Over the last three offseasons, at least one notable quarterback has changed teams. That was not the case this year, but the position continues to have a significant impact on the list of traded players with the best possibility of impacting the future season.
The top three players on my list are there not only because they are terrific players, but also because they can assist their quarterbacks perform better, which has a significant impact on the fate of their organizations and, more broadly, the league. Only one individual who throws the ball for a living made the cut, but like with everything in the NFL, QB was prominent in my mind as I went through this process.
This is a good spot to point out that I wasn’t only trying to forecast which traded player will perform best on an individual level during the 2024 NFL season, but also who has the potential to significantly affect how things play out in the future. I also included some projections here, considering what could happen in addition to what appears most likely — because it just feels good to do in May.
So, you’re an aspiring AFC powerhouse looking to help your young quarterback establish himself among the NFL’s elite? Get diggs. His name may not be as memorable as it was in 2020, when he joined the Bills via trade to boost their offense.
He’ll be 31 in November, and he finished his Bills career with more drama than output (42.2 receiving yards per game in his final ten games, including playoffs). But he still ranked in the top ten in the NFL in catches (107, seventh) and receiving touchdowns (eight, tied for eighth), and he won’t have to shoulder the load in Houston, where Nico Collins, Tank Dell, and tight end Dalton Schultz helped drive a top-10 passing game last season (and where new running back Joe Mixon could make the list retrospectively).
In other words, even if Diggs doesn’t get the ball, his presence should open up possibilities for others. When he does get the ball, he should be able to do more than he did in 2023, when he had the third-lowest per-catch average of his career (11.1 yards). Aside from the chaos in Buffalo, Diggs has expedited Josh Allen’s rise to greatness. If he can assist reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year C.J. Stroud advance, he will have helped shape the landscape of NFL contenders for the second time.
Let’s put aside traditional output numbers for a moment and consider Allen’s most crucial responsibility, one he’ll share with almost everyone in Chicago: assisting Caleb Williams in ending the Bears’ decades-long quarterbacking drought. Allen is the most experienced member of Williams’ stacked supporting cast, and as one of only six NFL players to have 150-plus receptions and a catch rate of 72% or higher in the last two seasons, he’s a reliable target. I didn’t like seeing an anonymous executive ruminate in “The Athletic” about how Williams’ playing style may not allow him to move swiftly enough for Allen’s liking.
Allen’s age (32) and injury history (he’s missed 11 games in the last two years) also cause me concern. Nonetheless, it is probable that he will be one of Williams’ most reliable security blankets during this vital season. Allen has the potential to forever change the story of pro football in Chicago, earning him at least a top-two spot in this ranking.
The Denver Broncos traded
TRADED FOR: 2024 fifth and sixth-round picks.
The Browns need Deshaun Watson to play like one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks, which will be more likely if they can create another quality pass-catching option in addition to Amari Cooper and tight end David Njoku. Given their history of trouble drafting receivers — Josh Gordon, Braylon Edwards, and Kevin Johnson are the only homegrown receivers to reach 1,000 yards for Cleveland in a season since 1999 — it made sense to return to the trade market, where they acquired Cooper two years ago. I’m sure Cleveland would love for Jeudy to finally break out after awarding him a three-year contract worth up to $58 million this offseason. But he doesn’t have to accomplish it by 2024. He simply needs to deliver enough big-play ability (he’s averaged 14.5 yards per reception in his four-year career) for the Browns’ offense to be competitive as they aim to make back-to-back postseason appearances for the first time since 1989.
TRADED: Carolina Panthers
TRADED FOR: 2024 second- and fifth-round picks, 2025 conditional fifth-round pick (with Carolina getting a 2024 fifth-round pick)
I considered placing Burns at the top of this list, and maybe I should have. Of everyone in my top ten, he appears to be the most likely to play as a star for his new team in 2024.
Unlike Allen and Diggs, the 26-year-old is still in his prime, and unlike Jeudy, he is a proven talent with a high ceiling. Burns has had a double-digit pressure rate every year of his career, and he should work with Kayvon Thibodeaux to improve a defense that ranked 30th in pressure rate last season. The trouble is, I could see Burns demolishing opponents this season while the Giants struggle due to offensive restrictions. So, maybe unfairly, he arrives here, crowned by the residual question about what Daniel Jones will offer to the table.
Traded by the Kansas City Chiefs.
TRADED FOR: 2024 seventh-round pick, 2025 third-round pick (with Kansas City gaining a 2024 seventh-round pick).
I appreciate how fiercely GM Ran Carthon has targeted the Titans roster. Even if the Texans win the AFC South (which is far from certain), Tennessee could compete with the Colts and Jaguars in the division and other bubble teams in the wild-card race, especially if free-agent signings of WR Calvin Ridley, RB Tony Pollard, WR Tyler Boyd, C Lloyd Cushenberry, LB Kenneth Murray, and CB Chidobe Awuzie pay off. Tennessee’s defense finished in the middle of the pack in 2023 (16th in points, 18th in yards allowed, and 18th against the pass), thanks in large part to former Carthon imports Azeez Al-Shaair and Sean Murphy-Bunting, who contributed heavily on one-year contracts before cashing in elsewhere this offseason. However, the Titans tied for 27th in passer rating allowed (96.4) and had the division’s lowest point differential (-62). If Sneed can help tighten those numbers, this club should be more competitive in more games, maybe pushing Tennessee to the edges of contention.
TRADED: Philadelphia Eagles
TRADED FOR: 2026 conditional third-round selection.
Let us not overcomplicate this one. Reddick is a pass-rushing mercenary who has 50.5 sacks in the last four seasons while playing for three different clubs (Arizona in 2020, Carolina in 2021, and Philadelphia in 2022-23). The Jets needed a pass rusher after losing Bryce Huff, their sack leader for 2023, to the Eagles in free agency. Reddick’s plug-and-play sack production should help keep things humming on defense, which ranked third overall and fifth in pressure rate last season. It’s in everyone’s best interests for that to continue as we wait to see if Aaron Rodgers, who is 40 years old and coming off an Achilles tear, can lift an offense that has finished 25th or worse in each of the previous eight seasons.
Traded by the Houston Texans.
TRADED FOR: A 2024 seventh-round pick.
Here’s another basic way to use the trade market to fill a roster void left by offseason player movement. San Francisco released defensive lineman Arik Armstead and let Sebastian Joseph and Javon Kinlaw leave. In return for a seventh-round pick, the Niners acquired Collins, who equaled a career best with five sacks for Houston last season — exactly the same number as Armstead had in his final year with the Niners. If Collins provides strong value while costing far less ($8.5 million) than Armstead ($28.4 million) in 2024, and helps a San Francisco defense that ranked eighth last season continue to perform well, you can expect to hear a lot about the shrewdness of this move as the season progresses.
TRADED BY Pittsburgh Steelers
TRADED: CB Donte Jackson, 2024 sixth-round pick (with Pittsburgh receiving a 2024 seventh-round pick).
Trading for Johnson was a reasonable gamble for the Panthers, who need all the support they can get with second-year quarterback Bryce Young. If the veteran flames out in the final year of his contract, Carolina can move on (and I’ll regret not putting this position on an offensive lineman like Morgan Moses or Ryan Bates). Perhaps the Panthers can get more out of Johnson, whose low yardage total last season (717) and unfortunate proclivity for being in drama-tinged headlines should not overshadow the respectable per-catch mark (14.1) he managed to put up while working with Kenny Pickett, Mason Rudolph, and Mitchell Trubisky in 2023. In the best-case scenario, Johnson improves his own prospects while also helping to save the career of a potential franchise quarterback.
Traded by the Chicago Bears.
TRADED FOR: 2025 conditional day three pick.
None of the quarterbacks dealt this offseason are guaranteed to start a game anytime soon, but I wanted to write about at least one of them. Fields appears to be the player who will have the greatest impact on the 2024 season. Even if he does not play, he has the potential to challenge Russell Wilson to play like a winner in Pittsburgh. And if Fields wins the starting quarterback job outright, he’ll have a chance to demonstrate how his skill set translates to wins for a true playoff contender, something he hasn’t done yet in the NFL.
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