We’re down to the wire. The deadline is Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET, and honestly, this has already been one of the wilder trade seasons in recent memory. Chicago gave up two firsts for Jeffery Simmons. Marvin Harrison is a Texan now. The Colts dumped Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner in one afternoon, and Baltimore had to go get Jacoby Brissett because it ran out of healthy quarterbacks.
And I don’t think we’re done. Not even close. I’ve been digging through every rumor and report I can find, and these are my NFL trade deadline predictions for the next 36 hours or so. A few feel like they’re basically happening. A couple are me swinging for the fences. Either way, every one of them would matter for a contender, and most would matter for your fantasy team too.
1. Jonathan Taylor Gets Traded to the New York Giants
Let’s start with the big one, because no list of NFL trade deadline predictions means much without Taylor. According to Fox Sports, the Giants offered a second and a fifth for Taylor a couple of weeks back and then yanked the offer over the weekend. Sounds like a dead end, right? I’m not buying it. John Harbaugh said Sunday he’s not ruling anything out, and Albert Breer at SI has been saying for days that New York is the most serious team in on him. The holdup is price. Jeremy Fowler reports Indy still wants something close to a first. Everybody else thinks a second plus a little extra should do it.
So why do I think the Giants end up getting there? A few reasons. They were 4-2-1 and leading the NFC East going into Week 9, and Cam Skattebo has been a mess, between the hamstring and four fumbles in seven games. Taylor had 610 yards and eight touchdowns coming into the week, and he’s signed through 2028. That last part is huge. You’re not renting him for two months, so overpaying a bit stings a lot less.
Meanwhile, the Colts just lost their seventh game. Every week they hold him, he gets a little less valuable. My guess? They split the difference. The Giants keep the second-rounder in the deal and bump up the Day 3 pick, or toss in something conditional for 2028.
Fantasy Impact: Taylor stays an RB1, and the volume should be even better on a team that’s actually playing for something. If you’ve got Skattebo, I’d start lowering expectations now.
2. Brian Thomas Heads to the Kansas City Chiefs
Every receiver rumor seems to circle back to this one. Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport said Saturday that Kansas City is still interested, and Mike Florio has Pittsburgh and Washington sniffing around too. The Jaguars, per Breer, don’t really want to sell. Their argument is that Thomas still stretches the field even when he isn’t getting the ball.
That’s a tough sell when he has 10 catches all year. Ten. For 117 yards and two scores. This is the same guy who put up 87 catches, 1,282 yards and 10 touchdowns as a rookie. And look at what Kansas City is working with. Chiefs receivers had six catches for 39 yards against Seattle. Even with Rashee Rice back against Denver, everyone else combined for six grabs and 37 yards. That’s not a receiver room, that’s a cry for help.
The Chiefs have two third-rounders in 2027 to play with, and they’re paying for the player, not the stat line. Would Jacksonville rather not send him to an AFC rival? Sure. But a good enough offer usually makes that worry disappear.
Fantasy Impact: He goes from your bench to a WR3 with real boom weeks, and he’d be catching passes from Patrick Mahomes. Dynasty folks, this is the dream.
3. Josh Downs Lands with the Pittsburgh Steelers
Downs asked for a trade back on Oct. 28, the day after the Nelson and Buckner deals went down. He’s 25, his deal is up after the season, and the Colts reportedly want a third for him. Of everyone on this list, he might be the surest bet to be wearing a new jersey by Wednesday.
I like Pittsburgh. Florio has reported the Steelers actually prefer Downs over Thomas, and that the two markets are kind of linked. If Kansas City lands Thomas, the path clears for the Steelers. And it makes sense for them. They were 6-2 heading into Week 9, and outside of DK Metcalf, nobody’s really scaring anyone. Downs gets open quickly over the middle, which is exactly what Aaron Rodgers needs at this point in his career. The expiring contract? Doesn’t matter to a team trying to win right now.
Fantasy Impact: Bump him to WR3 the second this goes through. In PPR, there’s WR2 upside on weeks when Metcalf sees the other team’s top corner.
4. Calvin Ridley Becomes the 49ers’ Receiver Insurance
San Francisco wants a receiver. Jay Glazer said so, and Tom Pelissero listed the Niners with the Chiefs and Steelers as teams making calls, with Ridley one of the names floating around. If Thomas and Downs both end up in the AFC like I think they will, Ridley is the logical plan B.
I’m not going to pretend his season’s been good. Six catches, 91 yards, and he missed Week 7 with a hip issue. But San Francisco isn’t asking him to be a star. They need someone who can run a clean route and get open while the room is banged up. Fowler says Tennessee wants something around a fifth, and the bigger problem is the $13 million he’s owed this year. After smacking the Raiders 38-17 on Sunday, though, the 49ers are clearly buyers. I think the Titans eat some of that money and get a slightly better pick for their trouble.
Fantasy Impact: Deep-league flier only. Still, a receiver getting snaps in this offense is worth a cheap waiver claim.
5. Josh Sweat Is Traded to the New England Patriots
Arizona’s 3-6 and already moved Harrison and Brissett. Sweat feels like the next shoe to drop. He had 12 sacks last year; he hasn’t been nearly as productive this year, and Jordan Schultz reported he’s open to a trade. The catch is he wants a new contract.
Here’s why I don’t think that scares New England off. There’s no guaranteed money left on his deal. So the Patriots can basically rent him, see how he fits, and walk away clean if they can’t agree on an extension. They went into Week 9 at 5-3; they need bodies at outside linebacker, and they’ve reportedly been looking for pass rush help on the cheap. Sweat checks the boxes.
Fantasy Impact: Not much for skill guys, but the Patriots DST becomes a decent streamer against shaky offensive lines.
6. Khalil Mack Returns to the Chicago Bears
Okay, this is where I get a little bold with my NFL trade deadline predictions. The Chargers are 0-8, and Justin Herbert might have a fractured hand after Sunday. Schefter reported L.A. has been hanging up on everyone who calls about Herbert, Ladd McConkey or Mack. I get it. Nobody wants to wave the white flag. But how long can you hold that line at 0-8?
Chicago went all in on Simmons and could still use another edge guy behind Montez Sweat. Mack makes $8 million this year, so whoever takes him only owes about half. The Bears have just under $4 million in cap room, so they’d need to send a little salary back. Doable. Picture Mack, Simmons, and Sweat on the same line. And Mack getting one more real shot at a ring in Chicago, where he had some of his best years? I’m in.
Fantasy Impact: The Bears defense becomes a set-it-and-forget-it DST the rest of the way.
7. The Minnesota Vikings Bring Back Kirk Cousins
Keep an eye on Monday Night Football for this one. Carson Wentz is starting against Buffalo with Kyler Murray out, and James Palmer reported that how he plays could decide whether Minnesota goes shopping for a quarterback. Every team in the NFC North already has at least six wins. The Vikings can’t afford a month of bad quarterback play.
Cousins has been pretty solid in Vegas. 2,340 yards, 20 touchdowns, eight picks. And the Raiders have Fernando Mendoza sitting behind him. Schefter says nobody has called on Cousins and Las Vegas doesn’t want to move him, so yeah, this is speculative. But think about it. There’s no team in the league where Cousins could walk in and play faster than Minnesota. He knows the playbook, the receivers, the building, all of it. New GM Nolan Teasley wants to hang on to his picks, I know. A mid-rounder to protect a 6-1 start is a pretty good use of one, though. If Wentz struggles tonight, watch this get real fast.
Fantasy Impact: Justin Jefferson and the rest of the Vikings pass catchers get a nice stability bump.
8. Riq Woolen Gets Moved to the Detroit Lions
The Eagles are 2-6 and already showed they’ll sell when they sent Cam Jurgens to Baltimore. I don’t see Howie Roseman blowing the whole thing up. That’s not his style. But moving guys who don’t fit the next version of the team? That he’ll do. Woolen, who won a Super Bowl ring last season, fits that bill.
Detroit’s been chasing cornerback help all year. The Lions talked to Pittsburgh about Joey Porter before he went to Dallas; they benched Ennis Rakestraw Jr. in Week 8, and they’re projected to have 10 picks next spring. Spend one. Woolen is long and can run with bigger receivers, which matters a ton in a stacked NFC. With Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch healthy again at safety, adding him turns a weak spot into a real strength.
Fantasy Impact: Opposing WR1s get a little scarier to play in DFS when they line up against Detroit.
9. Josh Uche Joins the Buffalo Bills
Buffalo was 6-1 heading into the week, and the offense is good enough to get them to February. Glazer reported they want defensive help, but they’ve only got a little under $4 million in cap space. That kills most of the big names. It doesn’t kill Uche.
He’s on a cheap deal in Miami, and at 1-6, the Dolphins have no real reason to hang on to a rotational pass rusher who probably isn’t part of their future. For the Bills, he fits under the cap without any creative accounting. A guy who can win off the edge on third down is gold in a playoff game where the other team has to throw. Cheap, low risk, sneaky upside.
Fantasy Impact: Mostly a real-football move, but it nudges the Bills DST’s sack floor up a bit.
10. Breece Hall Gives the Packers’ Run Game a Pulse
Green Bay’s run game has been ugly. Dead last at 60.6 yards per game, and it’s not close. The next-worst team is almost 17 yards better. The Packers have been tied to Taylor, but if he goes to New York like I’m predicting, they’ll need another option. And without a 2027 first, they weren’t going to win a bidding war anyway.
I’ll be honest, this is the riskiest of my NFL trade deadline predictions. Rich Cimini reported the Jets have no plans to move Hall. But they’re 2-6, they’re building for 2027, and they just watched Braelon Allen produce with Hall out. That kind of thing makes a rebuilding team listen when a contender calls with a Day 2 pick. The line in Green Bay still has to block better. But adding a three-down back with home-run speed sure beats doing nothing.
Fantasy Impact: Hall becomes the lead back on a contender, and Allen turns into a weekly RB2 overnight. I’d stash Allen now just in case.
Bonus Long Shot: Derrick Henry Gets Traded to the New England Patriots
Big asterisk on this one. A to Z Sports reported last week that the Patriots and Giants both had serious interest in Henry. Then Schefter came out Saturday and said Baltimore isn’t shopping him, and Glazer said it’s not happening either. Henry has said he wants to help turn things around in Baltimore. So why am I including it? Because the case keeps getting stronger every time the Ravens lose.
They’ve dropped four straight, including getting run over 33-10 in Jacksonville on Thursday, and Lamar Jackson might be done for the year. Henry turns 33 in January. His value isn’t going up from here. He’s still got 689 yards and eight touchdowns through nine games, and his base salary this year is only $1.3 million. For a Patriots team with less than $5 million in cap space, that’s basically free.
And Sunday made it a lot more interesting. Rhamondre Stevenson, who came into Week 9 leading the team with 367 rushing yards and two scores, hurt his knee late in the third quarter of the 45-27 loss to Green Bay, according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss. He stayed down after a six-yard catch, went into the blue tent, and got ruled out. He did walk off on his own, and with the game out of reach, some of that may have been caution. We don’t know how bad it is yet.
The timing is brutal, though. TreVeyon Henderson was already out sick, so it was Corey Kiner and Lan Larison finishing the game, and the Patriots play Detroit in Munich on Nov. 15. If the Stevenson news is bad, New England goes from kind of interested to needing a back. Mike Vrabel coached Henry in Tennessee. He knows exactly what to do with him. If the Ravens wake up Tuesday and decide this season is over, I think this is the phone call they take.
Fantasy Impact: Keep refreshing the Stevenson updates. If he misses time and Henry shows up, Henry is an instant RB1 with touchdown upside. If no deal happens and Stevenson is out, Henderson is the priority add, and Kiner is a deep-league dart throw. In Baltimore, whoever takes over after a Henry trade becomes a volume play on a bad offense.
That’s my full set of NFL trade deadline predictions. I’ll probably whiff on a couple of these, and something nobody saw coming will drop before 4 p.m. Tuesday. It always does. Stick with Fantasy Alarm for quick fantasy takes on every deal, and get your waiver claims lined up before everyone else in your league wakes up.