The NFC West has been a hot spot for trades the past season, with superstars one after another coming into the division as the Rams, Cardinals, Seahawks, and 49ers continue to make moves to all contend for titles. And it’s worked too; since 2015, all 4 of the teams have at least made the NFC Championship, with the Seahawks, 49ers, and Rams advancing to the super bowl. The past year has been particularly busy for trades, and heading into the 2020 season, there will be a lot of emphasis for these players to perform well. I didn’t include pick for pick trades, and only included trades for big name players.
LAR Trade 2020 and 2021 1st round pick as well as a 2021 4th round pick for CB Jalen Ramsey
Grade: C
While Ramsey is arguably a top-three corner in football, this was a last ditch attempt to contend by the rams, leaving the team without a first round pick until 2022. Ramsey played well for the Rams, but this was ultimately a steal by Jacksonville, and now the Rams will have to pay Ramsey whatever he wants when he becomes a free agent in 2021 to make this trade even somewhat worth it for a team that will likely start rebuilding soon.
SF Trades 2020 3rd and 4th Round Pick To The Broncos For WR Emmanuel Sanders
Grade: C+
While this wasn’t necessarily a bad trade for the 49ers, as Sanders amassed 500 receiving yards with them over 10 games, this was a steep price to pay for a guy who would ultimately only play 10 games for the team before signing with the Saints in free agency.
LAR Trades WR Brandin Cooks To The Texans For A Second Round Pick
Grade: C+
The Rams did well to get this much in return for Cooks, a perennial disappointment at WR who is now on his 4th team in five years. However, the timing could’ve been much better. By waiting until after March 20th to deal Cooks, the Rams suffer a $21.8 million cap hit.
SF Trades 2020 2nd Round Pick To Chiefs For DE Dee Ford
Grade: C+
This trade would have been graded a lot higher had the niners not payed out $87 million to a guy who only payed 22% of defensive snaps in 2019. However, Ford still has a lot of time left on his deal, and showed a ton of potential during his time on the field, leading the league with a 7.08% pressure rate.
ARI Trades QB Josh Rosen To Dolphins For 2019 2nd Round Pick
Grade: B-
Arizona made headlines when picking QB Kyler Murray #1 overall just one year after selecting Josh Rosen at #10, and it was pretty apparent Rosen was on his way out. Arizona did well to get a second round pick for Rosen, who hasn’t panned out for Miami and will look to be a backup yet again in 2020. However, the nature of trading the #10 pick for a 2nd rounder just one year after drafting him gives this trade a B- grade.
SEA Trades Jacob Martin, Barkevious Mingo, And 2020 3rd Round Pick To Texans for EDGE Jadeveon Clowney
Grade: B
This was a fantastic trade in hindsight, with the Seahawks picking up a former #1 pick for next to nothing, but Clowney’s lack of production in pass rushing, as well as it looking like he will not resign with the Seahawks, diminishes the value a little bit.
ARI Trades 2020 5th Round Pick To Dolphins For RB Kenyan Drake
Grade: B
Drake played extremely well for Arizona for eight games following this trade deadline deal, leading the league in YPC and finishing 2nd in TDs during that time span. But Drake signed his transition tag for 2020 after failing to reach a long term deal with the team, paying him over $8 million in 2020. While this will still in all likelihood be a very good move to the Cardinals, the risk of the tag brings the grade down a little.
SEA Trades 2021 1st And 3rd Round Pick, 2022 1st Round Pick, And S Bradley McDougald To Jets For S Jamal Adams And 2022 4th Round Pick
Grade: B+
The Seahawks added Jamal Adams, arguably the best safety in football, to hopefully give them a super bowl push. My problem with this is I still don’t think Seattle is a Super Bowl contender due to their horrible offensive and defensive lines, and they have set themselves up poorly for the future by giving up two first round picks.
SEA Trades DE Frank Clark And 2019 3rd Round Pick To Chiefs For 2019 1st Round Pick, 2020 2nd Round Pick, And 2020 3rd Round Pick
Grade: A-
While it’s easy to argue both sides won this trade, as this “all in” approach by the Chiefs ultimately led to a super bowl win, Seattle was able to get a lot of draft capital for an edge rusher who is by no means elite.
SF Trades 2020 5th Round Pick and 2021 3rd Round Pick To Redskins For OT Trent Williams
Grade: A-
This trade came right on the heels of the retirement of longtime 49er and 6x Pro Bowler OT Joe Staley, which left a big hole in a team whose philosophy in building a roster was to start from the trenches. The Niners quickly patched this hole with the best OT on the market, giving up next to nothing for Trent Williams, who was an elite OT before a holdout and brain tumor kept him out of football for over a year. On paper, this is an “A” grade trade, but the uncertainty if Williams was the correct answer after such a long time away from football keeps this at an “A-“ especially when the Niners could have used one of their two first round picks on an OT.
ARI Trades RB David Johnson, 2020 2nd Round Pick, And 2021 4th Round Pick To Texans For WR Deandre Hopkins And 2020 4th Round Pick
Grade: A+
In one of the most lopsided trades in NFL history, Arizona was somehow able to ship off RB David Johnson, who had by far the worst contract on the team ($10.2 Million for a RB who was 3rd string at the end of 2019) for superstar WR Deandre Hopkins, filling the biggest hole on the roster and giving 2nd year QB Kyler Murray a true #1 threat. It was a move that an NFL Executive called “a joke,” And with Hopkins himself confirming he does not plan on holding out, and with multiple reports from his own former teammates on how good of a teammate he was, this move will leave us scratching our heads forever.
Photo: LA Times
