The Best Value Trade in the History of Every NFL Franchise
Every NFL team has made their fair share of trades. Some trades are viewed over the course of time as an absolute steal, while other trades create a sense of embarrassment for teams whenever a specific player name from the past is raised.
We are going to go back and look at trades in the modern era (1960-2010) to determine what was the best value deal that each team can look back at fondly.
The worst trades for each team is another story for another day, but if you think about it, they could also be part of this presentation, just that it would be on behalf of the team that got the best of the deal.
Arizona Cardinals
1 of 32
The Arizona Cardinals/St. Louis Cardinals franchise has been quiet on the trading front. Over the years, it is difficult to find many key deals where the Cardinals have actually acquired a key player via trade.
Maybe that will all change with a Kevin Kolb deal, but that is something to talk about later on.
For now, the only deal we were able to find happened in 2010, when the Cardinals parted with a fourth round draft pick in 2010 and a seventh round draft pick in 2011 to the New York Jets for Kerry Rhodes.
Rhodes responded in 2010 with a strong season, registering 90 tackles, four interceptions and scoring two touchdowns.
Atlanta Falcons
2 of 32
What is the greatest value trade in Atlanta Falcons history? I am considering two different deals.
One of them involved John Abraham coming to the Falcons as a very good trade, but since three teams were involved in the deal—the Falcons, the New York Jets and the Denver Broncos—it is not as easy to discern how great the Falcons made out on that one.
But the one I am electing involved a greater number of quality players, as Atlanta received draft picks that they turned in to Andre Rison, Chris Hinton and Mike Prichard from the Indianapolis Cots, in exchange for the Colts taking the Falcons top overall draft pick, which they cashed in to get quarterback Jeff George.
It seems to me that the Falcons got the better end of this deal, recognizing that all three players had some quality years.
Some fans will want to jump on the Julio Jones train, but come on, he hasn't even played yet. Let's see what he has done in the first three or four years before we start passing judgement on this deal.
Baltimore Ravens
3 of 32
The Baltimore Ravens have managed to pull off some trades in their brief NFL history. There are several that come to mind.
The Baltimore Ravens received Steve McNair from the Tennessee Titans for a mid-round level draft pick in 2006. McNair led the Ravens to a 13-3 record in his first year with the team. McNair only lasted two years with the team, but the 13-3 season was well worth the trade.
The trade that brought wide receiver Anquan Boldin to Baltimore from the Arizona Cardinals was also a very good value deal.
We don't know yet how this trade will pan out until Boldin's career with the Ravens is completed. Based on the early returns so far, I would have to give the best value trade for the Ravens organization to the deal that brought Boldin to the Ravens as No. 1 and McNair as No. 2.
The main reason for that ranking is to how short a time period that McNair lasted in Baltimore.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Buffalo Bills
4 of 32
While the trade that Buffalo Bills' general manager Bill Polian pulled to acquire linebacker Cornelius Bennett was a great trade in Buffalo Bills history, I have one deal that I liked even better than that one.
The Buffalo Bills traded O.J. Simpson to the San Francisco 49ers in 1978. The Bills got multiple draft picks in the deal back from San Francisco. One of the players that they drafted was very popular running back Joe Cribbs.
But another aspect of the deal that is somewhat forgotten is that the Simpson trade also gave the Bills a draft pick that they used to select Tom Cousineau. Cousineau of course said no to the Bills and bolted to the Canadian Football League.
When he wanted to return to the NFL, the Cleveland Browns gave a first round draft pick to the Bills for the rights to Cousineau, and that first round pick from the Browns was turned in to Jim Kelly, who also initially said no to Buffalo as well, but that is another story.
So, if you connect the dots, the Bills traded away an aging O.J. Simpson and got back Joe Cribbs and Jim Kelly in return.
If you think it is a slightly convoluted deal, I understand, but to me that is the best value the Bills ever got in a trade in their history.
Carolina Panthers
5 of 32
The Carolina Panthers history is short enough that the franchise has not been involved in many big name trades so far. The only deal that I could find that represented any consequence was a 1996 trade with the Oakland Raiders.
In that deal, the Panthers gave up a fifth round choice in the 1997 draft to acquire wide receiver Raghib Ismail. Ismail played three years for the Panthers, during which time he scored 10 receiving touchdowns and also had one rushing touchdown.
That in exchange for a fifth round pick was good value, and the best Panthers trade so far.
Chicago Bears
6 of 32
The Chicago Bears' best trade in the modern era has to be the Jay Cutler deal.
The Bears gave up two first round draft picks, a third round pick and quarterback Kyle Orton in exchange for Jay Cutler.
Cutler led the Bears to the NFC Championship Game in 2010. He had to leave the game early due to injury, but it remains to be seen if he can get them back to the promised land in 2011.
Cincinnati Bengals
7 of 32
The Cincinnati Bengals haven't had a tremendous number of trades that they can look back at with pride. But we are only looking for one trade that was considered a bright spot for every team, and we think we have found that one deal for the Bengals.
It occurred back in 1984 when the Bengals traded Pete Johnson to the San Diego Chargers for James Brooks. Brooks wound up being a Pro Bowl player with Cincinnati. He is the Bengals' No. 2 all-time rusher behind Corey Dillon.
Pete Johnson never finished out the first year with San Diego. Big trade value for the Bengals in this deal.
Cleveland Browns
8 of 32
The Cleveland Browns have made some great trades over the years. Long-time Browns fans will reflect back to the Frank Ryan trade.
Ryan led the Browns to an NFL Championship, and they didn't have to give the Los Angeles much to acquire him in 1962.
Younger Browns fans will think the deal that brought running back Peyton Hillis is the best value trade in Browns history. Hillis gained over 1,000 yards for the Browns in his first season, and the player they gave up, Brady Quinn, sits on the bench.
What about the deal this past draft that the Browns pulled off with Atlanta Falcons that awarded them five draft picks for the Falcons to select Julio Jones?
The Browns basically used those picks to acquire Phil Taylor, Greg Little, Owen Marecic and they still have players coming in the 2012 NFL draft as well.
These three deals all represent good value on the surface for the Browns franchise. For the sake of this article, I have to pick one, so even though the trade isn't completed yet, I am going to vote for the deal with the Atlanta Falcons as the best deal.
Based on what the Browns received so far, they are looking really good in this trade.
Dallas Cowboys
9 of 32
The Dallas Cowboys' best value trade was the Hershel Walker trade. That trade eventually netted them players such as Emmitt Smith, the all-time leading running back in the history of the NFL, and Darren Woodson.
As per the Wikipedia entry on the blockbuster deal, here are all the ramifications of the Walker deal:
- RB Herschel Walker
- Dallas's third round pick - 1990 (54) (Mike Jones)
- San Diego's fifth round pick - 1990 (116) (Reggie Thornton)
- Dallas's 10th round pick - 1990 (249) (Pat Newman)
- Dallas's third round pick - 1991 (68) (Jake Reed)
- LB Jesse Solomon
- LB David Howard
- CB Issiac Holt
- RB Darrin Nelson (traded to San Diego after he refused to report to Dallas)
- DE Alex Stewart
- Minnesota's first round pick in 1990 (21) (traded this pick along with pick (81) for pick (17) from Pittsburgh to draft Emmitt Smith)
- Minnesota's second round pick in 1990 (47) (Alexander Wright)
- Minnesota's sixth round pick in 1990 (158) (traded to New Orleans, who drafted James Williams)
- Minnesota's first round pick in 1991 (conditional) - (12) (Alvin Harper)
- Minnesota's second round pick in 1991 (conditional) - (38) (Dixon Edwards)
- Minnesota's second round pick in 1992 (conditional) - (37) (Darren Woodson)
- Minnesota's third round pick in 1992 (conditional) - (71) (traded to New England, who drafted Kevin Turner)
- Minnesota's first round pick in 1993 (conditional) - (13) (traded to Philadelphia Eagles, and then to the Houston Oilers, who drafted Brad Hopkins)
Denver Broncos
10 of 32
Denver Broncos were the beneficiary of John Elway saying no thank you to the Baltimore Colts. So, since the Colts' hands were tied, they traded away the draft rights to Denver, who selected John Elway with the pick.
What did the Colts get for their trouble? Quarterback Mark Hermann, the rights to Pro Bowl tackle Chris Hinton and a first round pick in 1984. According to a story that ran in ESPN, the Elway trade was ranked as their most lopsided trade in the history of all professional sports.
Between two Super Bowl Championships, a 16-year career with the Broncos, nine Pro Bowl teams, an NFL MVP and member of the 1990's All-Decade team, it is pretty clear that this was a sweetheart deal for the Denver Broncos.
Detroit Lions
11 of 32
The Detroit Lions under General Manager Matt Millen were known more for making bad picks or poor personnel decisions.
The Lions appear to have turned the corner, and their drafts have been solid in the past couple years.
Another solid thing they did was trading away wide receiver Roy Williams for a first, third and sixth round draft pick in 2009. The trade resulted in the Lions drafting Brandon Pettigrew, Derrick Williams and Aaron Brown.
When Williams was traded, it was thought that he did not want to return to Detroit. To have replaced him with a talent like Pettigrew was a strong move by the Lions.
Maybe better days are ahead after all.
Green Bay Packers
12 of 32
The Green Bay Packers gave a first round draft pick to the Atlanta Falcons for Brett Favre. The Falcons then drafted running back Tony Smith with that pick. According to Wikipedia, Smith only lasted three years with the Falcons before he was gone from the NFL.
Of course, Favre had one of the most prolific careers in the history of the sport. He played in Green Bay for 16 seasons, led the team to two NFC championships and one Super Bowl victory.
This has to go down easily as the best value trade in the storied history of the Green Bay Packers.
Houston Texans
13 of 32
Exactly how many young great quarterbacks do the Atlanta Falcons still have to trade away?
The Houston Texans' best value trade came about in 2007, when they acquired Matt Schaub from the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons were allowed to move up two higher spots in the first round, and also acquired a second round pick in 2007 and a second round pick in 2008.
For Houston, Schaub has been producing at a strong, consistent level. Schaub has had a QB passer rating of at least 92.0 for the past three years running. He has passed for over 4,000 yards in each of the last two seasons. Schaub looks like he is even getting better.
This will go down as the best value trade for the Texans for quite some time.
Indianapolis Colts
14 of 32
The Indianapolis Colts and Baltimore Colts franchise have not had the greatest track record with trades. The Colts traded away John Elway to Denver, as an example.
But one deal that they should feel good about is the deal that allowed them to acquire Eric Dickerson from the Los Angeles Rams. The price was steep, as the Colts gave up six draft picks and a couple players. Here is a good breakdown of the deal.
But what did they get from Dickerson? Dickerson played in Indianapolis for five seasons. He gained over 1,000 yards in his first three years there, making the Pro Bowl all three years. You just don't acquire that kind of talent very easily.
Jacksonville Jaguars
15 of 32
The Jacksonville Jaguars only had to give up a third and fifth round draft pick to the Green Bay Packers in order to receive Mark Brunell in a trade.
Brunell became the Jaguars' starting quarterback, and stayed with the team from 1995-2003. During that time Brunell led the Jaguars to the AFC championship game in 1996 and in 1999. He was named to three Pro Bowl teams while in Jacksonville.
Easily the best trade made during the Jacksonville Jaguars short team history.
Kansas City Chiefs
16 of 32
In 1993, the Kansas City Chiefs acquired quarterback Joe Montana, safety David Whitmore and a third round draft pick in 1994 draft, for the 18th overall draft pick in the 1993 NFL draft.
The Chiefs went on to appear in the playoffs under Montana in both 1993 and 1994. Since Montana retired, the Chiefs have never won a playoff game.
Two years of playoffs was well worth the first round draft pick that the Chiefs gave up. Best value trade in their history.
Miami Dolphins
17 of 32
The Miami Dolphins gave up a first round draft pick to the Cleveland Browns that they used to draft quarterback Mike Phipps. The Dolphins received future Hall of Fame wide receiver Paul Warfield.
Warfield led the Dolphins to a Super Bowl Championship and a perfect season. He played five years in Miami, and made the Pro Bowl every year. Easily the best value trade in Miami Dolphins team history.
Minnesota Vikings
18 of 32
The Minnesota Vikings were led to three Super Bowl appearances by Fran Tarkenton. He lost them all, but that is not the big thing. It is that he got his team to the big dance that makes him so special.
What also makes him special is that he went from the Vikings to the New York Giants in a big trade that cost the Giants two first round picks and two second round picks.
Five years later, the Vikings got him back in another big blockbuster trade.This time the Vikings had to part with three players and two high picks. The Vikings won six NFC Central Division titles in Tarkenton's final seven-year stay with the team.
New England Patriots
19 of 32
Why would anybody want to trade with the New England Patriots? They seem to have this swapping thing down to a science. Maybe because the founding fathers of our country had to barter with the Native Americans to survive?
Okay, too far, I know, but man they have a great history of doing favorable trades. It is one thing for Bill Belichick to constantly have extra picks to use every NFL draft, but the great value trades that they make for NFL veterans is something to look at and just shake your head.
Examples: Getting Wes Welker from the Miami Dolphins for a second round and a seventh round draft pick. Getting Corey Dillon from the Cincinnati Bengals for a second round draft pick. Then they traded a fourth round draft pick to the Oakland Raiders for Randy Moss.
But my personal favorite is the Patriots deal involving the Seattle Seahawks for Deion Branch, where they got the better end of the deal coming and going.
Initially, the Patriots got a first round pick from Seattle for Branch. They turned that pick in to Brandon Meriweather, who is a Pro Bowl safety.
Then Seattle trades Branch back to New England for a fourth round pick. Branch picks up where he left off with Tom Brady and starts putting up his best numbers in four years.
NFL teams just need to learn how to say no when the Patriots phone you up.
New Orleans Saints
20 of 32
The New Orleans Saints have been active enough on the trade front for the past 10 years. They have acquired players like Jeremy Shockey, Jonathan Vilma, Olindo Mare and Tebucky Jones via trade.
Then there was the first round draft trade that allowed the Saints to grab Alabama running back Mark Ingram.
In reviewing the trades that they were involved in, New Orleans got reasonable value in most. Winning the Super Bowl is very special, so since Jeremy Shockey scored a touchdown in the Saints' Super Bowl win, we will call his trade as the best value deal.
New York Giants
21 of 32
Just wondering, at first glance how many New York Giants fans know the significance of what role guard Lou Cordileone plays in the history of the franchise?
Would you be surprised to learn that he was the player that the Giants traded straight up to the San Francisco 49ers to acquire Hall of Fame quarterback Y.A.Tittle?
This infamous trade occurred in 1961. All Tittle did after joining the Giants was to take them to three straight NFL championship games (1961, 1962 and 1963).
The Giants only had Tittle for the final four years of his career, but three NFL championship game appearances in exchange for a guard has to go down as the best value trade in the history of Big Blue.
New York Jets
22 of 32
The New York Jets have been involved in a number of trades, but the one that stands out the most to me is giving the Carolina Panthers three draft picks in 2007 (first, second and fifth round picks) to acquire one of the best shutdown corners in recent history, Darrelle Revis.
There have been other big deals, including the trade with Cleveland to move up and draft Mark Sanchez.
Sanchez does a reasonable job at managing the game, but it is Revis that has turned in a much greater degree of performance, which is why the better value deal for the Jets will be the Revis swap.
Oakland Raiders
23 of 32
In the franchise of the Oakland Raiders and the Los Angeles Raiders, one might argue that trading away head coach Jon Gruden to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for two first round draft picks, two second round draft picks and $8,000,000. in cash would be the best value trade in their history.
But when you examine the players they actually received for those picks, it doesn't seem like that great of a deal at all.
No, we have to look elsewhere. The best value deal that we found for the Raiders was a trade that resulted in the Raiders drafting Howie Long.
The trade occurred in 1980 and the Raiders sent tight end Dave Casper to the Houston Oilers, who sent three draft picks back to Oakland. The best pick of the three was Long, who went on to have a Hall of Fame career with the Raiders.
The Howie Long deal goes down as the Raiders best value trade.
Philadelphia Eagles
24 of 32
In the modern era the best value trade of the Philadelphia Eagles has to be the Bill Bergey trade. Philadelphia gave up two first round picks and one second round pick, but they struck gold with Bergey.
Bergey was just a great fit for the Eagles. He led the team in tackles in his first six years with the team. He set a record with 234 tackles in one year. He made four All-Pro teams while with the Eagles. He even became the highest paid player on defense in the NFL while in Philadelphia.
Bergey set a record for most interceptions by a linebacker. Three times Bergey was voted as the team MVP. He helped to lead the Eagles to the Super Bowl in 1980.
Eagles fans will recall the Norm Van Brocklin trade, but as stated up front, we are focusing on the modern era.
Pittsburgh Steelers
25 of 32
The Pittsburgh Steelers pulled off one of the 20 most lopsided trades in the history of the NFL when they acquired Jerome Bettis from the Los Angeles Rams.
The deal was that the Steelers had to surrender a second round and fourth round draft pick in the 1996 draft in exchange for Bettis and a third round pick.
Bettis had a great career with the Steelers and led the team to a Super Bowl championship. Great trade by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
San Diego Chargers
26 of 32
One of the greatest wide receivers to ever play in the NFL was San Diego Chargers' Charlie Joiner. Joiner played with the Chargers from 1976-1986.
In that span Joiner was elected to three Pro Bowls. He also topped the 1,000 yard mark in receptions four times with the Chargers. Two other times he topped 900 yards in catches.
The price that the Chargers had to pay the Cincinnati Bengals to acquire Joiner? Coy Bacon. This is the best value deal in Chargers history.
San Francisco 49ers
27 of 32
The San Francisco 49ers only needed to give the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a second-round and a fourth round draft pick to acquire Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young.
Young wound up playing with the 49ers for 13 years. During that span, he went to seven Pro Bowls, was a three time All-Pro selection and a member of three Super Bowl championship teams.
Young was a Super Bowl MVP, and he was twice named as the NFL MVP. We learn from Wikipedia that Young is the only left-handed quarterback in the NFL Hall of Fame.
Seattle Seahawks
28 of 32
The best value trade in the franchise history of the Seattle Seahawks, was the deal that saw them send an eighth round draft pick to the Houston Oilers for Steve Largent.
Largent wound up going to seven Pro Bowls, was an All-Pro selection in 1985, a member of the NFL 1980's All-Decade team, and is the Seahawks' all-time leading receiver. This was easily the best value deal ever for the Seahawks.
St. Louis Rams
29 of 32
In the franchise history of the Los Angeles Rams and St. Louis Rams, the best value trade was the deal pulled off in 1999, when the Rams sent a second round and fifth round draft pick to the Indianapolis Colts for running back Marshall Faulk.
While with the Rams, Faulk was named the NFL Offensive Player of the Year three different times (1999, 2000 and 2001). He was the NFL MVP in 2000 and 2001. He helped lead the Rams to a Super Bowl championship in Super Bowl XXXIV.
Faulk was named to the Pro Bowl team in the first four years he was with the Rams. This was easily a steal for the Rams organization. Not so much for the Colts.
Tampa Bay Buccanners
30 of 32
With thanks to the Silver and Black Report, we learned that when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers acquired head coach Jon Gruden from the Oakland Raiders, the Bucs surrendered two first round draft picks, two second round draft picks and $8,000,000 in cash.
What did the Raiders net with those draft picks? In the end, by April 2011, this is what the Raiders have to show as compensation for Gruden, in the order the players were acquired:
1. Oft-injured, occasional starting LB Sam Williams, chosen in 2003 with a pick (third/83rd) acquired by trade for a pick (second/2004) directly acquired in the Gruden trade.
2. A portion of WR/KR Jacoby Ford, chosen in 2010 with a pick (fourth/108th) acquired by trade for a package that included a player (Morrison) chosen with a pick acquired as part of a package for a player (Buchanon) chosen with a pick directly acquired in the Gruden trade.
3. A portion of reserve OL Langston Walker, chosen in 2002 with a pick (second/53rd) directly acquired in the Gruden trade; note that Walker left the team as an unrestricted free agent in offseason 2006-07, but was re-signed with no compensation necessary in 2009, so he has been with the Raiders for only six of his eight years in the NFL.
Meanwhile, the Bucs won the only Super Bowl in the history of the franchise under Gruden. I can think of many NFL franchises that have never won a Super Bowl.
Looking at the players that the Raiders received, do you think the Bucs would do this deal again if given the chance, knowing that they would win a Super Bowl in the process?
I believe the answer is yes.
Tennessee Titans
31 of 32
In the history of the Houston Oilers and Tennessee Titans franchise, one of the best value trades they ever made was to get perennial threat Drew Hill. The deal didn't cost the Oilers very much, just a couple mid-round draft choices.
What did Drew Hill do for the Oilers? There is some debate as to who is the best wide receiver in the Oilers franchise between Hill and Ernest Givins. Hill caught the most touchdown passes, and has a higher average per catch. He also took better care of the football.
Hill played from 1985-1991, appearing in 106 games. He made 480 catches, for 7,477 yards and 47 touchdowns. His average yards per catch was 15.6, and he had four fumbles in his career.
Best value trade by the Oilers franchise was Drew Hill.
Washington Redskins
32 of 32
The Washington Redskins had to compensate one NFL team, the Miami Dolphins, and one Canadian Football League team, the Toronto Argonauts, to gain the rights for quarterback Joe Theismann.
Theismann went on to have a long and prosperous career with the Redskins, winning the Super Bowl and being the NFL MVP in 1983.
No telling how long Theismann would have continued to play, as his career ended early when the New York Giants' Lawrence Taylor sacked Theismann, resulting in a broken leg that was shocking to watch. That was in 1985 and Theismann never played again.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
.jpg?w=600 "Post-June 1 Trade Candidates ☎️")
.JPG?w=600 "TO Talks Cowboys Relationship")
.jpg?w=600 "Taylor Heinicke Retiring")
.jpg?w=600 "49ers OC Hypes Mike Evans 🤩")