NFL trade deadline 2023: Instant grades on every deal made

Everybody loves grades.

Especially yelling about them.

With the NFL trade deadline closing in, it is time to start handing out some grades. What teams actually improved themselves, and what teams still have a lot of work to do if their Super Bowl dreams will be realized? What players are going to be producing in a new home, and what general managers might want to take a refresher course on the various value charts you can find floating around the internet?

As we saw last season, moves started early, kicking off with Kevin Byard to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Let’s dive in, and follow along over the next two days as the deadline approaches

Kevin Byard traded to the Philadelphia Eagles

Full deal: Philadelphia Eagles acquire safety Kevin Byard. Tennessee Titans receive safety Terrell Edmunds, a fifth-round pick in 2024, and a sixth-round pick in 2024.

Titans grade: C+

Eagles grade: A

This was a massive move for the Eagles. Byard is one of the NFL’s better safeties, and offseason departures coupled with injures over the first few weeks of the season made secondary a clear position of need for Philadelphia.

As for the Titans, they remain in a strange place. Are they sellers — as this move indicates — or are they going to try and make a run in an AFC South that is still within reach. If they decide to start preparing for a bit of a rebuild, adding a few later-round picks is at least something.

Leonard Williams traded to the Seattle Seahawks

Full deal: Seattle Seahawks acquire defensive tackle Leonard Williams. New York Giants receive a 2024 second round pick and a 2025 fifth round pick

Seahawks grade: B+

Giants grade: C+

This was a great trade for the Seahawks. They were lacking another interior presence next to Dre’Mont Jones, and Williams can absolutely fit that bill. He’s not an elite defensive tackle, but he has some formational versatility and upside on all three downs. As good as Seattle has been defensively, they can use more from that position. With this trade, the ceiling of the Seahawks defense gets raised higher.

The Giants are probably beginning to tear it down, and I just wonder if they could’ve gotten more for Williams. He wasn’t going to get a future first round pick, but for an impactful player like Williams, he could’ve netted more than a Day 2 and Day 3. This is the beginning of the rebuild for New York, and it’s off to a bit of a shaky start.

Kentavius Street traded to the Atlanta Falcons

Full deal: Atlanta Falcons acquire defensive tackle Kentavius Street and a 2025 seventh-round pick. Philadelphia Eagles acquire a conditional 2024 late-round pick (a sixth-round pick if he plays in six games).

Falcons grade: B

Eagles grade: B

With the injury to Grady Jarrett, the Falcons needed some help along the defensive line, and Street gives them a depth piece. This trade might not preclude Atlanta making an additional move to bolster their pass rush, according to Cameron Wolfe of the NFL Network.

As for the Eagles, they already have talent up front, and now can add a late-round pick to their draft capital for 2024. In all, a low-level win-win for both teams.

Mecole Hardman traded to the Kansas City Chiefs

Full deal: Kansas City Chiefs receive Mecole Hardman. New York Jets receive a 2025 sixth-round pick.

Chiefs grade: B+

Jets grade: B

The Kansas City Chiefs need a “Plan B” in the middle of the field beyond Travis Kelce. As our own JP Acosta argued on Monday’s installment of “Monday Football Monday,” there is the potential that the team misses JuJu Smith-Schuster, who filled that role for the team a year ago. Whether Hardman can provide that or not remains to be seen, but it at least gives them an option.

For the Jets, they move on from a free agent acquisition that did not work out, and free up reps for younger players such as Xavier Gipson and Jason Brownlee. Both players were undrafted free agents, but Gipson has seen more playing time in recent weeks, and Brownlee could be next.

J.C. Jackson traded to the New England Patriots

Full deal: New England Patriots receive cornerback J.C. Jackson and a 2025 seventh-round draft pick. Los Angeles Chargers receive a 2025 sixth-round draft pick.

Patriots grade: B-

Chargers grade: C+

With injuries mounting in the secondary, including to standout rookie Christian Gonzalez, the Patriots add a familiar face in Jackson, who thrived in New England before earning a big payday with the Chargers. This gives New England another body in the secondary and someone familiar with their system.

For the Chargers, they move on from a big free agent signing that did not work out, and at least get something in return.