Let’s grade trades from the 2025 NFL season. When a deal happens, we often hear the old adage that it will take years to know how well each team did in the deal. To that I say: nonsense. General managers don’t get the benefit of hindsight while they are making their decisions, so why should we when evaluating those decisions?
That’s a long way of saying I’m a big fan of trade grades, which document our reaction at the moment a deal is made. When grading trades, I evaluate them for each team based on on-field impact, cap implications, draft compensation and effects within the context of a team’s overall short- and long-term outlook. I like to think about decisions on two axes:
They’ll both play a role in our grades, though a low-impact decision can still receive a strong or poor grade. Low-stakes, clear-cut wins or losses still matter.
Let’s dive in on in-season deals leading up to NFL trade deadline on Nov. 4. We’ll start with the Eagles acquiring running back Tank Bigsby from the Jaguars.
Eagles get: RB Tank BigsbyJaguars get: 2026 fifth-round pick, 2026 sixth-round pick
Eagles grade: C-Jaguars grade: A
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman wins more trades than anyone, but he doesn’t win ’em all.
In Bigsby, the Eagles acquire a very solid runner. The 2023 third-round pick accumulated an impressive 124 rush yards over expectation last season, per NFL Next Gen Stats, after a disappointing rookie campaign.
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But that’s all he is, which is his downside. Bigsby offers almost nothing in the receiving game; he has only eight career receptions. He has pass blocked on only 33 snaps in his pro career. And he evidently didn’t win the starting job in Jacksonville this season despite not facing particularly stiff competition in Travis Etienne Jr. and fourth-round rookie Bhayshul Tuten.
This trade makes it clear that the Eagles felt they needed running back depth behind Saquon Barkley. They have Will Shipley, who figures to be more of a receiving complement and backup — very different from Bigsby. But my first reaction was, wow, that’s a lot for a backup at a nonpremium position who doesn’t catch passes, especially considering how much Philadelphia has already invested at running back with Barkley. Even with Bigsby under control for another rookie contract year in 2026, this is a bit much for my liking.
Bigsby could also partner with Shipley on kick returns after having returned 11 kicks in his career. It’s a more important role now than before given the precipitous drop in touchbacks, but it doesn’t change that the Eagles gave up a lot for Bigsby.
This is a nice result for Jacksonville, though. It seemed likely that one of Etienne or Bigsby would be dealt after the addition of Tuten in this year’s draft. That it happened now is an upset. But in exchange for their second- or third-string running back, the Jaguars are receiving a fifth- and sixth-round pick. That’s great value, and it hardly leaves Jacksonville short-handed considering Bigsby didn’t start.
