Buffalo trades two stars: Grading the Darby and Watkins trades

Now for the second trade of the day with Buffalo and Philadelphia playing matchmaker.

Philadelphia desperately needed a cornerback with seventh-round pick Jalen Mills and veteran Patrick Robinson starting Thursday evening. Darby is an instant upgrade with two years left on his rookie contract, paying little to nothing compared to a Darrelle Revis on the free agent market.

Meanwhile, Buffalo replaces Watkins with Jordan Matthews, the Eagles most consistent receiver and a favorite of quarterback Carson Wentz. Rumors have followed Matthews throughout training camp after he sat out a large portion of training camp. Multiple media outlets suspected the Eagles wouldn’t extend Matthews going into the final year of his rookie contract.

Alshon Jeffrey and Torrey Smith will take a majority of the catches in Philadelphia, while rookie Mack Holllins continues to impress in camp.

Buffalo gets a reliable receiver entering the final year of his deal, but the third round pick is interesting. It’s not horrific value to go along with Matthews, but Philadelphia is desperate enough for cornerbacks they could have squeezed more out of Howie Roseman.

Philly gets what they needed most for a third rounder and a receiver they weren’t going to re-sign after this year. Buffalo gets a receiver entering the final year of his deal and a mid-round draft pick for a starting corner, but miss out on the opportunity to potentially get more from the desperate Eagles.

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Overall it was a solid day for the Bills replacing what they lost with quality backups and more draft picks to fuel their rebuild.