NFL trade deadline aftermath: Which teams improved, which teams should have made moves

The 2026 NFL trade deadline came and went Tuesday afternoon at 4 p.m. ET, and the league provided a flurry of activity.

Of the NFL's 32 teams, 23 teams combined to make 18 trades, with 19 players and 34 picks changing hands in 2026. That is right in line with the average of 19.3 traded midseason since 2019, which is way up from the average of 7.5 between 2009 and 2018. The volume of trades wasn't the only thing that has increased around the trade deadline lately. There have been 11 future first-round picks swapped since 2019, up exponentially from the three that changed hands from 2001 to 2018.

Three first-round picks alone were traded in 2026, with All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons going from the Tennessee Titans to the Chicago Bears (two) and defensive tackle Jordan Davis going from the Philadelphia Eagles to the Jacksonville Jaguars (one).

So which teams improved and which teams should have made moves? Let's dive into a 2026 NFL trade deadline evaluation on who did well and who should have done more.

The Jaguars smell blood in the AFC waters. On Monday, the Jaguars relinquished a 2027 first-round pick, a 2027 second-round pick, a…

Original source: https://www.cbssports.com/