If you felt as if the world was spinning a little bit faster for a few hours this afternoon you weren’t completely wrong. The NFL is so big that scientists have found that too much impactful news can actually impact the rotation of the earth.

Of course I am exaggerating (slightly!) but it has been a very wild beginning of the 2015 NFL free agency period. Not only did we see a ton of players released, signing with new teams but we also saw a handful of huge trades go down as well. Hopefully by now you know that you can track all of the NFL free agent movement with our 2015 NFL Free Agent Tracker.

So let’s take a closer look at some of the trades that went down on this opening day of the 2015 NFL Season:

Jimmy Graham Heads North

Seahawks Receive:

Jimmy Graham, TE

Saints 2015 4th Round Pick

 

Saints Receive:

Max Unger, Center

Seahawks 2015 1st Round Pick

Breakdown: A surprising move for sure but it really makes a lot of sense if you read deeper into it. I actually like the deal from the Saints point of view more than the Seahawks. Max Unger is a terrific player and has graded out as a top four center three of the last four seasons. The Saints have lost a lot of talent along the offensive line the past two years and this helps rebuild a group that will have to protect Drew Brees much better moving forward.

Drew Brees and the Saints offense will not lose much from dealing away Jimmy Graham folks. In the last five games last season while Graham was struggling with a shoulder injury and putting up just 20-219-1, Brees averaged 292 yards & 2.2 TD’s per game during that stretch. Trust me, Drew Brees will be absolutely fine in 2015.

Jimmy Graham will take a significant fantasy hit however in 2015. The Saints threw the ball an average of 43.5 times per game over the last three seasons. During that same time, the Seahawks threw the ball just 23.3 times per game. This is a serious decrease in opportunities and thus the receptions and yardage will surely plummet for Graham next season. I do feel however that Graham’s presence will be good for the Seahawks passing game especially in the red zone. You can expect the same number of touchdowns from Graham moving forward. Also, don’t underestimate the impact of losing Max Unger on this Seahawks offense. The running game may drop off quite a bit from this loss assuming there isn’t a corresponding move to improve the remaining interior of this offensive line.

 

Eagles Cut The Cord on Nick Foles

Rams Receive:

Nick Foles, QB

Eagles 2015 4th Round Pick

Eagles 2016 2nd Round Pick

 

Eagles Receive:

Sam Bradford, QB

Rams 2015 5th Round Pick

Breakdown: Nick Foles did a tremendous job in running Chip Kelly’s offense in 2013 mostly by eliminating turnovers. But he came back down to earth last season and the fact of the matter is that Mark Sanchez ran the offense better. So, the Eagles went out and swapped Foles for Sam Bradford who played in a very up-tempo system at Oklahoma. Bradford is obviously a huge injury risk and there is no telling whether or not he actually has what it takes to be a starting QB at the NFL level. But this move gives them an open QB competition for the offseason.

Now this move could be the precursor to a deal with either the Buccaneers or Titans for one of the top two picks in this years draft which they would use to take Marcus Mariota. I do not feel that that the case here however because the Eagles actually gave up two very useful picks in addition to Foles to get this deal done. The only way another trade happens is if one of those teams really coveted Sam Bradford.

I don’t know how the Rams do it but they always seem to get the better end of these deals involving QB’s. Now I actually value Bradford more that Nick Foles in a vacuum but the second and fourth round picks are massive extra compensation for two players of very similar value. The Rams made a great deal here overall as they did when they traded the Redskins for the rights to Robert Griffin III. They used those picks to build up their offensive and defensive lines which in turn will make any QB better off.

 

Lions Get Suh Replacement

Lions Receive:

Haloti Ngata, DT

Ravens 2015 7th Round Pick

 

Ravens Receive:

Lions 2015 4th Round Pick

Lions 2015 5th Round Pick

Breakdown: It’s important to point out that the elephant in the room here is that the Ravens get some significant salary relief in addition to the draft picks. This is a big deal though for the Lions who were about to lose both Ndomokong Suh and Nick Fairley to free agency this offseason which would thereby decimate their defensive line. Now with Ngata in the fold they can rebuild the unit much quicker and not have to spend a ton of time developing their replacements through the draft. The team will still likely lose Nick Fairley but this move certainly softens that blow.

The Ravens are losing players (and coaches) left and right already this offseason. A Ravens fan called up my radio show on SiriusXM this afternoon and put it to me simply, “In Ozzie, we trust” meaning general manager Ozzie Newsome. But I don’t think that Newsome will be able to rebuild this team with what is left of this offseason. Remember, this is an offense that will have its third coordinator in three years and must undergo a dramatic offensive line change here as well. Last year’s second round pick Timmy Jernigan will replace Ngata in the middle of a fading defensive line next season.

 

Keep up to date on all of the NFL offseason moves with our 2015 NFL Free Agent Tracker. Also, for rookie & NFL Draft coverage check out our 2015 NFL Combine Reports.