The NFL Trade Deadline falls on Halloween this season, and several deals are expected to be made. More deals would be made if the NFL moved back the trade deadline by a couple of weeks so teams could have a clearer idea of the playoff picture before deciding if they’re buyers or sellers, but that’s a complaint column for another day. Many of the deals that are made today will have either direct or indirect fantasy football implications. Below, our experts will break down each move and explain the fantasy football implications.

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Commanders deal Montez Sweat to Bears for second-round pick

The Bears have reportedly acquired edge rusher Montez Sweat from the Commanders, giving up a 2024 second-round draft pick in return.

Chicago needed pass-rushing help in the worst way. Their 14.4% pressure rate ranks 31st in the league. The 27-year-old has 6.5 sacks this season, tied for eighth in the league.

The Bears have allowed the third-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks, and this should make their pass defense slightly less of a pushover. The Commanders’ pass defense, which has given up the second-most fantasy points to QBs, will become even more of a pushover.

In IDP leagues, the move shouldn’t have a major effect on Sweat’s value. It’s possible he won’t be quite as effective in Chicago this year as he was in Washington because there won’t be as much pass-rushing help around him, and opponents might be more inclined to double-team him or chip-block him. It was hard for Washington’s opponents to double-team Sweat this year when they also had to worry about Chase Young and Jonathan Allen.
– Pat Fitzmaurice

Cardinals trade Josh Dobbs to Vikings

In dire need of QB help after losing Kirk Cousins to a torn Achilles on Sunday, the Vikings have reportedly struck a deal to acquire Josh Dobbs from the Cardinals. The Vikings will give the Cardinals a sixth-round pick, getting Dobbs and a seventh-round pick in return, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Starting Arizona’s first eight games while Kyler Murray continued to recover from a torn ACL, Dobbs is QB12 in fantasy scoring, QB18 in fantasy points per game (4 games minimum). Much of that fantasy value has come on the ground, as Dobbs has 258 rushing yards and three TD runs.

Dobbs has been less successful as a passer. He’s completed 62.8% of his throws for 1,569 yards, with eight touchdowns and five interceptions. The 28-year-old Dobbs has gotten worse as a passer as the season has progressed. Over his last four games, he’s completed 55.9% of his throws and averaged 5.3 yards per attempt.

While Dobbs certainly isn’t the passer Cousins was, he’s a better option than fifth-round rookie Jaren Hall would have been. Dobbs should help keep the Minnesota offense afloat. But make no mistake: The drop-off from Cousins to Dobbs devalues all of the Vikings’ pass catchers. Dobbs has managed to help Marquise Brown attain low-end WR2/high-end WR3 value in Arizona, but the ceiling for Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, K.J. Osborn and T.J. Hockenson has been reduced.

When Jefferson gets back from his hamstring injury in a few weeks, he’ll once again be a weekly must-start for fantasy managers, of course, but his smash-game potential will be lessened. Jordan Addison will be a borderline flex play, since he’ll be losing targets to Jefferson, and those targets will be delivered by a less prolific passer. Hockenson goes from high-end TE1 to midrange TE1. Osborn goes to the bench.

For the Cardinals, the trade clears the runway for Murray to return at quarterback. He may not be quite as dangerous a runner less than a year removed from a torn ACL, but Murray should still be able to return high-end QB2 value.
– Pat Fitzmaurice

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Commanders send Chase Young to 49ers

Trading away yet another edge rusher, the Commanders have shipped former first-round pick Chase Young to the 49ers in exchange for a third-round pick, hours after trading Montez Sweat to the Bears for a second-rounder.

Young, the No. 2 overall pick of the 2020 draft, has five sacks in seven games. He was the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year, but the former Ohio State star tore his ACL midway through the 2021 season and played just three games in 2022.

The 24-year-old Young adds even more firepower to an already dangerous San Francisco pass rush. He’ll join a 49ers front seven that already includes Nick Bosa, Javon Hargrave, Arik Armstead, Javon Kinlaw, Randy Gregory and Drake Jackson.

Fantasy managers will want to think twice before starting a marginal quarterback against the 49ers the rest of the season. The Commanders, on the other hand, have lost two excellent pass rushers and will be even more vulnerable to opponents’ passing attacks. Washington has given up the second-most fantasy points to QBs.

Young’s value in IDP leagues takes a small hit, as his sack outlook is diminished now that he’s surrounded by so many other formidable pass rushers. Young played with some good pass rushers in Washington, but San Francisco has more potential sack sources.
– Pat Fitzmaurice

Lions acquire Donovan Peoples-Jones from Browns

The Browns are trading WR Donovan Peoples-Jones to the Lions, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. Cleveland will reportedly receive a sixth-round pick in the 2025 draft in return.

It will be a homecoming for Peoples-Jones, 24, a native of Detroit. He became a five-star recruit while playing for Cass Technical High School and played for the University of Michigan.

Peoples-Jones is in his fourth NFL season and had a career-high 61 catches and 839 receiving yards in 2022. He’s become an afterthought in the Browns’ offense this season, however, with just eight catches for 97 yards despite playing 83% of Cleveland’s offensive snaps.

In DPJ, the Lions are getting a big-bodied (6-2, 204) receiver who posted an impressive 9.63 Relative Athletic score coming out of college and may still have untapped potential. The trade suggests that the Lions might not be entirely thrilled with the progress of WR Jameson Williams, the 12th overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft, who was brought along slowly as a rookie after tearing his ACL late in his final college season at Alabama and has failed to make much of an impact in Year 2 — six catches for 71 yards and one TD on 15 targets.

Peoples-Jones still isn’t rosterable in most fantasy leagues. WR Amon-Ra St. Brown and TE Sam LaPorta hog targets in the Detroit passing game, RB Jahmyr Gibbs will get some as well, and Williams, Josh Reynolds and Khalif Raymond are still in the mix. But this does perk up DPJ’s dynasty value a bit, with the Lions going out of their way to add him to a rapidly improving offense designed by well-regarded offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.

For the Browns, the departure of People-Jones could mean more playing time for rookie third-rounder Cedric Tillman, a 6-3, 215-pound receiver from the University of Tennessee who has only one reception in four games this year. The trade of DPJ could also mean more snaps for second-year WR David Bell and veteran Marquise Goodwin, although Tillman, bell and Goodwin aren’t rosterable in most redraft leagues.
– Pat Fitzmaurice

Packers send Rasul Douglas to Bills

The Packers are trading DB Rasul Douglas to the Bills, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. The Bills will also receive a 2024 fifth-round pick, while the Packers will receive a 2024 third-round pick.

The Bills, who lost star CB Tra’Davious White to a torn Achilles earlier this season, are getting a versatile, dependable veteran in the 29-year-old Douglas, whom PFF has graded as the 18th best cornerback so far this season. Douglas can also play safety. This shores up the Buffalo pass defense and weakens that of the Packers, who at 2-5 are signaling that they’re in rebuild mode.
– Pat Fitzmaurice

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