- Close
ESPN- Ben Solak joined ESPN in 2024 as a national NFL analyst. He previously covered the NFL at The Ringer, Bleeding Green Nation and The Draft Network.
The 2024 NFL preseason concluded Sunday, and every team is trying to finalize its roster before Week 1 of the regular season. For some front offices, that includes making savvy trades to address weaknesses, attack their Super Bowl window or plan for the future.
We've already seen a handful of deals, and ESPN analytics writer Seth Walder and national NFL analyst Ben Solak are grading the biggest moves of August -- starting with the Falcons' acquisition of Matthew Judon from the Patriots after New England couldn't come to an agreement on a new contract for the edge rusher. We then saw the Eagles pick up Jahan Dotson from division rival Washington and the Packers acquire backup quarterback Malik Willis from the Titans, who traded for Rams linebacker Ernest Jones IV on Tuesday.
To determine each grade, Walder and Solak are evaluating moves based on multiple factors, including on-field impact, salary cap implications, draft compensation, the player's age and what he adds, along with the context of a team's short-term and long-term outlook. Let's dig in -- and keep checking back all month as more trade dominoes fall.
Read more:
Trade tracker | Depth charts | Holdout tracker
Rams deal LB Jones to Titans
Titans get: LB Ernest Jones IV, 2026 sixth-round pick
Rams get: 2026 fifth-round pick
Titans grade: A-
Rams grade: C-
With a trade to the Titans on Tuesday, Jones' Rams tenure came to a surprising conclusion.
In recent days, the Rams said they were allowing Jones to seek a trade after contract extension negotiations were unsuccessful, then later noted that Jones did not request a trade.
Jones has been the Rams' defensive playcaller, so to see such a move happen this close to the season is certainly unusual. Jones has been a good player, ranking fourth among off-ball linebackers in run stop win rate (42%) while recording 145 tackles (11th most). He was great as a pass rusher, with a 35% pass rush win rate and 17 pass rush wins, the most of any player from the off-ball linebacker position. He allowed 0.8 yards per coverage snap last year, per NFL Next Gen Stats, just a shade above average (though he was below average the year before).
The Rams presumably felt better about dealing Jones, a third-round pick in 2021, given the play of UDFA Omar Speights, who general manager Les Snead said a few days ago had not only made the team but would play. Still, the move is surprising for a team that hopes to contend given Jones' level of play. They avoid paying him, which was perhaps their goal, but lost his production this season and received minimal compensation for it.
Jones instantly becomes the Titans' best linebacker ahead of Kenneth Murray Jr. and Jack Gibbens, who both ranked worse than Jones in run stop win rate, pass rush win rate and yards per coverage snap allowed last year.
The move fits nicely into a solid offseason for the Titans and also fits into their general timeline. Despite questions about quarterback Will Levis, the Titans are building a team that can be dangerous if -- a big if -- Levis breaks out in year two. That makes sense! There is no time to waste. They were presented an opportunity to upgrade at linebacker for cheap and took it.
The real question: do they have to pay Jones now? And if so, how much? But the Titans' defense is better today than yesterday, and they didn't have to give up much draft capital to do it. -- Walder
Titans send QB Willis to Packers
Packers get: QB Malik Willis
Titans get: 2025 seventh-round draft pick
Packers Grade: B-
Titans grade: B
After a summerlong competition between Sean Clifford and Michael Pratt for the backup quarterback job, the Packers were apparently unconvinced by both and decided to look elsewhere. In Willis, they land a QB with a stronger pedigree and a presumably higher upside -- but also without any guarantee of success.
After falling to the third round of the 2022 NFL draft, Willis has started only three games -- all in his rookie season. It hasn't gone well. Over 123 career action plays (dropbacks, designed runs and relevant penalties), Willis has a QBR of 11. It is simultaneously a tiny sample and an alarming number. He has completed 51% of his passes for zero touchdowns and three interceptions in that span while rushing for 123 yards on 27 carries.
The sample is small partially because the Titans chose it to be. They benched him in favor of Joshua Dobbs at the end of 2022 despite Dobbs having been on the team for less than two weeks. Though Willis initially was the Titans' backup in 2023, it didn't take long after Ryan Tannehill suffered an injury for the team to turn to second-round pick Will Levis. This summer, Willis lost out to Mason Rudolph to be the backup to Levis. Each of those is a red flag.
Check out the numbers and storylines behind the Packers' move to acquire QB Malik Willis from the Titans.
Though Willis' play has been very poor, the prior on him as a third-round pick is stronger than that of Clifford (2023 fifth-round pick) or Pratt (2024 seventh-rounder). So perhaps the Packers see upside in Willis, with a scheme change, that the other two quarterbacks don't have.
It's reasonable for the Packers to try to upgrade at quarterback if they weren't satisfied with their existing options. Backup quarterback is an important role. While Green Bay's season might be lost if Jordan Love were injured for the season, having a player who can sub in for a few games and keep the team afloat if Love is out a shorter amount of time can be the difference between making or missing the postseason.
It's better the Packers tried to upgrade now rather than during the season, but it's also hard to know before Tuesday's cut-down deadline if Willis was really the best Green Bay could do at this point. Because even after this trade, Green Bay's backup situation looks awfully precarious with the risky-at-best Willis second on the depth chart.
With Tennessee preferring Rudolph, this is a situation where it's better for the Titans to get something rather than nothing. -- Walder
Eagles add WR Dotson from Commanders
Eagles get: WR Jahan Dotson, 2025 fifth-round pick
Commanders get: 2025 third-round pick, two 2025 seventh-round picks
Eagles' grade: B-
Commanders' grade: A-
This is a nice trade for the Commanders. It's soured a bit by a wasted first-round pick -- it's never good when the No. 16 overall pick gets traded away two seasons later for a middle-round selection -- but Washington was clearly moving on from Dotson, who was losing snaps in its wide receiver rotation. To get a third-round selection from Philadelphia for a player who was not a big part of your future plans is, objectively, a win.
Washington's failure to develop Dotson is a tale as old as time: changing coaching staffs, bad quarterbacks and poor organizational direction. In 2022, Dotson was used as an outside receiver running deep-to-intermediate routes in the Scott Turner offense. His volume was low and his catch rate was even lower but, hey -- his quarterbacks were Carson Wentz and Taylor Heinicke. He flashed separation and ripped off explosives when the ball actually came his way. There seemed to be something there.
But in 2023, new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy stuck Dotson in the slot, and it went terribly. Dotson lacked the consistent hands and after-the-catch creation of an NFL slot -- his YAC over expectation of minus-29 was worse than every receiver in the league save one. New quarterback Sam Howell quickly moved away from targeting Dotson, and he began to fall down the depth chart.
That fall continued this summer under Kliff Kingsbury, Dotson's third offensive coordinator in three years. Kingsbury's Air Raid-inspired offense needs slot receivers who can break tackles on screens (not Dotson) and strong outside receivers who can beat press and win against the sideline (still not Dotson). Head coach Dan Quinn openly said the team was still looking for its WR2 last week, and Dotson himself acknowledged, "DQ didn't draft me ... Each and every year ... in your profession, you got to prove yourself. You got to prove what you're worth and what you're capable of doing. That's what I'm trying to do."
Dotson will now try to prove himself in Philadelphia -- but he faces an uphill climb to do so.
The Eagles have clearly been interested in improving at WR3, as they've added a bevy of dart throws to the position this offseason in veterans DeVante Parker (since retired), Parris Campbell and John Ross, along with rookies Ainias Smith and Johnny Wilson. The position is so weak because WR3 hasn't been an important role in this offense the past two seasons. In both 2022 and 2023, the Eagles' elite trio of pass catchers -- WR A.J. Brown, WR DeVonta Smith, and TE Dallas Goedert -- led the league in target share for their respective teams. In other words, no top-3 targets got a bigger percentage of the total team targets than the Philly trio.
But that was the old college-inspired, RPO-heavy Eagles offense. Under new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, the Eagles figure to be less centralized in their target distribution to fit the mold of Moore's offenses with the Cowboys and Chargers. As quarterback Jalen Hurts executes more full-field reads and Smith and Brown experience a wider variety of alignments and routes, an additional receiver who can be trusted with a decent share of the targets is needed.
The Eagles must believe Dotson is up to the task, as they spent a third-round pick to acquire him. That's not chump change. General manager Howie Roseman wouldn't spend capital like that for another Quez Watkins or Olamide Zaccheaus, the WR3s of seasons past in Philadelphia. I'd wager the Eagles plan on using Dotson more like he was used in 2022 -- an outside receiver who can stretch the field, break off some nice routes in the intermediate area, and (they hope) catch the ball more frequently with a better quarterback delivering the throws.
Adam Schefter reports on the news that the Philadelphia Eagles have traded for Commanders WR Jahan Dotson.
Keep in mind that additional Dotson targets means fewer targets for Brown, Smith and Goedert -- players who have been incredibly efficient and explosive when compared to their peers in recent seasons. Dotson can't just be the shaky third option he was as a rookie for the Commanders. He must be worthy of the slice of target pie he takes away from the top options.
This is an unsurprising gamble from the shrewd Roseman. As ESPN's Bill Barnwell noted, we've seen a few middle-round picks sent for fliers on highly drafted wide receivers who have, to this point in their careers, disappointed. In fact, I'm surprised it took Roseman this long to get on the train -- his protégé, Browns GM Andrew Berry, has already done this twice with trades for Elijah Moore and Jerry Jeudy. In a league exploding with wide receiver talent, the smart teams are piling up with options at WR3, WR4, WR5 -- it's probably the deepest position in the league.
That said, it's a gamble. Dotson must improve, and the Eagles' offense must prove it can incorporate a third wide receiver as a viable target. If both Dotson and the Eagles' offense remain what they've been the past two seasons, then it's unlikely this trade will be worth the price Philadelphia paid. -- Solak
Patriots send OLB Judon to Falcons
Patriots get: 2025 third-round pick
Falcons get: Edge Matthew Judon
Patriots' grade: A
Falcons' grade: C
A week ago, the Falcons were down bad at pass rusher. Then third-round pick Bralen Trice suffered a season-ending knee injury and what was probably the weakest edge rusher group in the league got, well, worse.
Consider that this is the same team that signed a soon-to-be 36-year-old Kirk Cousins to a contract with $90 fully guaranteed this offseason. They're all in to try and win a Super Bowl now. But signing Cousins isn't enough to do that. He has to have a fantastic roster around him, and Arnold Ebiketie, Lorenzo Carter and James Smith-Williams don't cut it as the primary edge rushers.
Basically, the Falcons were desperate. And they also had very little money to work with -- the Falcons have just $3.5 million in 2024 cap space (fewest in the league) and $8 million in 2025 cap space before rollovers, of which Atlanta will get almost none. In Judon, Atlanta landed a player that maybe can be part of the solution, with "maybe" and "part" being pretty important words. I have my fair share of skepticism.
The case for Judon is that he recorded 15.5 sacks in 2022 (and 12.5 the year before that) and managed 4.0 sacks in an abbreviated four-game season last year. That's what Atlanta's buying -- Judon's past sack production.
There are major red flags, though. For starters, Judon is a 32-year-old coming off a biceps injury that cost him the final 13 games of the 2023 season. And despite the four sacks last season, he only managed a 13% pass rush win rate at edge -- below average for the position. Judon's win rates were much stronger earlier in his career (18% from 2017 to 2021, a bit above average) but he was younger then, too.
It's still unclear what Judon will cost financially. If his contract were to be left as is, he would cost Atlanta $7.5 million on a one-year deal. Of course, he was disgruntled with his contract -- presumably a big reason why he was dealt.
ESPN's Dan Graziano reported that the Falcons do not currently have a new contract in place for Judon but the two sides plan to work on one prior to the start of the season. That seems like a dangerous game to play given what's happening with Haason Reddick -- who is holding out of Jets camp and has demanded a trade -- though Graziano added that he did not anticipate this being a similar situation to the one the Jets have faced since trading for Reddick. Still, Judon has leverage.
It's also worth mentioning this is a problem of the Falcons' own making. I mentioned that this team is set up to win now and made this trade because of that. But they're also making this trade because they seemingly forgot about their timeline during the first round of the NFL draft and selected another quarterback (Michael Penix Jr.) with the No. 8 pick when they could have landed any pass rusher they wanted (no defensive players were selected until the No. 15 pick) or a wide receiver such as Rome Odunze, who was picked right after Penix.
They also could have made a move earlier in the offseason. Speaking of Reddick, he would have been a better, healthier and younger option! Reddick was dealt to the Jets in March for similar draft compensation, though he would have cost more money, forcing the Falcons to have to effectively borrow from 2026's cap. Chase Young would have been an option in free agency, too.
All that being said, on Wednesday morning the Falcons were a team trying to win immediately but needing a player (or two) who can get to the quarterback. With this trade, they (probably) have one now.
This is more than palatable for the Patriots. Yes, it makes the defense worse right now. Players such as Joshua Uche (I'm still a believer), Keion White, Deatrich Wise Jr. and Anfernee Jennings will have to assume larger roles. But that's fine for where the Patriots are.
New England seems cognizant of its current status as a rebuilding noncontender with an offense that wouldn't be good enough to contend even if rookie quarterback Drake Maye hits right away. For a team like that, it is better to not pay a 32-year-old player coming off an injury and to turn him into a future draft asset instead of simply winding down the clock on Judon's time as a Patriot. -- Walder