Look at the Green Bay Packers defensive depth chart, and it becomes clear that safety is their most glaring need. Darnell Savage is the best and most talented option, but his production under defensive coordinator Joe Barry hasn't been great — after all, he was drafted to play the Mike Pettine system. Besides him, the options are Rudy Ford and Jonathan Owens.

On the other hand, edge is their best group. Even though the pressure production is centered around Rashan Gary, the team has decent options all around, which motivated them to keep six edges on the 53-man roster.

That sequence of factors is particularly interesting when applied to what Dianna Russini, from The Athletic, reported about the Las Vegas Raiders.

"The Raiders have been busy making calls around the league looking for a pass rusher since releasing Chandler Jones. They are looking for a player-for-player swap and may not want to give up too much."

If the Raiders want a secondary edge rusher and are willing to give up a player to execute that, the Packers might be an ideal trade partner. And as Green Bay needs a safety, a deal involving Packers edge rusher Preston Smith and Raiders safety Trevon Moehrig.

It's unclear at this point who the Raiders would be willing to trade away, to be sure. And considering the age of these players, maybe the Packers would need to package a mid-round pick to make the trade realistic. But either way, it would be a smart investment by general manager Brian Gutekunst.

Preston: cost and production

Preston Smith initially signed with the Packers in 2019 as an unrestricted free agent, and extended his deal with Green Bay last year. Now a 30-year-old player, he restructured his contract this offseason, which means his base salary is just $1.165 million — the Raiders would acquire the proration of this base, plus $35,294 per game in roster bonuses.

There would be no guarantees left for the Raiders, and if Las Vegas wants to keep him, the cost would be $12.4 million — a pretty manageable value for a starting edge defender. He's under contract through 2026. The Packers would have around $ 5 million of dead money this year, opening up minimal cap space, and $12.3 million in dead money in 2024, clearing $4.2 million.

Through four weeks this season, Smith has a 68.8 PFF grade — including a 73.9 run defense grade.

Moehrig: cost and production

The Raiders safety was a second round pick in 2021, which means he's under his rookie contract through 2024. This year, his base salary is $1.377 million — the Packers would acquire the proration of that, depending on which week the deal is executed. Next year, his salary is $1.736 million.

The Raiders would absorb around $1.2 million in dead money this season, and $775k in 2024. Moehrig has had a 72.7 PFF grade, including a 72.6 coverage grade — a particularly important consideration for the Packers system that prioritizes pass coverage.

Player-for-player trades are hard to pull off because it's difficult to manage the desires of the four parties involved. However, a swap between an edge and a safety could be useful for everyone involved in this specific scenario, and the Packers would have a young piece aligned with their roster-building timeline.

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