Deadline day: the sellers took the picks, the buyers took the players

The sellers

No team sold harder than the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts own 10 picks in the 2027 NFL Draft after trading wide receivers Keenan Allen and Josh Downs on Tuesday, and they hold eight picks in the 2028 draft. The selling started earlier: the Colts traded tackle Quenton Nelson to Seattle and defensive lineman DeForest Buckner to San Francisco, then Allen to San Francisco and Downs to Kansas City. General manager Chris Ballard was dismissed in October, and the Colts acquired six total draft picks while trading one away in the four trades. OverTheCap projects the Colts to receive fifth- and sixth-round compensatory picks next year as well. This is a teardown with a plan attached: the roster gets younger and cheaper, and the draft capital piles up. m:…4301

The prices tell you how the market valued the pieces. The Colts acquired 2027 fourth- and fifth-round draft picks from the Kansas City Chiefs for wide receiver Josh Downs and a 2027 seventh-round pick, and traded Keenan Allen to the San Francisco 49ers for a 2027 sixth-round pick. Downs recorded 33 catches on 57 targets for 354 yards with one touchdown in nine games this season, and totaled 231 receptions for 2,494 yards with 12 touchdowns over 56 games with the Colts. Allen caught 40 passes on 58 targets for 351 yards and one touchdown over eight games with the Colts in 2026, and has 1,095 career receptions, ranking eighth in NFL history. Those are useful players, and the return was mid-round picks: the market pays for the future, not the past. m:…4302 m:…7904

Tennessee sold too, and got the best single price of the day for a defender. The Titans traded safety Amani Hooker to the Buffalo Bills and will receive a second-round pick in the 2027 draft, while sending a fifth-round pick to Buffalo. Hooker has 17 career interceptions, the fifth-highest career interception total for the franchise during its Titans era, which began in 1999, and has five interceptions this season. He was a fourth-round pick of the Titans in the 2019 draft. A second-round pick for a safety having a five-interception season is a strong return, and it says the Titans are thinking about 2027 while the Bills are thinking about January. m:…3484

The buyers

The biggest name to move was a quarterback going home. The Las Vegas Raiders traded Kirk Cousins to the Minnesota Vikings for a 2027 third-round pick, pending Cousins passing a physical. Cousins played for the Vikings for six seasons from 2018 to 2023, joined the Raiders in April 2026, and started all nine games for the Raiders this season. He completed 202 of 315 passes for 2,340 yards, 20 touchdowns, and eight interceptions, with a 97.1 passer rating, and added two rushing touchdowns. He is a 15-year NFL veteran who has played in 183 career games. The Vikings are 6-2, and they traded J.J. McCarthy to the New York Giants on September 28, while Kyler Murray has started six games for the Vikings this season. Minnesota paid a third-round pick for a quarterback who knows the building, the division, and the stakes. m:…3072 m:…9951

Denver bought a linebacker from a division rival, which is the kind of deal that usually does not happen. The Los Angeles Chargers traded linebacker Daiyan Henley to the Denver Broncos in exchange for a 2027 fourth-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round selection, pending a physical examination. Henley was a two-time team captain for the Chargers and a third-round pick in 2023, 85th overall. He tallied 305 tackles, five sacks, 14 tackles for loss, four interceptions, 15 pass breakups, one forced fumble, two recoveries, and 12 special teams tackles with the Chargers, and in 2024 he set career highs with 142 tackles, eight pass breakups, and seven tackles for loss, leading the NFL with nine games of 10-plus tackles. The Chargers get draft capital for a player they were not going to keep; the Broncos get a proven tackler for a playoff push. m:…4521

Baltimore bought protection. The Ravens traded for veteran offensive lineman Ryan Neuzil, sending guard Andrew Vorhees and a 2028 sixth-round draft pick to the Atlanta Falcons. Neuzil is a fifth-year veteran who was the Falcons' starting center for all 17 games last year, and he signed a two-year, 9.5 million dollar extension with the Falcons before the 2025 season. The Ravens previously traded for Pro Bowl center Cam Jurgens, and general manager Eric DeCosta also added veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett. The Ravens are 4-5 and in last place in the AFC North, which is not where a team that keeps buying usually sits. The moves say Baltimore believes its season is still salvageable, and that the fix starts in front of the quarterback. m:…6092