From Dumpster Fires To Playoff Contenders: Do’s And Don’ts For The 5 Worst Teams Before Nov. 4th

This year has had some fantastic football play. But for every good preformance there are 10 bad ones. Let's take a look at the five worst teams in the league and discuss the changes that each team needs to make heading into the 2025 Trade Deadline:

#32. New York Jets: 

There is a lot that needs to be done to turn this Jets franchise into a winning ball club. Aaron Glenn, coming from Detroit's prolific turnaround, was supposed to change this franchise; however, that has been anything but the case for this high school team masquerading as a professional. Hiring a DC as your head coach should’ve improved the defense overall, but it’s turned this group from middle of the pack to bottom 10. Unless this team looks drastically different with Tyrod Taylor under center, their first move needs to be sending Glenn back to Detroit is an absolute MUST. Regardless of how this team looks, however, moving players who were meant to be key pieces well into the future. Garett Wilson is under team control until he’s 30, hasn’t missed a game in his NFL career, and has put up 3,1,000-yard seasons with 8 different QBs throwing him the ball. The way I see it, plenty of teams need a WR, especially one this young, and if you move him now, you’d get a solid haul. Moving 4th year RB Breece Hall and Cornerback Sauce Gardner should set Glenn (or whoever steps up in his place) to draft a solid class when that time comes. Now, as for adding any pieces come the trade deadline, this team needs to stay far away, barring any big steals for reliable offensive linemen. 

#31. Miami Dolphins:

This team is a disaster through and through. There isn’t much that can be done in terms of improvement, and there is a clear rift between HC and QB, as well as QB and the team. The biggest problem in making the Dolphins contenders lies in the $212,400,000 4-year extension that Tua signed in the offseason. With a QBR lower than the average speed limit, a consistent injury problem, AND the overall lack of talent in terms of ball security. This team is a mess. Trading Tua would be the obvious choice, but no team wants that contract. Firing McDaniel at the end of the season is practically signed, sealed, and delivered. With the receiving core aging and Achane hitting his prime, moving Jaylen Waddle might be the only positive thing they can do before the deadline, as this team, through coaching and lack of chemistry, is more than likely to have their season dead and buried by the time the trade deadline ends. 

#30. Tennessee Titans:

Out of all the teams on this list, the most interesting one has got to be the Tennessee Titans. They’ve already taken a step in the right direction by firing their head coach, but Cam Ward is still struggling. Granted, coming out of the draft, we knew he would be a project QB, and he’s MILES better than Mayo Boy Will Levis. Calvin Ridley is aging, and Tony Pollard started the season strong but has since shown why he isn’t an every-down back, and the offensive line could use some work, to say the least. However, that being said, it might be best for the Titans to just stay quiet come the trade deadline. They don’t have much draft capital, and just adding older guys to an aging scheme won’t benefit Cam Ward's development. So as much as Titans fans want to see them make a splash for a big playmaker, riding out the storm is only in their best interest. 

#29. Las Vegas Raiders:

Get rid of Geno Smith. Plain and simple. There isn’t much more that you need to do. I mean, this team is young, the talent is unproven, so they can have something there. They traded for Kenny Pickett, so use him. Build up the Offensive line. Let Jeanty and Brock Bowers continue to lead the offense. Honestly, this team has the bones; it’s all there, especially with Pete Carroll leading the charge. 

#28. New Orleans Saints:

When I set out to make this list, I knew I had to put the Saints on here. There are two glaring problems: A roster that is the 6th oldest in the league and a dead cap count of $87,063,745. Add in the fact that half of your offensive playmakers are 28 or older, plus the ROOKIE QB they drafted is going to be 27 heading into next year. They have so many holes to fix, and with the state that this roster is in, they’re only real option or piece to move is Chris Olave. However, he’s had his injury issues (granted, most were due to poor QB play), but a team like Buffalo or Tampa Bay (assuming neither has made a play for Garrett Wilson) would benefit from having that kind of offensive addition. Aside from that, though, barring any type of instantaneous solution for the cap space issue, there really isn’t much you can do other than trade Chris Olave and pray.

#27. Cleveland Browns:

The Cleveland Browns are in an interesting situation and seem to have struck gold with rookie RB Quinshon Judkins after Chubb signed with Houston in the offseason. Avoiding the mistakes of the past needs to be their number one priority, and they need to start with fixing what was once a top 5 offensive line. Moving veteran TE David Njoku needs to be at the top of the list, especially with the obvious talent in rookie Harold Fanin Jr. In that same breath, they have two first-round picks. Dillon Gabriel may not be THE guy, but he's serviceable with the Stefanski offense, and this year's QB class doesn’t have very many options. Despite what some could consider a “controversial take” from us here at BetJACK, there are several young WRs in purgatory: Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, Marvin Harrison Jr., and all three of these teams need a solution at QB. However, out of the three, Garrett Wilson is the obvious choice here. The Browns are very adamant about not starting Shedeur Sanders, which means they have options in terms of making a play for one of these young WRs for him and Jacksonville’s 1st rounder. Making a play like this would set them up to buff up the o-line come the draft and give Gabriel and Judkins everything they need to run this offense and run it soundly. 

#26. Arizona Cardinals:

Kyler Murray isn’t the guy. Marvin Harrison Jr hasn’t performed like we expected. AND the running back room is in shambles due to injury. The Cardinals are in a tough spot, and it would be nearly impossible to fix the team all in one go. However, a few tweaks would be a drastic improvement from what we are currently seeing. Step one: Stay away from RB. There’s plenty of talent in the draft coming up to fill that position, and at 2-5 in the NFC, this team has a next to zero chance of making the playoffs. So, Trey McBride is still young and the clear leader in the offense; building on that is the way to find success. Now, they could turn to Cleveland and make a play for Shedeur, an obvious choice or wait and use Justin Fields (who will more than likely be available for a 75% off discount) to bridge the gap of a dual-threat QB that Johnathan Gannon is capable of working with. So, they can focus the draft on building up this offense. However, I know I put Harrison in the conversation for the Browns. I do think they hang onto him since we know what we have in terms of Kyler Murray at QB (and it's not good), but Harrison is still young and is still more than capable of turning his career trajectory around. 

#25. New York Giants:

Jaxson Dart has taken charge of this offense over the past couple of weeks, and with Nabers out for the season, this team needs to build on the strength of their rookie QB. Now, rookie Cam Skattebo has been a big part of Darts' early success. So, they’ll look to build on that, and instinctively, strengthening the offensive line would be the move, but their offense is young and talented. I think the move here would be to build on the defense as they did in the offseason. If we are thinking splash plays and instant culture changes, Myles Garret. However, given the recent contract extension from Cleveland, that seems unlikely, and with the possibility of adding T.J. Parker (Clemson DE) in the draft, or if they can make a play for Maxx Crosby, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them ride out the storm and let Dart be the focal point for the rest of the season.