INDIANAPOLIS — Another day down at the combine ….
Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III’s situation with the Seahawks remains an interesting one. Presuming the Seahawks decline to tag Walker, the Chiefs loom as an interesting suitor.
Now, Andy Reid’s history would tell you that Kansas City might be hesitant to do it. But the Chiefs engaged the Jets before the trade deadline on a potential deal for Breece Hall, and GM Brett Veach said at his press conference here that the team will be actively looking to get more explosive in the run game this offseason.
While drafting Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love would be a more economical way to accomplish that, there’s no assurance that a guy who many see as the draft’s top player, even at a devalued position, will be there when the Chiefs pick at No. 9.
It’s also worth noting that some pretty smart teams have come around recently on investing at the position, partly on the premise that running backs have been devalued to the point where they’ve become valuable again. You’ll remember, two offseasons ago, the Eagles, Packers and Ravens—three smart teams—spent big on free agents Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs and Derrick Henry. Safe to say two seasons later, those were sound investments.
Maybe Walker, who might pair nicely with a high draft pick like Ohio State’s Carnell Tate coming in at the receiver spot, would be one too for the Chiefs. I’d also assume a few other teams, like the Broncos and Texans, might also see it that way.
A Recent Comparison for Potential A.J. Brown Trade
My sense is that A.J. Brown’s camp has a feel for his potential trade market. And while I don’t think that Eagles GM Howie Roseman is going to start shopping Brown around, I do think he’ll listen to any incoming offers for his star receiver, who’s 29 years old and has four 1,000-yard seasons in his four years as an Eagle.
The next piece, then, would be finding a fair trade comp for Brown.
One would be the Stefon Diggs trade in 2024. The Bills sent Diggs to the Texans that offseason, packaging him with a sixth-round pick and a 2025 fifth-rounder in exchange for a 2025 second-round pick. Diggs, having just turned 30, was a little more than a year older than Brown is now. Like Brown, he was coming off four 1,000-yard seasons in four years with his second NFL team. So this lines up in a lot of ways.
Of course, having a few teams involved could change the price, and I’m sure Roseman will be looking for a first-rounder, or even more than just that. And since it’s Roseman, you can be sure he’ll find the best deal possible for the Eagles. How good that deal is, I’d think, will probably determine whether a deal happens at all.
Linebacker Tremaine Edmunds should have a significant market due to his blend of skill and youth. | Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images
Tremaine Edmunds’s Market
Tremaine Edmunds is somehow both heading into his ninth NFL season and still two months shy of his 28th birthday. And so as the Bears seek a potential trade partner to shed a little salary, there should be a market for the big, athletic, still relatively young linebacker.
What sort of return will Edmunds bring? My guess is that an early Day 3 pick is how most teams would value him, because he’s due $15 million this year, with what amounts to a $15 million team option for next year on the contract as well. That market, by the way, is dictated by the fact that most teams are hesitant to pay off-ball linebackers that don’t bring a lot of pass-rush value. Still, some team could get a good player here.
NFLPA Report Card Takeaways
Good work by my old co-worker Kalyn Kahler over at ESPN in getting the NFLPA team report cards that the league was trying in earnest to keep out of the public eye. One thing that sticks out is that the Dolphins and Vikings ranked 1–2 for the second straight season—which is in part because both have sparkling new practice facilities. Another was the Commanders finishing third, which continues a stunning turnaround under new owner Josh Harris. Washington was dead last in 2023 and ‘24, before rising all the way to 11th last year.
More Combine Nuggets
• Sonny Styles’ ridiculous 43.5″ vertical should come as no surprise to those who saw his high school basketball highlights—the Ohio State star could jump through the gym. That jump by Styles was the best by a prospect who came in at 6′ 4″ or taller at the combine in 23 years.
• I’d be surprised if the Colts get much back for Anthony Richardson. I also think his eye injury is going to require closer inspection by any interested team.
• Finally, we had an interesting player-for-player trade with the Titans sending T’Vondre Sweat to the Jets for Jermaine Johnson. Johnson was drafted by new Tennessee coach Robert Saleh, and is in a contract year, so his availability and destination make sense. Sweat may be the more interesting piece here, though. He has two years left on his rookie deal, is enormously talented and had a pretty rough reputation in the Titans organization. We’ll see if being traded lights a fire underneath him that Tennessee couldn’t ignite the last two years.
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