DE. What a gut-punch of a loss in Arizona. The NFC West always play each other tight, and the Hawks ALWAYS take things down to the wire. You need a marquee pass rusher. The experiments are over. I wanted to trust in Pete Carroll on those. After seeing Kyler drop back 50 times without getting sacked or even hit, its clear that Shaquem Griffin, Benson Mayowa, Bruce Irvin, Alton Robinson, Damontre Moore, Jonathon Bullard, Shaqeem Green, LJ Collier are all solid rotational players, but none of them have put QB’s on notice. See if you can go and get Ryan Kerrigan for cheap. We have legit championship aspirations, and we need to help our entire defense by putting heat on an opponents passing game or we aren’t getting the job done. Period. Don’t waste Russ’ home-cooking.
New England Patriots – WR. The Bills are comfortable and think they have the division within their grasps. Bill… Tom Brady thinks he can make a fool out of you and your system by dominating without you and laughing at the lack of weaponry that Cam Newton has to work with. Go and get Julio Jones or Amari Cooper. Get back on track. The Falcons are looking at a full rebuild, could use assets, and the 31 year old Jones may be expendable with Calvin Ridley and Russell Gage stepping up. With respect to the twilight of Steve Smithās career, Julio would be far and away the most dominant receiver Cam would have ever played ball with. This all assumes that the Patriots aren’t fulling willing to embrace ‘Tanking for Trey‘.
Tenessee Titans – Slot WR. You need to get space from the Colts, but more importantly, you need to make sure that you can compete with the Steelers, Ravens and Chiefs. You have your deep threats in A.J. Brown and Corey Davis. You have a very good TE in Jonnu Smith. You can get Jamison Crowder to be an upgrade in the slot to keep your offense on schedule when you can’t go deep. He has been shining in the mud for the New York Jets this season. Derrick Henry will also open things up further for Crowder.
*Update* – Three out of these 4 teams did end up making deadline trades… they werenāt my exact reccos, but the Seahawks (Carlos Dunlap), Patriots (Isaiah Ford), and Titans (Desmond King) all made moves to get better down the stretch. When the Eagles get dominated in the wild card round of the playoffs, Iām going to write an article to embarrass them. Itās done.
