Four Verts: NFL trade deadline’s big wide receiver moves, examined

Wide receivers have been on the move for teams in the AFC that feel like they could (have) be(en) a Super Bowl contender in the lead-up to the NFL trade deadline. All of these deals are pretty fresh and haven’t had much time to get going on the field, but it’s still worth examining what their prospects are to round out their offenses and give them the chances they need to become Super Bowl contenders.

Diontae Johnson is a perfect depth piece for the Ravens

Baltimore this week acquired Diontae Johnson from the Panthers for a Day 3 draft pick swap (which really equaled out to the Ravens getting Johnson for free). This was a savvy move by a team that tends to make them, giving arguably the best offense in the NFL the most complete wide receiver room that the Ravens have had in the Lamar Jackson era. With this spot fortified, the Ravens’ offense is ready to chase that ever-elusive Super Bowl appearance with Jackson leading.

It’s probably unlikely that Johnson will become a target monster. Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman are entrenched as starters. Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely are established starters at tight end. There are a handful of mouths to feed in this offense already, so it’s not like Johnson is going to Baltimore to be a big-time leader in production for this offense. It’s an auxiliary upside the Ravens essentially got for free.

Johnson is coming to upgrade some of the reps when Nelson Agholor was on the field, giving Baltimore a top-tier WR3 that’s a more credible threat to the defense. The reason the Ravens were able to get Johnson, who has been a productive receiver throughout his career, is because he was infected with a deadly case of Pantheritis. Pantheritis has hurt many NFL players in North Carolina this year, but Johnson has been one of the biggest losers in this regard. He is having a career-low season, with expected points added per target, yards per route run, yards after catch per reception and reception percentage all at the lowest point of Johnson’s career or the second-lowest.

Still, there’s reason to believe that this is just a blip on the radar and Johnson will return to being a productive player now that he’s on the Ravens. Johnson had one of the most efficient years of his career last year with the Steelers in terrible circumstances that involved Kenny Pickett being his quarterback. If he can play well in that offense, being a good player for the Ravens is within grasp.

There won’t be as many targets available here for Johnson, but as long as he can put together some productive moments, and be a bit more dynamic than Agholor has been, then the Ravens should have all the pieces they need (on offense) to go on a deep run through the playoffs.

DeAndre Hopkins could be the extra security blanket the Chiefs need

DeAndre Hopkins recently joined the Chiefs after the Titans decided to look toward the future and make him available for a trade, allowing Kansas City to grab an upgrade they desperately needed.

The Chiefs have needed some juice for the better part of a year (a year in which they won the Super Bowl) and they’re hoping that Hopkins can at least be a stabilizing force that will help them get over some of the humps that have people concerned about this team.

There are two areas where the Chiefs have been bad on offense this season: turnovers and in the red zone. According to TruMedia, the Chiefs rank 23rd in red zone touchdown percentage (51.9%) and 29th in percentage of drives ending in a turnover (15.7%). Outside of that, they still largely have one of the best offenses in the league, being able to rely on their running game and the simple fact of having Patrick Mahomes under center. So far, Hopkins has played only one game for the Chiefs, but it appears that his presence will be beneficial for them moving forward.

Hopkins ran only 14 routes against the Raiders, logging two catches for 29 yards on three targets. That’s meager production in a vacuum, but it shows the Chiefs and Mahomes will be targeting him and making him a valuable member of the offense. Hopkins was one of two Chiefs (along with Travis Kelce) to log over 2 yards per route run and ranked third in targets per route run of all players who ran at least 10 routes in their win over the Raiders. He also ranked first in EPA per target among those receivers, but again, he had only three targets.

That’s a very small sample size against a terrible defense, but that shows Hopkins’ presence is something the offense might have sorely been missing. Even at age 32, he’s still probably going to be a massive upgrade for the Chiefs and help stabilize some of the margins where they’ve been struggling. He’s probably not the ace, alpha No. 1 receiver he was in the past, but he doesn’t need to be in order to stabilize the offense that has the best quarterback in the league.

The best team in the NFL got better. The Chiefs still won’t be the most explosive group in the world, but they don’t need to be to ultimately achieve their goal. Good luck, AFC!

Amari Cooper can still pay dividends for the Bills

Amari Cooper has been with the Bills for two weeks and has had mixed results, although that’s not a bad thing for him or the Bills.

In his first game after being freed from the depths of the Browns, Cooper scored a touchdown to go along with 66 yards on five targets in a resounding win over the Titans. On Sunday against the Seahawks, he had only one catch for 3 yards, but the Bills didn’t need him to steamroll Seattle on the road. This is kind of the perfect receiver for the Bills to add — a veteran who can get his when needed, but isn’t essential to the game plan.

Cooper was suffering from the same affliction that the rest of the Browns’ receivers were before he was traded: playing with the worst quarterback in the league. Cooper averaged 4.7 yards per target playing with Deshaun Watson, a number that has already spiked to 9.9 in Buffalo. In a much smaller sample size, Cooper has shown that his ability from last year hasn’t dropped off, he’s just in a better situation playing with Josh Allen, one of the best passers in the league.

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This trade has given the Bills a reliable target on the outside while the younger receivers like Khalil Shakir and Keon Coleman get up to speed for an offense, and team, that has Super Bowl aspirations this year. It’s not the most complicated idea in the world, it’s just a stabilizing veteran presence that has a chance to shine when the football gets tougher and experience against the league’s best players matters in the postseason.

It’s still unclear whether these Bills have everything needed to win a title considering they were demolished by the Ravens earlier this season. Still, this is a helpful addition and they’ll need to lean on Cooper at certain points. This an incredibly well-rounded attack that’s being led by a quarterback who’s playing MVP-caliber football this season. Let’s see where this is at in January because that’s when this trade can be accurately measured.

Davante Adams trade has been OK, but not enough

Unless the Jets can rip off like nine straight wins, their season is incredibly over. It’s not due to lack of trying! They’ve poured an immense amount of resources into this roster, with one of their latest acquisitions being former Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams, who has a long relationship with Aaron Rodgers dating back to their time together in Green Bay. For whatever reason, this has been a low-impact move up to this point with Rodgers and Adams being just OK for each other. That move ultimately didn’t get the Jets the wins they need to save their season.

Over the past two weeks, the Rodgers-Adams connection has produced middling results. Among the seven Jets who have run at least 10 routes over Weeks 7 and 8, Adams ranks second in targets (15) behind Garrett Wilson and is tied for first in routes run (68). Despite that amount of action, the results haven’t been all that good. Adams ranks fourth in yards per route run (1.24), last in expected points added per route run (-0.09), sixth in first downs and touchdowns per target (26.7%) and fifth in success rate on targets (40%).

This is a multifaceted issue. Rodgers is well past his prime at 40 years old coming off an Achilles injury, and Adams isn’t a dominant No. 1 wide receiver at this point in his career. Still, the point of this trade for the Jets was for them to hit the ground running with a top QB-WR combo to help turn their season around. They were 2-4 when the trade was made. They enter Thursday night’s game against the Houston Texans 2-6 with an incredibly expensive season circling the drain.

There’s still a chance for this individual connection to turn around and have some nice highlights in the waning moments of their careers, but as far as actual winning goes, this season is done. Maybe they’ll have one more shot in 2025 if Rodgers comes back for another season, but for now, it’s too little too late.

At least they’ll always have Adams’ tackle on the Beanie Bishop interception from their game against the Steelers. No one can take that away from them.