Let’s grade some trades, including Thursday night’s massive deal sending running back Christian McCaffrey to the 49ers. We’ll continue to add deals until the NFL trade deadline Nov. 1.
I’m a big believer in judging decisions based on information available at the time. Saying, “Let’s see how it plays out” isn’t an option for general managers making deals for their teams, so why should be it for us evaluating those transactions? When I’m 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:
How confident are we in knowing if this is a good or bad decision?
How big is the impact of this decision?
They’ll both play a role in the grades, though a low-impact decision can still receive a strong or poor mark. Low-stakes, clear-cut wins or losses still matter. Let’s get into the four deals made since the season started.
San Francisco 49ers get: RB Christian McCaffrey
Carolina Panthers get: Second-, third- and fourth-round picks in 2023 and a fifth-round pick in 2024
Trade date: Oct. 20