Another quarterback drafted in the top five of the 2023 NFL Draft was benched on Tuesday.

The Indianapolis Colts turned to veteran Joe Flacco after the bench change Anthony Richardson, the No. 4 pick in last year’s draft. Last month, the Carolina Panthers benched Bryce Young, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft.

Young returned to the field last week when he filled in for the injured Andy Dalton, but he didn’t do much to regain his starting spot after the loss to the Denver Broncos. It’s probably best for the Panthers to trade Young before that Deadline: November 5th because they don’t have the roster to develop a green signal-caller.

The Colts have the roster to win games with Richardson, one of the many reasons they shouldn’t give up on him entirely. NFL teams expect quarterbacks to perform immediately and are even quicker to discard them if they don’t produce positive results.

CJ Stroud, last year’s No. 2 pick, has quickly proven himself with the Houston Texans, but he hasn’t played as well as he did last season when he was named Offensive Rookie of the Year. His production could decline further if the Texans don’t trade for a wide receiver to replace Stefon Diggs suffered a season-ending knee injury.

Let’s start this week with the Colts’ QB dilemma before assessing what the Texans should do before the November 5th trade deadline.

Colts should trade Anthony Richardson after bench move

Manzano’s view: fiction

It probably became too difficult for Colts coach Shane Steichen to continue to vouch for Richardson as the starter after another terrible performance the controversial tap-out for a break during last week’s loss to the Texans.

The Colts have waived Richardson for 2024, but they shouldn’t move on from him entirely. In a year where Jared Goff, Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield are playing well, the Colts should be patient with Richardson’s development, as you can probably only name four or five other quarterbacks with his first-class physicality.

It’s difficult to grow from the sidelines, but it was still a good time for Richardson to get a fresh start. And he really didn’t give himself a choice after sitting out for a few games against the Texans. The bad decision had lasting negative effects and likely cost him his job.

Now Richardson must regain the respect of his teammates by first supporting Flacco and finding ways to help the team while it is in the midst of a playoff race. Richardson may view his replacement contributions as small, but he must learn to have a “less is more” mentality. He often tries to do too much to create plays, which his teammates certainly appreciate. It won’t be long for Richardson to regain respect in the Colts locker roombut hopefully he’ll use the extra time to make sure he’s ready for his next opportunity. Richardson needs to improve in many areas, including accuracy after completing just 44.4% of his passes this season.

Dolphins must be sellers at the trade deadline

Manzano’s view: fact

The Miami Dolphins (2-5) should be sellers at the Nov. 5 trade deadline to improve the roster for next season and gain some salary cap flexibility.

They had a chance to put the game back together in Week 8 with Tua Tagovailoa on the field, but last week the Dolphins lost at home to the Arizona Cardinals. Now is the time to accept reality and embrace the changes.

The Dolphins have already committed to the offensive core of Tagovailoa and wide receivers Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill after agreeing to lucrative contract extensions with the trio in the offseason. Miami can’t afford to rebuild, but the team desperately needs a new vision. The Dolphins should seriously ask themselves why they can’t beat the playoff contenders and why this fast-paced offensive plan hasn’t done much good when the temperatures drop in December and January.

Perhaps the Dolphins can secure a second-round or third-round pick by trading standout safety Jevon Holland, an impending free agent. The team already released defensive tackle Christian Wilkins and offensive guard Robert Hunt in free agency because they lacked the cap space for a new signing. You shouldn’t make the same mistake with Holland.

The Dolphins need to fix the offensive line, which would be much easier with higher draft picks. Points to the white flag, Miami. It’s not your season.

A team not named the 49ers will win the NFC West

Manzano’s view: fiction

Due to injuries to talented players and subpar defensive performance, the NFC West team was able to catch up with the San Francisco 49ers. It’s anyone’s guess, as three teams share first place with 4-4 records, and the Los Angeles Rams are just half a game behind.

But I’m not ready to say that the Seattle Seahawks, Cardinals and Rams will take the NFC West title from the 49ers, who have proven they can shake off slow starts. San Francisco started 3-5 in 2021 and 3-4 in 2022 and had a three-game losing streak that dropped to 5-3 last season. The 49ers made it to the NFC Championship Game in all three of those seasons and won the division the last two seasons.

It would be unwise to say that the 49ers are Super Bowl contenders again, because they haven’t played like that yet and could have a hard time beating the NFC North teams if they find their way to the postseason. The Cardinals, Rams and Seahawks are not the Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings.

The 49ers have plenty of depth at wide receiver, with rookie Ricky Pearsall showing impressive flashes in last week’s win over the Dallas Cowboys. But they will need Deebo Samuel and Jauan Jennings to remain available after this season’s injuries. San Francisco also has solid running backs in Jordan Mason and Isaac Guerendo, and Christian McCaffrey is expected to return to practice after the bye week. Let’s not discount the season tight end George Kittle is having – the frontrunner for first-team All-Pro at the position.

The real problems lie on the defensive side. The 49ers almost blew it last week when they allowed CeeDee Lamb to score two rushing touchdowns in the second half. But perhaps San Francisco can pull off a trade to bolster its defense and stop the pesky teams in the NFC West. Last year, the 49ers landed edge rusher Chase Young in a timely manner.

The NFC West race is far from over, but siding with the team with star power, depth and experience is a safe bet.

Jakobi Meyers is a logical trade target for Houston to replace Stefon Diggs

Manzano’s view: fact

The Texans should go all-in on Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Jakobi Meyers. You should act now after all the wide receiver trades which have declined in the last week.

Of course, the Texans could also target New York Giants receiver Darius Slayton, New York Jets wideout Mike Williams or the many other wide receivers available. But Meyers’ talent for making plays closer to the line of scrimmage would benefit Stroud and second-year wideout Tank Dell, who has struggled to find his role alongside Diggs and Nico Collins.

Dell made an impact as a rookie because he took on the role of a menacing downfield player. However, there weren’t many opportunities for him in the first eight games of this season, as Collins and Diggs scored most of the goals from downfield.

With Diggs out, the Texans should examine why the passing game hasn’t resulted in many explosive plays despite having three downfield playmakers. They need a receiver who can get open quickly and play in the middle of the field to punish teams for playing them deep. Meyers has 31 catches for 325 yards and two touchdowns this season.

The Raiders have already traded Davante Adams, but they shouldn’t worry about losing another veteran playmaker as they need to do everything they can to land a top-10 quarterback draft pick in April.