All eyes are on the Washington Commanders with the 2022 trade deadline right around the corner. With just days separating the Nov. 1 deadline, teams are seemingly chomping at the pit to pry Daron Payne from the nation’s capital.
According to The Athletic’s Ben Standig, there is “outside trade interest” in Payne, who’s playing the fifth and final year of his rookie contract and will become a free agent at season’s end, making him a more attractive trade chip.
Very few teams would turn their nose up at the idea of trading for an ascending interior defender and Payne’s playing the best football of his five-year career. Teams might be hesitant to absorb a player on an expiring contract, but his pending free agency likely means he can be had for a second- or third-round pick.
With Payne being one of a few players the Commanders will entertain shopping before the deadline, let’s take a stab at some potential landing spots for the 25-year-old stud. Fittingly, none of these squads reside in the NFC.
3 trade destinations for Commanders’ Daron Payne before deadline
3. Los Angeles Chargers
Stop us if you’ve heard this before, but the Chargers have been decimated by injuries. The offensive side of the ball has been worse with left tackle Rashawn Slater possibly done for the year and Mike Williams out several weeks just as Keenan Allen is returning, but the defense has been ravaged, too.
Free agent prize J.C. Jackson is done for the year with a knee injury and star defensive end Joey Bosa underwent groin surgery after Week 3. Khalil Mack’s bee on a one-man wrecking crew on the defensive line with six sacks and 23 pressures.
The interior defensive line has been non-existent with Jerry Tillery logging eight tackles and one sack. Sebastian Joseph-Day’s been more productive, but he would benefit from an imposing presence like Payne lining up alongside of him.
The Chargers’ defensive talent is undeniable, but they’ve allowed the seventh-most rushing yards, and the most yards per carry at 5.7. Payne is one of the best run-stuffing defenders in the entire NFL, so he’d pay immediate dividends in that regard.
Los Angeles has a long way to go until its fully healthy, and cornerback might be a more pressing need than defensive tackle, but a defensive front of Mack, Bosa, Payne and Joseph-Day would be a force to be reckoned with come playoff time.
2. Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals endured a slow start to the season — perhaps a Super Bowl hangover of sorts — but Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and company are rounding into form on offense, meaning they’re finally catching up to the defense.
While Cincinnati’s defense has looked the part to start 2022, top defensive tackle D.J. Reader is on injured reserve with an MCL injury. Reader could return sometime in the next couple weeks, but the Bengals’ pass rush has struggled without him, averaging the seventh-fewest sacks per game on the season.
Payne’s 3.5 sacks would be the Bengals’ team-high right now. If the Bengals are able to pair Payne with a healthy Reader, Trey Hendrickson, who’s been slowed by injuries and only has 3.5 sacks in seven games after notching 14.0 last season, and the underrated Sam Hubbard, they’d suddenly flaunt a vaunted defensive line.
In a playoffs that will feature Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, and potentially Justin Herbert and Lamar Jackson, Cincinnati’s pass rush needs to improve. Payne would fill that bill and then some, as he’s already compiled 3.5 sacks, 21 pressures, five tackles for loss, 10 quarterback hits and three passes defended.
1. Cleveland Browns
The Browns probably need to change defensive coordinators because their defense has too much talent to be performing as poorly as they have this season. Between Myles Garrett, Denzel Ward, Jadeveon Clowney, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Greg Newsome, Cleveland has elite talents at all three levels of the field.
Having said that, the interior defensive line is a concern. Rookie Perrion Winfrey’s managed five tackles and two passes defended and starters Jordan Elliott and Taven Bryan rank No. 111 and No. 82 amongst interior defenders, according to PFF, as Elliott owns a 33.5 player grade and Bryan’s 53.0 mark isn’t cutting it.
Browns GM Andrew Berry just made a big move for Falcons linebacker Deion Jones. As evidenced by that splurge, and the offseason trades for Deshaun Watson and Amari Cooper, Berry is no stranger to offloading draft picks for win-now pieces.
Payne could be just that spark Cleveland’s underachieving defense needs (they rank 24th in rushing yards allowed and 23rd in yards per carry) and he’d be poised to sign an extension as the Browns only have big money committed to Garrett and Ward on the defensive side of the ball, unlike Washington, which already signed Jon Allen and has to store resources to pay Chase Young, Kam Curl and Montez Sweat.