By: Jonathan Goad

The NFL trade deadline is usually fairly boring and uneventful. There’s always a few moves, but this year it was quite different. We saw several big moves made throughout the NFL. Here are the biggest names that were moved and what we think of them.

Earlier in the season, we saw Josh Gordon moved from the Browns to the Patriots. While Gordon has had a couple decent games, he’s yet to breakout for the Pats. That should happen sooner rather than later. The Patriots gave up a fifth-round pick for Gordon.

Photo credit to Sports Illustrated

With Leonard Fournette’s status up in the air, the Jaguars made a move for Carlos Hyde. The Browns received another fifth-round pick for Hyde. Hyde hasn’t done much for the Jags yet, just six carries for eleven yards in the one game he has played. This was clearly a depth move for the Jags. TJ Yeldon has played well for Jacksonville in Fournette’s absences, but Hyde makes for nice insurance.

The Dallas Cowboys gave up a first-round pick for Amari Cooper. It’s early and Amari hasn’t suited up for the Cowboys yet, but Oakland appears to have won this trade, especially with some of the other deals that went down for WRs. Maybe all Cooper needs is a change of scenery. He’ll get just that in Dallas, where he becomes the surefire number one receiver.

The New York Giants traded Eli Apple to the Saints for a fourth-round pick and a seventh-round pick. A day later they traded DT Damon Harrison for a fifth-round pick. The Giants have been horrible all season and were just stocking up draft picks for their rebuild.

The Philadelphia Eagles committed to their title defense by giving up a third-round pick for WR Golden Tate. He’ll fit in nicely with a team who struggles a bit to run the ball. Carson Wentz loves his receivers, and Tate will provide another solid option for the QB.

Photo credit to Twitter

The Texans traded for WR Demaryius Thomas. They gave up a fourth-round pick for the veteran wideout. The Broncos and Texans also swapped seventh-round picks. Thomas gets an upgrade at quarterback in Deshaun Watson, so his number should get better as the season progresses. Hopkins and Thomas should make quite the duo at WR for the Texans.

Photo credit to the Houston Chronicle

After Ty Montgomery’s costly fumble against the Rams on Sunday, the Packers sent him packing. He is now a member of the Ravens, who gave up a seventh-round pick for the RB. He’ll still be the third RB in Baltimore. We’ll see what the market is for Montgomery after the season.

The Rams continue to load up. They gave up a third-round pick and a fifth-round pick for former first-round pick Dante Fowler. That defensive line looks even more intimidating after this move.

Maybe the most confusing deal was the Packers sending Safety Ha Ha Clinton Dix to the Redskins for a fourth-round pick. The defense is clearly an issue for Green Bay and trading the talented safety doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. Maybe they didn’t plan on resigning him in the offseason, so getting something for him now makes sense. We know Green Bay doesn’t like to pay for defensive players as they were rumored to be a landing spot for Khalil Mack, but decided to let him go to division rival, Chicago. I suppose they didn’t want to open the checkbook for Ha Ha either.

Photo credit to NBS Sports

Overall, it was an eventful trade deadline. At least more exciting than it has been in a while. Only time will tell how these moves affect the teams involved.