The November 10 trade deadline is officially in the rearview mirror. It was an uneventful and frankly disappointing evening for most teams, including the defending Super Bowl champions, the Seattle Seahawks.
Of course, John Schneider had already made a big splash by trading for Quenton Nelson, so they were probably never going to make much noise on Tuesday. That said, they still had other issues to address, starting with their underwhelming wide receiver room.
The Seahawks watched Keenan Allen and Josh Downs switch teams at the deadline, and while the first probably wouldn't have moved the needle much at Lumen Field, the latter could've been a difference-maker for Brian Fleury's offense.
The Seattle Seahawks should've traded for Josh Downs
Josh Downs requested a trade from the Indianapolis Colts and seemed to check out in the past couple of games. He's also in the midst of a disappointing career year, so it's not like the numbers have popped off the charts. Also, he's mostly a slot receiver, and the Seahawks are covered in that area.
But now that we've gotten that out of the way, he could've also been a catalyst in Seattle. Cooper Kupp and Jaxon Smith-Njigba have proved extensively that they can line up everywhere, and it's not like they were getting much from Rashid Shaheed when he was healthy.
Good players always figure out ways to coexist, and with the most dynamic pass catcher in football in the building, Brian Fleury could've made this work.
They could've gotten a third-down specialist to help Sam Darnold's ailing passing game keep the offense on the field without having to turn to JSN in every major situation.
Over nine games, Smith-Njigba has a league-leading 1,036 receiving yards, nine touchdowns, and 51 first downs. His 71 receptions are nearly twice as many as the other wide receivers have combined (48), and he also has nearly twice as many yards (516).
That might be a testament to his greatness, and it's certainly fun to watch and great for fantasy football managers, but it's just not sustainable. A passing game shouldn't have to lean so heavily on just one player.
Josh Downs might not be the vertical threat this team is missing, but he's a proven pass catcher and a physical guy who plays bigger than his size to make things happen in traffic. Also, a change of scenery might be just what he needs to get back on his feet after a slow start to the season.
The Seahawks have most of their Super Bowl core still in the building, so it's easy to understand why they weren't interested in shaking things up that much. That said, this roster has shown its flaws for a bit over two months, and the lack of help for JSN has been alarming since day one.
There's still plenty of football to be played, and maybe Darnold can turn things around again once he's back to full strength. Even so, it feels like the Seahawks missed a big chance to make his life a bit easier.
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