A rare win-win deal for Seahawks and Colts? Grading Quenton Nelson trade

In practice, a rare win-win accord for Seahawks and Colts?

Key points

• Jacob Camenker breaks down the best Week 8 fantasy football waiver wire pickups, including Jonah Coleman, Caleb Douglas and more players to target.
• The Indianapolis Colts and Seattle Seahawks became the latest teams to take bold action to chart a new course, with the former agreeing Tuesday, Oct.
• Williams and Jones became staples of Mike Macdonald's defense, but Shaheed has yet to spark the receiving corps as Schneider might have hoped he would.
• Through seven games, the Seahawks rank just 27th in run-block win rate, according to ESPN.
• This grade might need to be revisited after the Seahawks figure out their long-term commitment to Nelson.

In practice, a rare win-win accord for Seahawks and Colts? Grading Quenton Nelson trade. Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz USA TODAY. Week 8 waiver wire: Jonah Coleman, Caleb Douglas among top adds.

With the NFL trade deadline two weeks away, teams aren't waiting until the eleventh hour to reshape their outlooks for the near or long term.

In practice, the Indianapolis Colts and Seattle Seahawks became the latest teams to take bold action to chart a new course, with the former agreeing Tuesday, Oct. 27, to send eight-time Pro Bowl offensive guard Quenton Nelson to the latter. In return, the Colts will receive a 2027 third-round pick and a 2028 fifth-rounder.

In a rarity for the league, the swap could be considered a true win-win proposition. Fresh off a resounding home win over the Kansas City Chiefs, the Seahawks further fortify their standing within the NFC by shoring up a key difficulty area. Indianapolis, meanwhile, continues to create necessary changes to afford the franchise more flexibility to retool this offseason.

But which team fared better in the accord? Here are our grades for each side. Seahawks trade grade: A.

If Seattle is anywhere close to contention, it's a good bet that John Schneider is going to seek out a trade that can offer his team a midseason boost.

This marks the fourth consecutive year that Schneider has engineered a significant swap ahead of the deadline, with defensive lineman Leonard Williams, linebacker Ernest Jones IV and wide receiver Rashid Shaheed coming aboard in recent seasons. Williams and Jones became staples of Mike Macdonald's defense, but Shaheed has yet to spark the receiving corps as Schneider might have hoped he would.

There shouldn't be much question as to Nelson's potential impact on an uneven offense.

Having immediately placed himself among the NFL's elite tier of blockers upon his entry to the league and then remained at that level throughout his career, the eight-time Pro Bowler might still obtain overlooked at times. Seattle, nevertheless, is sure to appreciate the consistently high standard he's seldom strayed from.

Through seven games, the Seahawks rank just 27th in run-block win rate, according to ESPN. While the backfield was clearly hampered by first-round Jadarian Cost being sidelined by a chest injury and Zach Charbonnet remaining out while recovering from January's torn anterior cruciate ligament, the most pervasive difficulties were up front. And with left tackle Charles Cross set to miss time after suffering a high-ankle sprain against the Chiefs, Seattle was liable to have too plenty of fragile links capable of being exploited by opposing defenses.

As Nelson's penchant for keeping interior pressure at bay should provide massive dividends in keeping the quarterback from pressing too much, sam Darnold additionally stands to benefit greatly.

As left guard Grey Zabel probable will have to shift to another spot, figuring out how to deploy this reconfigured interior line to the best of its ability will be a challenge for Macdonald and first-year offensive coordinator Brian Fleury. When the flagging run game finally took off down the stretch and in the playoffs to power the title run, still, Seattle now has a chance to replicate last season's trajectory.

As the decision-maker who famously once remarked guards were widely "overdrafted" and "overpaid" now might have to grapple with the position's wild top-of-market deals, how Schneider approaches negotiations with Nelson after this season could be fascinating. But Schneider's past acquisitions haven't been rentals, and it's hard to believe he approached this move merely expecting a short-term bump.

This grade might need to be revisited after the Seahawks figure out their long-term commitment to Nelson. For now, though, the acquisition makes Seattle significantly more formidable as it remains among a select few leading Super Bowl contenders.

More: NFL power rankings Week 8: Who's No. 1 after 49ers, Chiefs lose first games? Colts trade grade: B.

Turning a franchise cornerstone into a third-rounder and change might not seem like much, especially for anyone who was counting on a compensatory pick at that level in 2028 if Nelson walked this offseason. But Indianapolis couldn't be sure of that return, and bolstering their resources for an immediate rebuild will support expedite the process of pivoting from the Chris Ballard era.

Is this the indication of a sell-off over the next two weeks? With the Colts seemingly letting go of any chance of clawing back this season under Shane Steichen, it certainly stands to reason that more moves to part with established veterans should follow. Defensive tackle DeForest Buckner was dealt afterwards in the day, and fellow interior lineman Grover Stewart should be a no-brainer to send to a contenders. And as much as it might pain the organization to part with running back Jonathan Taylor, selling high on the three-time Pro Bowler might be a necessary step for a team still facing a shortage of draft capital in light of the Sauce Gardner accord.

Even in isolation, nevertheless, this was an appropriate move for a franchise facing a reckoning. SMS Facebook Twitter Email. Share your feedback to support improve our site! Share your feedback to support improve our site!

For now, a rare win-win deal for Seahawks and Colts? Grading Quenton Nelson trade remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.