I'm a big believer in evaluating decision-making instantaneously -- but looking back at past choices can also be a valuable exercise.
At the 2024 NFL trade deadline, I graded the deals that were made based on expectations for the players involved, cap implications and how the moves affected the outlooks of the trading teams. A year later, we have a lot more information. So let's update our grades based on all we've learned. It's a useful calibration exercise for future grades, too.
When I'm doing grades at the time of a deal, I focus on process and the range of outcomes for each team.