The Falcons Should Have Embraced Selling by Trading Bijan Robinson

It's time to assess some of the biggest moves (and non-moves) from the trade deadline, including the Raiders giving the reins to Fernando Mendoza and the Jaguars being aggressive in this week's Fact or Fiction.

Falcons running back Bijan Robinson, the league's rushing leader, would have netted a massive haul of draft picks at the trade deadline. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Last week, we discussed what a potential trade for Justin Herbert would look like. Now, I’m thinking we focused on the wrong player because Bijan Robinson may have been available before the trade deadline. 

And if he wasn’t, well, that didn’t stop John Harbaugh and the Giants from at least calling the Falcons about their star running back. I wished more GMs and coaches with power would operate with the mindset of Harbaugh, who moved like a fantasy football manager all the way up to the trade deadline, calling nearly everyone in the league about a potential trade. Seriously, more trades should have happened, like these five right here. 

Still, we got some splash trades for this year’s deadline, including Jeffery Simmons going to the Bears for two first-round picks. Also, the Vikings traded a third-round pick for Kirk Cousins. Maybe next year Robinson gets moved if the Falcons don’t figure out a way to win more games. 

Let’s start with that possibility for this NFL fact or fiction post-trade deadline edition. 

Falcons should have traded Bijan Robinson to the Giants 

I wanted to use this space to criticize the Colts for not trading Jonathan Taylor for a second-round pick. But my colleague Conor Orr already did that in his  trade deadline winners and losers column.

Also, I found a better running back topic after seeing the reports about the Giants calling the Falcons to express interest in Robinson. To me, Atlanta keeping Robinson is a bigger mistake than the Colts sticking with Taylor. 

I’m not letting Indianapolis off the hook because this team needs all the picks it can get, especially without a first-round selection in April. But the Falcons probably could have gotten two first-rounders from Giants GM Joe Schoen and Harbaugh, who seemed dead set on landing a star running back, and, reportedly, offered a second- and fifth-round pick to Indianapolis for Taylor. ESPN reported that it’s unknown whether the Giants actually made an offer to the Falcons for Robinson. 

I’m now really curious to know what an offer would look like for a top-two elite back who doesn’t turn 25 until January. Surely, it would have to at least consist of one first-round pick and a few Day 2 picks if there’s not a second first-rounder involved. 

Just to put it safely, the Falcons would get a lot for Robinson if they ever decide to put him on the trading block in the near future. And they should because, clearly, this core group in Atlanta, with only three victories this season, hasn’t proven it can win enough games to claim the subpar NFC South. Robinson, Kyle Pitts, Drake London, Michael Penix Jr., Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr. have never played in a playoff game. These are all notable first-round picks from the past five years—Atlanta hasn’t made the playoffs since 2017, the last season it finished above .500 . 

It’s time for the Falcons to go the Jets’ route when they blew up their impressive group last year that consisted of Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams. Also, Atlanta should use Indianapolis as a perfect example for what could happen when waiting too long to tear it all down. The Jets have three first-round picks in April, while the Colts have none and an aging running back who couldn't net a first-round pick at the trade deadline. 

Don’t be the Colts, Falcons. 

Manzano’s view: Fact 

Jaguars gave up too much for Jessie Bates III, Jordan Davis 

Initially, I wanted to join the masses and say that the Jaguars got fleeced in the trades for Bates and Davis. But then I looked at the AFC standings and realized there’s a good chance that Josh Allen, Joe Burrow and Patrick Mahomes will be in the mix come January. 

Jacksonville gave itself the best chance to get by those star quarterbacks in a potential playoff meeting now that it has a stronger defense. The Jaguars might be the most complete team in the AFC because they decided to go for it at the trade deadline. 

It won’t matter that Davis is solely a run stopper if he’s pushing back Kenneth Walker III in the postseason. It won’t matter that Bates turns 30 on Feb. 26, if 12 days earlier he’s seen holding the Lombardi Trophy at SoFi Stadium.

I know this topic has been discussed at nauseam, and I can see both sides of it.  Star players are proven and draft picks aren’t. Rookies are younger and cheaper, and veterans are not. But there’s not enough made about what the Jaguars did to combat Mahomes, Allen and Burrow in the playoffs. 

Manzano’s view: Fiction 

With Kirk Cousins getting traded to Minnesota, it's officially Fernando Mendoza time in Las Vegas. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Raiders got everything right with their QB exchange 

Teams who draft quarterbacks in the first round often say that they would like for their prized rookie to sit and learn for a year, just like Mahomes did. But most of them quickly ditch those patient developmental plans at the first sign of trouble. And the higher that player is drafted, the harder it is to keep him on the sidelines. 

So, maybe it was never in the cards for No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza to sit for an entire year, but the Raiders should still be commended for how well they handled their Cousins-to-Mendoza hand-off. 

While it’s rare for a rookie first-round signal-caller to sit for an entire season, it might be more uncommon to flip the veteran QB for a Day 2 pick before the newbie makes their starting debut. It doesn’t get much better than to have the bridge quarterback deliver a third-round pick at the end of the road. 

The path is now clear for Mendoza, and yeah, maybe it’s not ideal to have his debut against the stout defense of the Seahawks. But Cousins’s stellar play and helping the Raiders jump to a 3–0 start bought Mendoza nine weeks to prepare for his first start. Bonus points for the Raiders if they have been preparing Mendoza for this Seahawks game for a few weeks now since it was somewhat predictable that they would have at least one suitor for Cousins around the trade deadline. Also, it helps that Raiders coach Klint Kubiak is familiar with this defense after being Seattle’s offensive coordinator last season.

Maybe the Raiders cut it too close because there were fewer buyers after the Ravens traded for Jacoby Brissett and the Giants traded for J.J. McCarthy in September. But the Vikings’ QB negligence led to the Raiders executing the perfect quarterback exchange between veteran and rookie. 

Manzano’s view: Fact

49ers will get minimal impact from veteran Keenan Allen 

Don’t underestimate the 49ers’ trade for the 34-year-old wideout. Allen is still a savvy playmaker who finds a variety of ways to contribute to an offense. 

His willingness to block and knack for getting open near the line of scrimmage makes him an ideal fit for Kyle Shanahan’s offensive scheme. Throughout his 14-year career, Allen has been a security blanket for his quarterbacks, and will likely do the same for Brock Purdy. Before leaving Indianapolis, Allen was the team’s leader in receptions (40) and targets (58), and was second in receiving yards (351 yards), only three yards behind Josh Downs. 

Clearly, Allen can still make plays at a high rate. San Francisco is in desperate need of a dependable wide receiver, with Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel Sr., Christian Kirk and rookie De’Zhaun Stribling all currently sidelined with injuries. Even after a few of those key players return, expect Allen to still be involved in the rotation because of his versatile skill set. 

Manzano’s view: Fiction