Fantasy Football Impact of NFL Trade Deadline Moves: Cousins, Downs, and More

The NFL trade deadline has passed, so let's dive into some of the deals and what it all means for fantasy football!

We'll take deeper dives into the moves for offensive players, while mostly just highlighting the trades for defensive players.

Conduct your own fantasy football trades with help from the FantasySP trade analyzer! Also be sure to check out our Trade Value Chart!

Kirk Cousins Traded Back to Minnesota

Las Vegas traded quarterback Kirk Cousins back to Minnesota, getting a 2027 third-round pick in return. This move has major implications for both teams.

With Cousins no longer in Las Vegas, that opens the door for rookie Fernando Mendoza to take over as the starter. He's spent the first half of the year learning behind Cousins, and it will be fun to see what he can accomplish as the season winds down, especially with Vegas not out of the playoff hunt yet.

Mendoza has the most value in dynasty/keeper leagues, but he'll be an option in redraft leagues now. He's worth adding in some deeper leagues right now, and if he shines, or has a favorable matchup down the road, he could work into standard leagues.

For now, this is a downgrade for the offensive playmakers in Vegas, but if Mendoza can prove himself, several Raiders could be weekly starting options.

For Minnesota, this likely ends the Kyler Murray experiment. Carson Wentz will be relegated to a backup role again.

This is a boost for all the pass catchers and playmakers in Minnesota, especially Justin Jefferson. If Cousins can turn back the clock and play like he did in his first stint with Minnesota, then several Vikings could be weekly starting options. Cousins himself should be a pretty good asset on a weekly basis.

Josh Downs Headed to KC, Keenan Allen to San Fran

Indianapolis traded away wide receivers Josh Downs and Keenan Allen on Tuesday. The Colts also sent a 2027 seventh-round pick with Downs, getting fourth- and fifth-round picks in 2027 in return. Indy sent Allen to San Fran for a 2027 sixth-round pick.

Those were the top two pass catchers for Indy this season, so there's a lot of snaps and production to fill. Tyler Warren and Jonathan Taylor will do a lot of the heavy lifting, but several others will need to step up.

Downs joins an offense powered by Patrick Mahomes, so he gets a fantasy boost. The Chiefs have Travis Kelce, Xavier Worthy, Rashee Rice and Kenneth Walker already though, so it will be interesting to see what kind of role Downs carves out over time.

For now, he's a better deep-league starting option. He'll have to prove himself before he's a possible standard league streamer, or player to hold.

This slightly downgrades the team's other pass catchers too, as Downs will take away snaps and some production. I'm really interested to see how this move shakes out for the Chiefs.

San Francisco has dealt with a bevy of injuries this season, so trading for Allen makes a lot of sense. This ups Allen's fantasy value for the remainder of the season.

George Kittle, Christian McCaffrey, Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel Sr. and Jordan Watkins are among the offensive playmakers in San Fran already, so I'm intrigued to see how the veteran Allen fits in. Kittle and CMC remain top-level options at their positions, but the wideouts could all take fantasy hits from this trade.

This might look like an under-the-radar move, but with the injuries the Niners are dealing with, I could see this being a sneaky-good move in time.

Jacoby Brissett Joining Baltimore

This was a trade that was announced late last week, but it's worth going over quickly here. The Ravens also got a 2027 fifth-round pick in the deal, while sending out a 2027 fourth-round selection and 2028 seventh-round pick.

Baltimore gets a new starting quarterback after losing Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley to injuries. Brissett had lost the starting job in Arizona, but he'll now get starts again and try to keep Baltimore in the playoff picture.

Gardner Minshew replaced Brissett in Arizona, but he got injured this week, so now rookie Carson Beck is expected to start. Arizona is dealing with a number of other injuries, and life on offense is likely to be rough going forward for the Cardinals. Beck is just a deep-league redraft option for now, and only Trey McBride is an appealing offensive playmaker.

This is a fantasy upgrade for Brissett, who joins a bit better offense. This move is a big upgrade for Derrick Henry and Zay Flowers, at least from the Joe Fagnano experiment over the past couple of weeks.

I'm intrigued to see how Brissett settles in. He could immediately be considered in all fantasy leagues. He's mostly been added/dropped based on his weekly matchup, and I'd continue that at the start of his Baltimore tenure.

Defensive Player Trades

Denver got linebacker Daiyan Henley from the Los Angeles Chargers. LA got a 2027 fourth-round pick and 2028 fifth-round selection in return.

This boosts the Denver defense a little bit, while weakening the Chargers' unit. 

The Bills traded for Amani Hooker on Tuesday. Buffalo also got a 2027 fifth-round pick in the deal, while sending out a 2027 second-round selection.

This is a blow to the defense in Tennessee, which already parted ways with Jeffery Simmons this regular season. Buffalo's defense gets a boost and it also helps the team's real-life odds in the AFC.

Detroit traded for Andre Cisco to help shore up its secondary a bit. The Jets got a 2028 sixth-round pick in return.

This doesn't impact the Jets' defense much, as Cisco wasn't playing much on defense of late. This is more a depth move for a Detroit secondary that's struggled with injuries and production, so maybe he boosts the defense a touch.

The Jaguars were ultra-busy at the deadline, swinging three trades for defensive players. 

The big splash was acquiring Jordan Davis from Philadelphia. Jacksonville parted with a 2027 first-round pick and 2029 second-round pick in the deal.

Jacksonville also acquired Jessie Bates to help out at safety. The Falcons got a 2027 second-round pick and 2028 fifth-round selection in return.

Jacksonville also nabbed d-lineman Davon Godchaux from the Saints, sending out a 2028 conditional sixth-round selection. 

Those trades are all likely to weaken the defenses in Philly, Atlanta and New Orleans, so keep that in mind moving forward. The Jaguars' defense has already been strong, so these three moves reinforce that side of the ball, and push the team higher up the ladder in the AFC.

The Jaguars DST is one to roster and hold for the remainder of the season. They could be one of the top fantasy DSTs the rest of the season.