Hard Rebuild buy or sell: build around Maye, shop Henry

Build around Drake Maye if the price leaves you with a team to build. Shop Derrick Henry to someone whose title chances improve when he enters the lineup. The useful Hard Rebuild trade moves you towards durable starters without stripping away every good player you already own.

Maye: trade Goff, get a pick back

• You give: Jared Goff and a projected late 2027 first.
• You get: Drake Maye and a projected mid 2027 second.

Approach an All In manager who trusts Goff for this season and wants extra draft currency. They retain a strong starting quarterback and move from a second to a first. You retain a starter too, but move to a much younger quarterback with a demonstrated ability to produce. The pick coming back matters: don't quietly remove it to get the deal done.

This fits when Goff is one of your two quarterbacks, the late first is an acquired pick, and the rest of the roster can tolerate moving down in the draft. Keep your own first if it could land near the top. The seller needs to prefer the current scoring case plus the pick upgrade; a fellow rebuilder who already wants Maye is the wrong manager to approach.

Maye: a second route if you own Mahomes

• You give: Patrick Mahomes and a projected mid 2027 second.
• You get: Drake Maye.

This is the alternative for a manager who wants to get younger at quarterback and can spare the second without weakening the starting team. An All In seller keeps an established quarterback and gains a pick they can use for depth. Both sides still have the same number of starters at the position.

The second is the premium you're paying to get younger. Don't add a first to this package. Maye's ability to create plays against Chicago is a reason to want him; it isn't a reason to sell Mahomes, a first and a young starting receiver. If neither complete offer interests the owner, keep your quarterback and your picks. Keeping Maye is also a sensible choice for them.

Henry: choose the return that suits your receiving room

• Pick route: give Derrick Henry; get a projected late 2027 first.
• Player route: give Derrick Henry; get Xavier Worthy and a projected late 2027 third.

The first route fits a rebuilding roster that needs flexibility at several positions. The second fits one that specifically needs younger receivers. Target an All In manager with a weak RB2, several starting quality receivers and Worthy on the bench. Henry starts for them; the receiver and pick help your next roster.

Don't ask a contender to surrender a receiver they must start and pretend you've solved their team. If they can only offer Worthy straight up, consider the core exchange rather than rejecting it over the third. If they only offer a token late pick, keep shopping. These are two alternative Henry sales; neither comes close to buying Maye by itself.

Wilson: cash in the job you don't need

• You give: Emanuel Wilson.
• You ask for: a projected late 2027 second.
• Smaller exit: Wilson for a projected mid 2027 third.

Find the contender starting a backup at running back. They can use Wilson's immediate opportunity; you aren't relying on it in your future starting team. Prefer that clean pick return to receiving an even older bench player at another position. Wilson's workload against Kansas City was useful, but Seattle's recovering backs make waiting for several more big games a risk.

What you keep

Keep Jaxon Smith-Njigba and comparable proven young producers. Don't add him to the Maye offers. Keep your own potentially early first, and don't turn two starting quarterbacks into one unless a second deal is already secure. The packages above exchange one quarterback for one quarterback on purpose.

Count usable starters and available roster spots before accepting a bundle. Four low priority bench players aren't four solutions. Use the trade calculator for both windows, then ask which vacancies the deal actually fills. If you would immediately need to buy back the production you sold, change the package.

↳ Expanded 26 October with complete trades and roster fit.

The other win windows

All In · Playoff Gamble · Soft Rebuild