Yahoo Sports The best NFL trade deadline players available in 2024, from Za'Darius Smith to Greg Newsome II
The 2024 NFL trade deadline is November 5 at 4 p.m. ET. True to recent trends, this year's cutoff will be another busy one.
What was once a sleepy, unremarkable label on the NFL's annual calendar has become one of the most important roster building days of the year. Superstars like Christian McCaffrey, Von Miller and Jalen Ramsey have all been dealt in-season in the last five years. 2024 has already seen former All-Pros like Davante Adams and DeAndre Hopkins get moved for draft considerations.
Who's next? While all 32 teams will be willing to listen to offers, the biggest names in this year's crop may have already been shipped away. Several stars from bottomed-out teams won't be moving. The Tennessee Titans have no interest in dealing Jeffery Simmons. Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis released a preemptive statement telling the world he won't trade Maxx Crosby.
Others will likely stay put thanks to recent surges from their once moribund squads. Cooper Kupp would have been an asset on the open market, but the Los Angeles Rams have gone from 1-4 to 3-4 in an unpredictable NFC West. The 4-4 Arizona Cardinals are tied for the division lead, which may flip them from sellers to buyers.
Still, several solid veterans remain available for teams willing to part with draft picks. Here are the players generating buzz as the NFL trade deadline looms.
1. EDGE Za'Darius Smith, Cleveland Browns
Smith's five sacks aren't all they appear -- they come alongside only six quarterback hits, which suggest a regression is coming (he had 24 QB hits and five sacks in 2023). But he remains a reliable edge rusher who could bring back viable draft compensation for a Browns team with little hope for a miracle playoff run this winter.
2. WR Mike Williams, New York Jets
Williams has only five targets and a single catch over his last three games. It's possible he's cooked at 30 years old and coming off a serious leg injury, but he also averaged better than 80 receiving yards per game across three pre-injury 2023 games, so there may be life in him yet.
3. EDGE Azeez Ojulari, New York Giants
Ojulari's five sacks in his last three games constitutes a breakout. It couldn't have come at a better time for the 2-6 Giants, who may be able to maximize their return for the former second round pick (and 2025 free agent).
4. WR Adam Thielen, Carolina Panthers
Carolina already traded away Diontae Johnson. With Jalen Coker and Xavier Legette stepping up, Thielen could be the next veteran wideout out the door.
5. RB Miles Sanders, Carolina Panthers
It's difficult to categorize Sanders's Carolina tenure as anything but disastrous -- he's averaged fewer than 24 rushing yards per game there. But the Panthers are willing to trade veterans while absorbing significant chunks of their outgoing salary, which could make the 27-year-old tailback a viable target.
6. G Brandon Scherff, Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jags are in sell mode. Dealing away one high profile offensive line starter in the final year of his contract -- Cam Robinson -- could lead to another. Scherff is 32 years old and hasn't been the mauler he was while in Washington, but he's a high floor veteran who has started every game since Jacksonville signed him in 2022.
7. WRs K.J. Osborn and Kendrick Bourne, New England Patriots
A report floated after New England's Week 8 win against the Jets suggested the Patriots may be looking to add offensive firepower. That doesn't make much sense for a 2-6 team with little reliable talent and could be a futile ploy to pump up the trade value of the veteran wideouts still on the roster. Even so, Osborn or Bourne wouldn't bring back more than a late round draft pick but could be useful additions for contending teams.
8. CB Tre'Davious White, Los Angeles Rams
The former All-Pro hoped to re-ignite his career after leaving the Buffalo Bills. Instead, he's allowed a 138.4 passer rating in coverage in four games as a Ram and hasn't played since September.. Head coach Sean McVay granted him permission to seek a trade
9. WR Treylon Burks, Tennessee Titans
Burks doesn't have the cache of DeAndre Hopkins, but could similarly benefit from a fresh start. The former first round pick has yet to even scrape that potential in the NFL but remains a big-bodied threat capable of being something more than a WR4.
10. EDGE Baron Browning, Denver Broncos
Browning is stuck between worlds as an off-ball linebacker turned edge rusher, but his versatility could make him an asset on the right team. That hasn't been the Broncos, where he's played just 46 percent of the team's defensive snaps in four games this fall. Browning had 21 quarterback hits, 38 pressures and 9.5 sacks across the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
11. WR Darius Slayton, New York Giants
Slayton has been a model employee in New York -- a guy who shows up and does whatever the team needs even as it falls apart around him. He remains a viable deep threat for a team in need of a proven WR2/3 type.
12. DL Davon Godchaux, New England Patriots
Godchaux is a 330-pound boulder who blocks running lanes and commands extra blockers at the point of attack. He's not a sexy acquisition, but he's one that makes a defense better -- and he's currently stuck on a Patriots team in the middle of a youth movement.
13. G Nate Davis, Chicago Bears
It doesn't feel like the Bears should be dealing away blockers, but Davis has slipped out of the starting lineup and could benefit from a fresh start. Chicago's willingness to absorb some of his salary could help return a better draft pick in any deal.
14. OT Evan Neal, New York Giants
When a former top 10 draft pick is available while still on his rookie contract, things have gone terribly wrong. Suffice to say, that's been the problem with Neal, who can't crack the starting lineup even with left tackle Andrew Thomas out for the season with a foot injury. The raw talent is still there, so if New York wants to make a Kadarius Toney-style move and cut him lose, it could be a win/win situation for both sides.
15. QB Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers
Young isn't officially on the trading block, but if he truly has no future as the Panthers' starting quarterback the sensible decision would be to trade him sooner rather than later. Team owner David Tepper isn't known for his sensibility, but the man who made billions flipping junk might recognize his depreciating asset for what it is and wave goodbye to his sunk cost.
16. CB Greg Newsome II, Cleveland Browns
Newsome has slipped out of the starting lineup and is playing the worst football of his NFL career. But at his best he's an above-average cornerback with Pro Bowl potential. He's only 24 years old, though the $13 million, already-picked-up, fifth year on his rookie contract could scare some teams off if they're wary he can't return to 2021-2023 form.
17. TE Greg Dulcich, Denver Broncos
Denver may look like a buyer at 5-3, but there's little risk in moving a player who isn't seeing the field. That covers Browning above but also the 24-year-old Dulcich, the former second round pick who has been a healthy scratch since September.
18. EDGE Preston Smith, Green Bay Packers
Smith's snap count has dropped to 56 percent -- his lowest since he was a rookie in 2015. He's still a valuable part of the Packers' pass rush, but teams are interested.
19. S Budda Baker, Arizona Cardinals
Arizona's 4-4 record and a weak NFC West suggests a potential playoff bid. The Cardinals' 27th-ranked defense suggests otherwise. Baker would be endemic to a postseason run, but if the team decides to look to 2025 -- when the former Pro Bowler will be a free agent -- it could mean moving one of the franchise's longest-tenured players.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: The best NFL trade deadline players available in 2024, from Za'Darius Smith to Greg Newsome II
