The Philadelphia Eagles have won three straight since an uneven 2-2 start, taking the heat off Nick Sirianni and Jalen Hurts. Still, memories of last year’s 1-6 finish will linger until the Eagles demonstrate that they’ll finish the 2024 NFL season much stronger.
As such, Philly could be buyers at the trade deadline. Here we break down an outside-the-box trade proposal for an exciting young receiver.
Eagles Could Get Creative To Bolster Passing Game
Trade proposal:
- Eagles acquire: WR Jordan Addison, 2025 fifth-round pick
- Vikings acquire: 2025 first-round pick
This would be an unexpected bonanza. Addison is a promising second-year receiver who is under contract through 2026 (not including a potential fifth-year option that he’ll likely have exercised based on his current trajectory).
The model for this trade is when the Arizona Cardinals acquired Marquise “Hollywood” Brown in 2022 from the Baltimore Ravens. Like Addison, Brown was a promising young wideout who hadn’t quite broken out into stardom. The Cardinals got Brown plus a third-round pick for a first-rounder in the 2022 Draft.
The Eagles are paying a heavier price here because Addison has up to three years of cheap team control beyond 2024. Brown had two years of team control, including his fifth-year option.
In addition, the Minnesota Vikings don’t have picks in the second, third, or fourth rounds in 2025. Acquiring a second Round 1 pick could allow Minnesota to trade down and restock its pick supply.
As for the on-field implications, Addison hasn’t had the breakout sophomore campaign many expected. He’s missed two games and is averaging 46.2 receiving yards per game with one touchdown. As a rookie, Addison averaged 53.6 receiving yards per game with 10 touchdowns.
But the promise of his excellent rookie season is still fresh, and Addison remains a premier deep threat. Addison has seven touchdowns on passes of 15+ air yards since 2023, tied for sixth-most in that span. The player he’s tied is A.J. Brown, who would be his new teammate in this prospective trade.
JORDAN ADDISON JUST DID THAT!
4 catches, 95 receiving yards, 2 TDs49.5 receiving yards projection ⬆️
0.5 rush/rec TD projection ⬆️pic.twitter.com/pcYblUnEA4— Underdog NFL (@Underdog__NFL) October 24, 2023
Any new receiver would be helpful in taking some work off of Brown and DeVonta Smith’s plate. The Eagles’ top two receivers have combined for 51% of the team’s receiving yards and six of their eight receiving touchdowns this season — that’s despite them missing four games combined due to injuries.
Of course, the Vikings would be shocking sellers in this scenario. Minnesota has lost two straight since starting 5-0 but remains a strong playoff contender. PFN’s Playoff Predictor still gives the Vikings an 87.2% chance to reach the playoffs after those back-to-back losses, driven in part by a more manageable remaining schedule than the rest of their division rivals.
That makes an Addison move fairly unlikely, as interesting a thought exercise as it might be.