The NFL has turned a page on player trades as some big names have already moved before the November 10th deadline. We asked our staff to look at struggling teams experiencing their worst outcomes. Who should they look to move to trigger a rebuild?
Question Of The Week
Dynasty Rebuild: Baltimore, Philadelphia, Houston, Indianapolis, and the LA Chargers carried playoff expectations into 2026 but have had nightmare starts.
Pick one. Which one or two players should their teams trade before the deadline? What do they need to fix for 2027?
Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis
Tremblay - The Colts started selling with the Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner trades, and Taylor is the most valuable remaining player who doesn't fit the timeline. He's 27, and his 795 carries since 2023 are the fifth-most in the league. He's down to 3.9 yards per carry, partly because defenses crowd the box without a realistic passing threat. His extension runs through 2028, so a buyer gets more than a rental. Minnesota or Denver could be fits. (Josh Downs should go too, though he won't bring much.)
Settle - It may be the most obvious, but I will take Indianapolis and Jonathan Taylor.
The Colts fired general manager Chris Ballard on October 19, during a 2-and-4 stretch that included a loss to a previously winless Titans team, and they have since fallen to 2-and-6. That is not a middling season correcting itself; that is an organization that already decided its front office failed and is now watching the record get worse without him. Taylor himself has not been the problem. He has 148 carries for 610 yards and 8 touchdowns, plus 21 catches for 202 yards, numbers that hold up fine on a per-touch basis even as the team around him has come apart, and reports already have Indianapolis fielding calls on him alongside a broader fire sale, with Daniel Jones’ job security part of the same conversation.
That is exactly why he should move now instead of in March. A new general manager inheriting a 2 and 6 roster is not building a contender around a 27-year-old back on an expensive deal; he is accumulating the draft capital and flexibility to build his own roster, and Taylor’s name still carries enough value around the league to bring back a real asset while his per-touch production is this clean. Maurile lists Taylor as a riser, and I don't think that is wrong; a workhorse back this productive landing on a team that can scheme around him is a legitimate dynasty asset to buy. It is just not a reason for Indianapolis to keep him. The same trade that spikes his fantasy outlook is the trade that lets a new front office start 2027 from a position of actual choice instead of continuing to run a roster that already cost one general manager his job.
Tietgen - I'm going to echo many of my fellow Footballguys and say this should be Taylor. Taylor is 27, and will be 28 when the 2027 season kicks off. He probably has 2-3 useful years left in his legs and really could help a contender like Seattle, Minnesota, or even Green Bay push deep into the playoffs. Indianapolis experimented with Anthony Richardson Sr., overpaid for Alec Pierce, and most recently cut ties with DeForest Buckner. Daniel Jones is not the future of the franchise, and there are no dynamic wideouts of note. Taylor has been the bellcow for the offense for years and deserves a shot at playing in meaningful playoff games.