NFL Trade Deadline Tracker: Will Packers Make Move?

Today’s the day.

Yeah, it’s Election Day but it’s also the NFL trade deadline.

Will the Green Bay Packers make a move to add to what they believe is a Super Bowl-caliber roster?

History says no. The last time the Packers were “buyers” at or near the trade deadline was 2010, when they acquired safety Anthony Smith from the Jacksonville Jaguars for a conditional draft pick. Smith wasn’t exactly the reason why the Packers won the Super Bowl; he played in four games.

Last year, the Packers were sellers when they traded Rasul Douglas to the Buffalo Bills.

Areas of Need

The Packers appear to be set on offense. They are ninth in points per game and fourth in total offense. The only thing that side of the ball needs is better execution, with Green Bay ranking 20th on third down and a woeful 29th in the red zone and Jordan Love tied for the most interceptions.

Defensively, while Green Bay is a solid 13th in points allowed per game and 11th in total defense, the pass defense needs to improve.

The Packers are 16th in opponent completion percentage and 18th in yards allowed per passing attempt.

A strong pass rush would help the secondary. While they are a decent 14th in sack percentage, 12 of their 22 sacks came against Tennessee (eight) and Houston (four). It had one against Jacksonville and one against Detroit the last two games.

A couple of pass rushers have been traded – more on that later – but the best player on the market is the Giants’ Azeez Ojulari, who has six sacks this season. That’s as many as Rashan Gary (2.5), Preston Smith (2.5) and Lukas Van Ness (1.0) combined.

Ojulari is playing on the final year of his rookie deal. He is only 24 and probably would require a fourth-round pick to obtain.

The other way to help the pass defense is to add another corner.

With Jaire Alexander inactive against Detroit, Lions quarterback Jared Goff was 18-of-21 on targeted passes, including 11-of-11 to receivers.

The Lions have a star receiver in Amon-Ra St. Brown, who caught all seven targets, but the rest of the receiver corps doesn’t compare to what the Packers are going to face the rest of the season – including after the bye against Chicago’s Rome Odunze, D.J. Moore and Keenan Allen.

Is the combination of Alexander and Keisean Nixon at corner and rookie Javon Bullard in the slot good enough to match up against the elite quarterbacks and receivers that fill the second half of the schedule as well as the playoffs?

The Saints’ Marshon Lattimore is by far the best cornerback who could be available, though there have been rumors about the Packers’ interest in the Browns’ Greg Newsome.

A first-round pick in 2021, Newsome has zero interceptions and three passes defensed in nine games (three starts) this season. He was torched by the Eagles but allowed 6-of-9 passing for 65 yards in 87 coverage snaps the last three games, according to Pro Football Focus.

The 24-year-old has started 39 games his first three seasons, including 13 last year, when he set career highs with two interceptions and 14 passes defensed.

Sellers Again?

A couple weeks ago, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that teams had interest in Packers defensive end Preston Smith and backup offensive tackle Andre Dillard.

Smith will turn 32 on Nov. 17, when the Packers are scheduled to play at Chicago. He had two sacks in Week 3 at Tennessee and a half-sack at the Rams in Week 5. The last four games, he has zero sacks, zero tackles for losses, one quarterback hit and six tackles.

Smith played a season-high 71.1 percent of the snaps in Week 1 against the Eagles but a season-low 36.8 percent against the Lions. 

NFC Teams Making Moves

Three NFC playoff contenders have struck already.

The Detroit Lions acquired former Packers pass rusher Za’Darius Smith. The 32-year-old will try to fill the void created when superstar defensive end Aidan Hutchinson suffered a broken leg. Smith has 5.0 sacks in nine games this season.

Of 90 edge defenders with at least 100 pass-rushing opportunities, he ranks 11th in pass-rush win rate, according to Pro Football Focus.

Smith had double-digits sacks with the Packers in 2019 (13.5) and 2020 (12.5) and Vikings in 2022 (10.0). He’ll be worth the low price if he can be the final piece to the puzzle.

The Arizona Cardinals acquired outside linebacker Baron Browning from the Broncos for a sixth-round pick. A third-round pick in 2021, Browning has played in five games (two starts) this season with zero sacks or quarterback hits. He had a total of 9.5 sacks and 21 quarterback hits the previous two seasons.

The Chicago Bears sent running back Khalil Herbert to the Bengals. After rushing for 731 yards with a 5.7-yard average in 2022 and 611 yards with a 4.6-yard average in 2023, Herbert became the odd man out in Chicago after it signed D’Andre Swift. He has only eight carries this season and was traded for a seventh-round pick.