The second NFL executives hang up on a trade call, the world needs to know:

Who won? Who lost?

Who should be heralded as a genius, and who should be shamed as a sucker? No nuance necessary — we all know someone got snookered.

It is an indictment of an instant gratification society that “trade grades” are not a niche but a staple of the sports media industry. In October, when the Ravens swapped Odafe Oweh for Alohi Gilman with the Los Angeles Chargers, at least half a dozen prominent outlets told you immediately how it worked out for the teams involved.

Consensus for the Chargers? B. For the Ravens? C.

Most seemed to think Chargers GM Joe Hortiz had swindled his mentor, Eric DeCosta, probably based on Oweh’s first-round-draft-pick history and the 10 sacks he had last season. “Joe Hortiz smart to exploit Ravens’ fire sale,” one Sports Illustrated headline read, even though Oweh had, to that point, accumulated zero sacks in his first five games of 2025.

Turns out maybe we should have held on to our red grading markers for a few months. It looks as if the Ravens and Chargers have executed the rare win-win trade that helps both sides an awful lot.

There are a few weeks to go as both teams battle for playoff position. The Ravens have had to climb from a deeper hole since their “fire sale” but are solidly in the mix for the AFC North. At 10-4, the Chargers have nearly clinched a wild-card slot. But the trade made both teams better — something that feels almost alien in a sports media environment that only ever seems to acknowledge such exchanges as zero-sum games.

Oweh is, inarguably, thriving. He has seven sacks in nine weeks and clearly seems happy and engaged in the Jesse Minter-led scheme. Whereas there were times he bucked what the Ravens asked of him in Baltimore, in L.A., he looks liberated.

“This team has afforded me the opportunity to just be free, be me,” Oweh told The Athletic. “They trust me. They believe in me.”

That would feel more like a missed opportunity for the Ravens — except, without Oweh, they have a better defense.

Since Gilman, a former sixth-round pick, came aboard, the Ravens have improved dramatically in just about every area, according to TruMedia. From Weeks 6-15, they’ve jumped in expected points added per play (30th to 5th) and defensive success rate (29th to 5th), and their yards allowed per game have been cut by a quarter (408.8 to 308.6).

The Chargers have been stout in these areas all year, not experiencing a dramatic bump from Oweh in any key metric.

This is not to negate Oweh’s impact for the Chargers, who needed an effective pass rusher, but to say there is more than one way to measure success.

Gilman feels like an old hand in the Ravens’ defense. Although he has, at times, struggled with open-field tackles, he has forced turnovers and added to the secondary’s gritty character against tough opponents. His blend with Kyle Hamilton, thanks in part to their days together at Notre Dame, has looked effortless.

After a shutout of Cincinnati and All-Pro quarterback Joe Burrow, Gilman was the AFC’s Defensive Player of the Week in part for running back a lateral off an interception for a touchdown.

Gilman indicated the expectations for him in L.A. always felt somewhat low because of where he was drafted. While he was pigeonholed as a special teams player, he felt capable of more.

“For me, I’ve always found a way to be versatile, meaning I can play deep or play in the box [or] covering people,” he said. “And, for me, I think they [the Ravens] allowed me to be here and just be the best version of me. So putting me in the closest positions to control the back end and just help make as many plays as I can.”

Oweh and Gilman speak as if they are suddenly free, as if they’re playing the roles they’re meant to play. The Chargers and Ravens seem happy with the shifts in their defenses.

The Ravens aren’t missing Oweh as much, especially with DeCosta’s other big in-season deal acquiring Dre’Mont Jones, who has been more effective as a pass rusher for the Ravens than Oweh was.

If we could regrade this trade, maybe Hortiz and DeCosta would both get an A.

There is more time to evaluate, including the possibility that the teams — with DeCosta and Hortiz as former colleagues and the Harbaugh brothers coaching — meet in the playoffs. There is a scenario in which the Ravens win the AFC North and host the Chargers in the wild-card round, which might provide the final evaluation to determine if either franchise truly “won.”

But until then a win-win is a nice place to land. If jealousy is the thief of joy, it doesn’t make anyone happy to wonder who made out better in the deal as long as both have seen their fortunes improve.

Gilman said he doesn’t think about whether he was a steal for the Ravens — the most important thing is he’s enjoying where he is now.

“I think, coming here, I was just trying to embrace the moment,” he said. “I keep in touch with some of those guys, though. I root for them for sure. I spent a lot of years there. I have a lot of great relationships with them, but my focus has just been here, really, and on how I can be the best guy here.”