The NFL is officially less than a week away from the Nov. 4 trade deadline, meaning action will be picking up as buyers and sellers do their best to position themselves for future success. Using the power of NFL Pro -- granting unique team and player insights and a wealth of analytics from Next Gen Stats -- Mia Fowler and Matt Okada break down seven trade fits that could come to reality in the near future. Sign up for NFL+ Premium to gain access to NFL Pro.
Miami’s season is not going according to plan; however, they can restore some hope via the trade market. "The Dolphins are badly in need of shedding salary with 2026 in mind, and they could always use the draft picks in return to help replenish a flawed roster,” NFL.com's Eric Edholm recently wrote. An emerging candidate for a viable trade is edge rusher Jaelan Phillips, and the team that needs him most is the reigning Super Bowl champions.
Arguably Phillips’ best stretch in the NFL came in the middle of 2023, when he was playing for then-Dolphins’ defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. He recorded a 15.2% pressure rate and a 3.3% sack rate that ranked eighth highest among defenders with 150+ pass rush snaps that year. While he battled injuries all season, Phillips ripped off a five-game sack streak from Weeks 7-12 before missing the remainder of the year. With 6.5 sacks in just eight games played, Phillips was on pace for a 20-sack season. Fangio is now running the Philadelphia Eagles defense, whose only healthy pass rusher with a pressure rate over 10% is Jalyx Hunt. Phillips, on the other hand, has logged a career-high 17.3% pressure rate in 2025 (10th among defenders with 100+ pass rushes) and his 22.5% pressure rate since Week 5 leads the NFL (minimum 50 pass rushes).
He might not be cheap to acquire, and will be a free agent next season, but Eagles GM Howie Roseman is a wizard and adding a healthy Phillips to the edge of a formidable defensive line could make all the difference in the run for a repeat.
The Bills have managed to be a top team in the league both last season and this season (so far) without the presence of a top receiving threat. Currently, their top target is Khalil Shakir , who ranks 44th among pass catchers in yards per game; their other “downfield” option is Keon Coleman, but he's averaged just 9.9 yards per reception. As a result, the Josh Allen deep ball that torched defenses for several years has fallen by the wayside. On deep attempts (20+ air yards) this season, Allen is 7 of 21 with zero touchdowns, three interceptions and a 29.4 passer rating (third-worst among qualified passers). During the years when he had Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis down the field (2020-23), he led the league in deep-ball completions and ranked third in touchdowns (30). The reigning MVP throws one of the best deep balls in the league, but no one has stepped up to catch them this season.
Meanwhile, over in Louisiana, Saints quarterbacks (who hardly have Allen’s arm talent) have a 104.3 passer rating when targeting Chris Olave on the deep ball. He has more deep receiving yards (159) than all the Bills wide receivers combined. And importantly, he also takes in the lion’s share of targets (29.7%) for this squad and has six games with double-digit targets, the most in the league. In other words, he could be the difference maker for the Bills in their quest for the Lombardi. It’s worth noting, Rashid Shaheed is another option for this downfield-Saints-Bills swap, but he might be more of a short-term band-aid, whereas Olave could take up the Diggs mantle in Buffalo for years to come.
The Cowboys are ranked 31st in overall pass and rush defense efficiency, according to NFL Pro, and if it weren’t for their powerhouse offense, their season might look different. They have allowed the second-most points (31.3) and yards per game (404.6), while ranking 27th in takeaways per game (0.88) and missing 75 tackles (tied for sixth-most in the league). They also don’t have a linebacker with multiple passes defensed and are allowing the second-highest completion rate in the league in the middle third of the field (82.1%). Their current “playmaker,” Kenneth Murray, has the second-most defensive snaps among all qualified defenders (517), yet he ranks 23rd in tackles (58) and 30th in stops (28). In other words, they have to fill the Micah Parsons hole; and it is top of mind for GM/Owner Jerry Jones who said Dallas now has “ammo” to make trades to improve this defense.
Enter Logan Wilson, who requested a trade after he was benched for rookie Barrett Carter . After starting the first seven games of the year and playing 70%+ of the defensive snaps in the first five, Wilson has played just 30.5% of the snaps since Week 6 and was replaced by Carter in the starting lineup in Week 8. Wilson was excellent statistically from 2021 through 2023 -- with nine interceptions, four forced fumbles and 17 passes defensed, plus roughly 120 tackles per season -- but he has been less of an impact playmaker for Cincy the last couple of years. Still, he has made 148 tackles on 162 attempts since the start of 2024 -- a 91.4% tackle rate that ranks ninth among linebackers. He’s allowed just a 66.7% completion rate when targeted, better than any Cowboys LB with at least 100 snaps. A change of scenery might help Wilson's cause, and Dallas needs a leader and a field marshal on defense (Wilson is a team captain in Cincinnati).
Reports regarding Riq Woolen’s availability in Seattle have circled since September. He was a complete tone-setter in his first three years in the Pacific Northwest, but his production has dropped significantly this year. He recorded six INTs in his rookie season (and was a strong contender for Defensive Rookie of the Year) but has recorded just five INTs since. He has just three passes defensed in six games this year, compared to 41 in 49 games through his first three seasons. As his production has slowed, fellow cornerbacks Devon Witherspoon and Joshua Jobe have exploded onto the scene, becoming the anchors of the Seattle secondary. Woolen has played fewer run defense snaps (113) than Jobe (134) but has a higher missed tackle rate (16.7%), a lower run stop rate (1.8%) and a lower run stop EPA (-1.2). Perhaps most importantly, the Seahawks run zone coverage at the eighth-highest rate in the league (81.2%), a scheme that Woolen struggles with, according to the numbers. Woolen has allowed a 139.2 passer rating in zone coverage (fifth-highest among defenders with 150+ zone coverage snaps this year) compared to a 43.2 passer rating in man coverage.
Heading into a contract year next season, he will likely cost a pretty penny, it might make sense for the ‘Hawks to part ways with Woolen and put all their chips on the Witherspoon-Jobe combination.
The Lions, one of the top NFC contenders, have a decent secondary; but with the addition of a seasoned cornerback with elite man coverage numbers, they could be great. Detroit plays man coverage at the fourth-highest rate in the league (45.2%). Terrion Arnold and Avonte Maddox have been banged up this year, but this is arguably more about adding a young, extremely talented cover corner than it is about depth. Per NFL.com's Eric Edholm, “the Lions are in decent shape, draft picks-wise, and cap space isn't an issue,” so investing here makes sense.
Few pass-catching corps have been bitten by the injury bug in the same way that the Buccaneers have been this year. Despite this, they’ve managed to pull out six wins heading into their bye week, which is an impressive feat. However, Baker Mayfield just lost Mike Evans for most of the season to a broken clavical, and the Mayfield-Evans connection has produced 25 touchdown passes since 2023, which ranks second in the league over that time period. Evans has scored 34 red-zone receiving touchdowns in 63 games over the last five seasons and notched double-digit receiving touchdowns in four of his last five seasons. The Bucs now have a week to try to find a touchdown-heavy, red-zone efficient target for Mayfield after the bye week. While these are near-impossible shoes to fill, a name comes to mind who would add depth and reliability to this offense.
Mark Andrews would slide into the Bucs offense pretty seamlessly, when you consider him in terms of a replacement for Evans’ production. He leads the entire NFL in red-zone touchdowns (32) and has accounted for 27.7% of Baltimore’s receiving touchdowns over the last five seasons, the fourth-most of any player in that time (Evans is second on that list). The guy knows how to get in the end zone. Coincidentally, he even has a history of doing it with Mayfield -- the two connected for 21 touchdowns in three years at Oklahoma from 2015-17.
NFL.com's Eric Edholm describes the Jets’ position perfectly last week (before the Jets' first win of the season): “Any 0-7 team should listen to offers for its players, and the Jets are currently missing third- and fifth-round picks next spring.” That’s the bottom line. While the Jets need an RB1 as much as the next guy, they aren’t in a high-leverage position to keep all of their stars at 1-7, especially not one who's in a contract year, like Breece Hall. Meanwhile, the Chiefs rank 19th in rush yards by running backs this year and are one of just six teams that do not have a running back with 350+ rush yards on the season. The backfield is currently led by Isiah Pacheco, who is now week-to-week with an MCL sprain.
Kansas City running backs have an explosive run-rate of 7.9% (sixth lowest), while Hall’s 15.4% rate is the fourth highest among running backs with 50+ carries. In addition to his explosiveness, his downfield pass-catching prowess is also intriguing. His 2.0 air yards per target is the third highest among running backs this season (min. 20 targets). An all-purpose back like Hall, who has the eighth-highest rush yards over expected this season (+93), might be worth trading a mid-round pick for, as a Super Bowl-run rental for the Chiefs.
Of all the players on this list, a Jakobi Meyers trade feels the most possible. He’s had one foot out the door for months and has not been shy about vocalizing his desire to be traded. The question remains -- where? Perhaps back to the beginning.
Current Pats offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels was also the OC in New England when the Pats signed Meyers as an undrafted free agent in 2019. In McDaniels’ last year in New England (2021) before returning this year, Meyers led the team in targets (126), catches (83), and receiving yards (866). Later in 2023, after McDaniels took the head coaching job in Las Vegas, Meyers followed him there and scored a career- and team-high 10 scrimmage touchdowns (Davante Adams and Josh Jacobs were on that team). There is a clear McDaniels-Meyers connection here.
Beyond that, Meyers fits well into the scheme as a slot option in New England. Patriots receivers that are aligned in the slot (predominantly Stefon Diggs and Demario Douglas) have an 18.8% target rate, while generating 1.2 yards per route (19th). From the slot, Meyers has the eighth-most receiving yards of wide receivers in the league (195) and a 21.6% target rate. Getting Drake Maye another target to throw to will be instrumental in the long-term success of this team, and Meyers might be a guy worth taking a flyer on.
