Raiders, Falcons trade grades: Bryan Edwards dealt to Atlanta as Vegas parts with wide receiver

After Bryan Edwards spent two years in Las Vegas, the Raiders have traded the receiver to the Falcons, the team announced. The Raiders traded Edwards together with a 2023 seventh-round decide to the Falcons in trade for a fifth-round decide in subsequent 12 months’s draft, according to ESPN. 

A 3rd-round decide within the 2020 NFL Draft, Edwards caught 45 passes for 764 yards and 4 touchdowns throughout his two seasons in Las Vegas. In 16 video games final season, Edwards caught 34 of 59 targets for 571 yards and three touchdowns whereas averaging 16.8 yards per catch. He caught three passes for 41 yards within the Raiders’ wild card playoff loss to the Bengals. 

The 6-foot-3, 212-pound Edwards went over the 80-yard receiving barrier thrice final season. He performed an integral function within the Raiders’ playoff-clinching win over the Chargers in Week 18, as he caught 4 of 5 targets for 63 yards. 

Advertisement

Edwards performed collegiately at South Carolina, the place over 4 seasons he caught 234 passes for 3,045 yards and 22 touchdowns. He additionally returned 12 punts whereas averaging 11.6 yards per return. 

Edwards joins a Falcons offense that features rookie first-round decide Drake London, former Bengals receivers Auden Tate, veteran wideout Damiere Byrd and operating again/receiver Cordarrelle Patterson. Edwards will reunite with quarterback Marcus Mariota, who served as Derek Carr’s backup in Las Vegas over the previous two seasons. 

Here is our preliminary grades for the commerce that despatched Edwards to Atlanta. 

Falcons: A- 

Edwards is not a star, however he’s a younger (he turns 24 in November) but skilled participant who ought to be coming into his most efficient seasons. He additionally provides depth to a Falcons receiving corps that’s devoid of a big-name veteran wideout. Edwards’ expertise with Mariota, together with the truth that he’s nonetheless enjoying below a team-friendly rookie contract, led to the excessive commerce grade. 

Raiders: B 

The timing of this commerce is considerably odd, with free company season largely over and minicamp simply across the nook. Las Vegas additionally did not get a lot in return for a participant who ought to be coming into his prime. The Raiders actually have receiver depth, nonetheless, with Davante Adams, Hunter Renfrow, Demarcus Robinson and Keelan Cole in tow, so dropping Edwards will not harm them until there are a number of accidents to their receiving corps through the season. The Raiders shed roughly $2.7 million in cap house over the following two years by shifting Edwards to Atlanta.