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 Smith’s 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 weren’t 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, I’m going to write an article to embarrass them. It’s done.

I was willing to give it another chance when Cleveland got stomped by the Ravens; as Odell Beckham Jr. caught 3 of his 10 targets. In light of that performance, his 4 catch, 74 yard Thursday night is a celebration, right?? Pump all of the brakes and ride slow homie. Most of his production was on one catch for 43 yards. Watching a full Browns game, it still looks like Baker and Beckham Jr. are not in sync. Sorry to kill the vibe ya’ll, but let’s tell it like it is.

Don’t get me wrong. I believe in the talent and ability of OBJ. I also do believe in Baker to be a solid facilitator who can lead an elite team (although my confidence has given way to slight doubt recently). It just doesn’t look like a great fit. Baker had the 3rd highest average time to throw in week 1 (per Next Gen Stats) and was not able to get Odell involved with 10 looks! It seems as if he’s pressing. Did you see the way it seemed like everybody breathed a sigh of relief when OBJ finally caught a deep pass tonight? Bruhhhh these dudes is on edge!! And this was against the Bengals, so we can go ahead and say less.

The Browns don’t need the pressure of taking advantage of an out-of-sync star receiver. They should get back to the ground and pound potential they have with Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. Those two MASHED tonight. They also have 3 potentially star tight ends. Their defense may thrive with more ball control. Mayfield was at his best in his rookie season when he wasn’t under pressure to make the offense boom. A change in philosophy (and one that Kevin Stefanski is partial to) should absolutely be in order.

Now, Cleveland may keep OBJ around to see if they can capitalize on the strong run game and make him a play-action deep threat this year. I don’t expect it to be a perfect fit. I watched a replay of the Cardinals @ Niners from week 1, and it was apparent that Kyler had the ability to strike at will to DeAndre Hopkins. That connection had the ability to shine and take over a game. D-Hop is an impact player for that team. That’s not the way this feels with Bake to Beckham. Mayfield was spreading the ball all around in his best game in some time. OBJ is an expensive luxury to have in that case.

With cap space an issue across the league (given the uncertainty of revenue for the league during this time in our world), not many teams will be able to make a bold move for Odell and his $14M. The New England Patriots have the 2nd most cap space after the Browns, and have proven that they may be closer to contenders than tankers. That defense is still looking solid. Cam is playing for $1M for a team that people have written off. He is playing without a care in the world, and pressure is not an issue there. Odell and Cam are already friends. This is the year that Bill gets to tinker, so why not? Buffalo went out and got their Cam clone a similar weapon in Stefon Diggs.

Don’t count out the New York Jets (they need to get Darnold help FAST) who are in the city where OBJ played for his first 5 years in the league as a Giant. They lost Jamal Adams and Le’Veon Bell, and look like a mess. you need to find out if Sam Darnold is your guy, or if the kid sees ghosts. Lastly, wouldn’t it be something if The Football Team made a play for the star receiver? Washington is leading their division (!) and Haskins could use another legit receiver across from Scary Terry. Rivera and company would only take that chance if they truly believe in Dwayne, but it would load up OBJ with shots at revenge on the G-Men.

Either way, I expect a testing period this year to give it one last shot to see if it can work with the Browns. If not, there are teams that would love to make a play for a guy that can do things like this. The Browns need to forge a new identity on the ground. Beckham Jr. was acquired by a different administration in Cleveland. His trade to the Browns was exciting, but always felt awkward and forced. We haven’t heard the last of questions about Odell Beckham Jr.’s fit and chemistry with Baker Mayfield in Cleveland. If he has any shot to stick, it will be as a deep play threat off of play-action. I don’t see it fully happening the way that it could pop off elsewhere. Move him for assets at the trade deadline and get a cheaper alternative who meshes with your team ethos. Let’s see how this one plays out!