NFL trade deadline 2023: Grading deals for Chase Young, Montez Sweat, Joshua Dobbs and more
The 2023 NFL trade deadline came and went Tuesday with a modicum of action.
Six trades went down on deadline day. The Washington Commanders became big movers, shipping Montez Sweat to Chicago and Chase Young to San Francisco. With few clubs out of the playoff race, we didn’t see a ton of sellers. Clubs like Denver, Carolina and New England all stood pat.
From the start of October through the Halloween deadline, we saw 14 trades go down. Below is one man’s opinion of how the swaps graded out:
The 49ers didn’t let their previous acquisition of Randy Gregory (see below) stop them from making a big splash on deadline day. They’ve struggled to generate pressure during their three-game losing skid, rendering the back end of the defense vulnerable. After watching the rival Seahawks take the top spot in the NFC West, then add Leonard Williams on Monday, San Francisco countered in the divisional arms race by snagging Young to pair with DPOY Nick Bosa.
Young’s injury history (he’s played in double-digit games just once, in 2020, when he won Defensive Rookie of the Year) and status as a pending free agent might have lowered the cost for San Francisco. But when healthy this season, the former No. 2 overall pick has been sensational. Young ranks fifth in the NFL with 40 QB pressures this season despite missing one game. He sits right behind his new teammate, Bosa (41). The tandem should make life miserable on offensive lines if both remain on the field.
Given the big contracts the Niners handed out to Bosa and Javon Hargrave this year, the Young trade feels like a rental for a club all-in on 2023. San Francisco could have factored a future compensatory pick into the math behind giving up a third-rounder (which itself was a compensatory pick given to the Niners because Ran Carthon was hired as Titans GM) for a few months of Young. Who knows? With a QB on a rookie contract, perhaps the San Francisco front office can make the math work to keep Young beyond 2023.
For a 49ers club that has been stubbing its toe lately, a move felt necessary. They made a big one on Tuesday. The future can sort itself out later.
