Winners and losers after Browns trade Za'Darius Smith to Lions

The Cleveland Browns were able to get a third round pick in 2025 for Amari Cooper. Cooper, who the Browns got from the Dallas Cowboys for a fith rounder, ended up getting traded to the Buffalo Bills with a pretty high value. That could've been because it was so early in the season and the market hadn't been set, but the point is that the Browns were right to strike early.

That's what makes the trade compensation for Za'Darius Smith so confusing.

Smith, who was traded to the Detroit Lions for a fifth round pick in 2025 and a sixth round pick in 2026, had a lot more value to both the Lions and the Browns ahead of the deadline. He was a part of one of the best pass rush lines in the league alongside Myles Garrett and has five sacks so far on the year. While he's 32 years old, he's not shown any signs of his age this year and has consistently pressured quarterbacks this season.

Read more: Browns 2025 draft picks after Za'Darius Smith traded to Detroit Lions

So, only getting two late draft picks for Smith - and still having to attach a pick to the deal to get it done - feels like a bad deal. Of course, you're banking on Smith starting to decline eventually, and the Browns would have also been on the hook for the rest of Smith's $605,000 salary. But, if a Super Bowl contender is clamoring for one of your players, you shouldn't be settling for that late of a pick nor should you be playing with fate.

Winner: Detroit Lions

The Lions have landed their answer at the edge with Aidan Hutchinson out for the season. The most comparable player to Hutchinson would be Myles Garrett, who seems untouchable for the Browns at this point in his career. So, the next best option from Cleveland and their amazing pass rush was always going to be Smith.

Smith immediately elevates Detroit's pass rush which ranks 13th in the league right now in pass rush win rate - a great way to measure how quickly defenders are able to beat their man on the opposing teams' offensive line. With Hutchinson, the team was right up there with Cleveland, but they've understandably slipped in that metric since he departed for the year. With Smith in the fold, expect them to be a top 10 or even top 5 team in that ranking for the rest of the year.

Winner: Za'Darius Smith

Smith goes from a 2-7 team that's facing a tank operation to a team with Super Bowl aspirations. While it's unclear what Smith could've possibly meant by a cryptic tweet he fired off and deleted this morning right before getting traded where he wrote "SMH," there's no way he can be upset about landing with a serious team after playing with an unserious offense all season so far.

Smith is also, again, 32. This might be the perfect and only remaining opportunity for him to snag a ring. He's a three time Pro Bowler and had been a journeyman across the AFC and NFC North before landing with the Browns. Now, he can contend again, which should make him happy.

Loser: Browns defense

The Browns are now left with a a huge hole on their defensive line. They still have Garrett, but now they have to figure out who to slide over to the right side of the D-line to compensate for him leaving. Mike Hall Jr. could step up in his place, or Isaiah McGuire - a second year defensive lineman out of Missouri - could be looked to as the team's next hope on the line.

But, given how well Smith has played this year and how paramount he's been to the D-line alongside Garrett and Dalvin Tomlinson, it's hard to see a world where the Browns are able to replicate their success on defense with him gone. The trade had to happen given the direction of the season, but it's still going to sting for the defense.

Loser: Browns front office

Last and certainly least in this transaction, it's painfully obvious that the Browns front office got too cute with the Lions and waited too long to make the deal official. According to NFL reporter Albert Breer, the team had hoped for a fourth rounder in exchange for Smith - a fair deal for such a good pass rusher.

Instead, the Browns waited until Week 9 to see if any team's suffered major losses on their defensive lines which could force another teams' hand into overpaying or simply paying a fair pick package for Smith. Of course, that didn't happen, and Cleveland's gamble didn't end up paying off. So, they just took the Lions' package and called it a day.

Getting one late draft pick in 2025 and another in 2026 for one of your best defenders is, in short, a mess.

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