Did the 49ers or Eagles win the Bryce Huff deal? We graded the trade

The bulk of the offseason mightiness beryllium over, but NFL teams inactive tin mold their rosters betwixt present and Week 1. The champion mode to bash that this clip of year? Trades.

There are inactive weaknesses to enactment up, players teams privation to determination connected from and looming contracts.

As always, I'll beryllium grading these trades from each team's perspective. I'll beryllium looking astatine the deals from each angles -- including quality, property and contracts of the players dealt, wage headdress implications, draught compensation, and the short- and semipermanent outlooks of the teams involved. I'll besides see the effect of each woody and however definite we tin beryllium that the determination was affirmative oregon negative.

Let's dive successful to grading offseason transactions, starting with the 49ers bringing successful pass-rush help.

Eagles commercialized borderline rusher Huff to 49ers

49ers get: Edge Bryce Huff
Eagles get: 2026 midround draught pick

49ers' grade: B+
Eagles' grade: B+

The 49ers are betting that Huff's 2024 play was an outlier -- not a motion of what's to come.

A twelvemonth ago, Huff was a high-end escaped cause who signed a three-year, $51.1 cardinal deal with the Eagles aft showing superior pass-rushing chops with the Jets. Despite questions astir his tally defense, it seemed good worthy it astatine the time. From 2020 to 2022, Huff recorded a 26% walk unreserved triumph complaint astatine borderline -- a top-10 fig astatine the presumption had helium qualified -- successful a situational pass-rushing role. The sacks followed erstwhile Huff got much playing clip successful 2023, with 10 that play earlier hitting escaped agency.

But Huff's numbers instantly dropped successful Philadelphia. His triumph complaint fell to a career-low 19% (which is inactive higher than average), but the sacks weren't determination (2.5) and his playing clip dipped earlier helium missed clip successful the 2nd fractional of the play to person wrist surgery. He was steadfast for the postseason but inactive for the Super Bowl -- a wide motion of what Philadelphia thought astir his play.

The 49ers person been looking for a prime borderline rusher other Nick Bosa. Their biggest concern successful that country is first-round prime Mykel Williams, but Huff is different plaything successful that department.

This is simply a beauteous tenable play for San Francisco. As poorly arsenic Huff played past season, there's inactive plentifulness to similar successful his past and his walk unreserved triumph complaint remained coagulated contempt his struggles. His walk unreserved get-off (time to transverse the enactment of scrimmage) has bounced around, from 0.8 seconds successful 2021 to an absurd 0.67 successful 2022 to 0.75 successful 2023 and 0.79 successful 2024.

While that shows Huff slowing down, that's inactive a better-than-average get-off for an borderline rusher. The 49ers could enactment Huff backmost into a situational pass-rushing relation -- with Williams handling tally downs -- which would astir apt suit his skillset better. And if determination is anyone who tin get much retired of Huff, possibly it is 49ers antiaircraft coordinator Robert Saleh, who coached Huff with the Jets from 2021-23.

Critically, the 49ers are not paying afloat price. As Field Yates laid out, the 49ers volition wage Huff conscionable nether $8 cardinal this twelvemonth aft helium restructured his woody up of this trade. That, positive a Day 3 draught pick, seems similar a worthwhile hazard for a squad with Super Bowl aspirations and a pass-rush need.

On the different hand, the Eagles intelligibly bash not consciousness the aforesaid astir Huff. They person a bevy of alternatives to play other Nolan Smith Jr., from veterans who person flashed successful the past (Azeez Ojulari and Joshua Uche) to a young subordinate with committedness (Jalyx Hunt). Philadelphia isn't walking distant with a immense haul, but if Huff was not a fastener to beryllium progressive connected Sundays, past redeeming a fewer cardinal and getting a draught prime is simply a beauteous bully outcome.