Throughout the course of NFL history, teams have almost always had to trade away at least one first-round pick to land a superstar-level player. Consider the John Elway, Brett Favre, Darrelle Revis, Tyreek Hill, Russell Wilson, and Matthew Stafford trades, for example.
It makes perfect sense, too. You have to pay a premium to land a proven star.
But in some peculiar cases, there have been several occasions where an NFL GM traded away a first-round pick for a non-superstar-level player. And in some cases, the player they acquired wasn’t close to an established star.
Here are 10 NFL players who somehow and somehow were traded for a first-round pick.
Which NFL trades surprised you the most in this list?
Rick Mirer
The Seattle Seahawks used the No. 2 pick of the 1993 NFL Draft on Notre Dame quarterback Rick Mirer, hoping he would provide this team some long-term stability behind center.
Mirer, of course, went down as an all-time draft bust in the Pacific Northwest. In four seasons, he went 20-31 as the starter with 41 touchdowns against 56 interceptions, never throwing more than 13 TDs in a season.
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Incredibly, the Chicago Bears were still optimistic about Mirer’s potential and traded the No. 11 pick of 1997 to Seattle in exchange for the quarterback and a fourth-round pick. Yes, Chicago gave up a first-round pick for arguably the worst starting QB in the league at the time.
Seattle used that ammo to move up and draft future superstar corner Shawn Springs at No. 3 overall. Mirer appeared in only seven games with Chicago, tossing no touchdowns and six interceptions.
Mirer was released by Chicago after the 1997 season. And to think they thought giving up a first-round pick for this guy was a good idea. Woof.
Ricky Williams
Just about every diehard NFL fan is familiar with the Ricky Williams trade, one so notable and disastrous that it has its own Wikipedia page!
At the 1999 NFL draft, the New Orleans Saints traded eight draft selections — headlined by two first rounders — to Washington so they could move up and take Texas running back Ricky Williams with the No. 5 selection.
The trade is known as an all-time flop in NOLA. But did you know that the Saints wound up recuperating some of that lost draft capital anyway?
After three years in The Big Easy, Williams was traded to the Miami Dolphins in the 2002 offseason in a package deal that netted the Saints two first-round picks. We bet ya kids didn’t know that one.
Unlike New Orleans, however, Miami actually got good value out of Williams. He finished with over 10,000 career rushing yards and won the rushing title in 2002, earning first-team all-pro nods along the way.
Roy Williams
The Dallas Cowboys employed one of the league’s top safeties of the 2000s in Roy Williams. The OTHER Roy Williams was a standout receiver on the Detroit Lions who broke out in 2006 with an 82-catch, 1,310-yard season.
During the 2008 season, Dallas united the two “Roy Williams” by acquiring the Lions star for three draft picks — including a 2009 first-rounder. He then immediately signed a $45 million extension.
That trade, of course, went down as an all-time flop for Jerry Jones. Williams lasted just three seasons in Big D, compiling 94 receptions for 1,324 yards and 13 touchdowns.
At least the other Roy Williams was a star in Dallas.
Trent Richardson
Early in the 2013 season, the Indianapolis Colts acquired Richardson from the Cleveland Browns in exchange for their 2014 first-round draft choice.
The No. 3 pick of the 2012 NFL Draft showed signs of stardom as a rookie, tallying 950 rushing yards and 11 scores. However, the Browns were curiously willing to cut ties with him relatively quickly, and the Colts were even more curiously happy to give up a day-one pick for his services.
The trade was made after T-Rich played two games for the Browns. The hope was that he would bolster the ground game for Andrew Luck and emerge as a long-term cornerstone piece on this offense.
Well, it didn’t take the Colts long to feel buyer’s remorse. Richardson had just 458 rushing yards and three TDs following the trade, averaging a woeful 2.9 yards per carry. He was no better in 2014, tallying only 519 rushing yards and three touchdowns in 15 games.
The Colts cut Richardson after just two seasons, and he never played another down in the NFL. Making this trade even more disastrous? The Browns would use that first-round pick from Indy to trade up and select Johnny Manziel 22nd overall in the 2014 NFL draft. And we all know how that went…
Carson Wentz
After a dismal 2020 season that saw him losing the starting job to rookie Jalen Hurts, Wentz demanded a trade from the Philadelphia Eagles — less than two years after he signed a four-year extension worth $128 million.
The Colts acquired Wentz from the Eagles in exchange for a 2021 third-round pick and a conditional 2022 second-round pick that wound up becoming a first-rounder. Indy’s hope was that head coach Frank Reich, Wentz’s old offensive coordinator in Philly, would restore the talents of the No. 2 pick of 2016.
Wentz’s stats in Indy weren’t actually terrible: A 62.4 completion percentage, 3,563 passing yards, 27 touchdowns, and only seven interceptions.
The problem was that Wentz imploded in too many big-game moments that saw the Colts cough up several double-digit-point leads. Fortunately, they just needed a win over football’s worst team, the Jacksonville Jaguars, in Week 18 to secure a playoff berth.
Wentz was practically a no-show in that game, as the Colts lost 26-11 to miss out on the postseason. Owner Jim Irsay was so enraged that he made the Colts trade Wentz, who was unloaded to the Washington Commanders for draft picks.
Still funny that the Colts gave up a first-rounder for a guy who had one great season under his belt.
And by the way, Philly used those picks from Indy in the Wentz trade to eventually land AJ Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Jalen Carter. So yeah.
Also Read: RUMOR: Seattle Seahawks Could Stun The Entire NFL By Trading Superstar Wide Receiver
Sam Bradford
Less than two weeks before the start of the 2016 season, the Minnesota Vikings lost starting QB Teddy Bridgewater for the year with a season-ending ACL tear he suffered during a practice.
GM Rick Spielman quickly panicked and traded his 2017 first-round pick and a conditional 2018 fourth-rounder to the Philadelphia Eagles for former first-overall pick Sam Bradford.
It was a surprising move at that time because Bradford had looked like a draft bust up until that point. But to his credit, the ex-Ram played well with a 71.6 completion percentage and 20 touchdowns against only five interceptions. However, Minny’s 8-and-8 record wasn’t enough to make the postseason.
Bradford suffered a knee injury in the 2017 season and wound up losing his starting job to veteran journeyman Case Keenum, who led Minnesota to the NFC Championship Game. Bradford signed a two-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals in 2018 free agency but was released after losing his starting job to rookie Josh Rosen.
Hindsight makes the Bradford trade even more baffling for Minnesota. His career with the Rams was completely marred by injuries, with Bradford only appearing in 49 games during his five years with the organization. Not to mention that he wasn’t exactly, well, very good in his one-year stop with the Eagles.
Sean Gilbert
Gilbert looked like a budding star defensive lineman for the Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams in his four-year tenure, earning a Pro Bowl nod in his sophomore 1993 campaign.
That year, Gilbert posted 10.5 sacks. He had just 8.5 over the next two seasons, however, and yet that was enough for Washington to give up the No. 6 pick in the star-studded 1996 draft in exchange for Gilbert.
Gilbert lasted just one season in DC. He sat out the entire 1997 campaign because of a contract dispute before signing a lucrative seven-year deal worth $46.5 million with the Carolina Panthers in free agency.
By the way, Washington’s decision to trade the no. 6 pick cost them the chance to draft a future NFL superstar like Ray Lewis, Marvin Harrison Jr., and Eddie George!
Andre Rison
Rison had one of the more interesting NFL careers. He was a first-round pick of the Colts in 1989 but spent just one year there before he was traded to the Atlanta Falcons in a blockbuster deal. More on that later.
In 1995, the Cleveland Browns handed the former Falcons star a massive five-year deal worth $17 million. He lasted just one year there before being let go, making Rison one of the worst free-agent signings in league history.
But then Rison became a hero in Green Bay when he helped the Packers to a Super Bowl championship in the 1997 season. So he was essentially a bust in Indy, a superstar in Atlanta, a free agent flop in Cleveland, but a champion in Green Bay. Talk about polarizing.
Anywho, you may be surprised to learn that Rison was traded to Atlanta in 1990 in a trade that netted Indy a first-round pick. That was a pretty good return when you consider that Rison didn’t exactly light up the scoreboard in his one season with the Colts.
Jeff George
Hey, look, another former Colts player is on the list!
Remember when we talked about the Andre Rison-to-Atlanta trade? Well, he was actually part of the package the Colts sent so they could trade up and draft Illinois quarterback Jeff George with the No. 1 pick.
George never lived up to expectations in Indianapolis, however. He went 14-and-35 over his four seasons as the starting quarterback, completing only 57 percent of his pass attempts for 41 touchdowns and 46 interceptions.
George never even hit 3,000 passing yards in a season with the Colts. And yet, the Falcons were happy to trade 1994 first and third-round picks PLUS their 1996 first-rounder to Indianapolis in exchange for George.
Two firsts for a guy who was nothing short of a big-time bust? The ‘90s were a funny time, alright. I mean, imagine if somebody gave up such a package for another QB bust like Mitch Trubisky, Josh Rosen, Daniel Jones, or Blake Bortles?
The good news for the Falcons is that the Jeff George trade actually worked out for the NFL team. He led Atlanta to the postseason in 1995 and had 50 touchdowns against 32 interceptions over his three-year run there, helping the squad return to relevance after a dismal ‘80s decade.
George went on to have a career year with the Oakland Raiders in 1997, throwing for a league-leading 3,917 yards and 29 touchdowns against nine interceptions. Still, it’s impossible to believe Indy got a pair of first-round picks out of the George trade, considering how awful he was in his four years there.
John Hadl
Hadl had a decorated career with the San Diego Chargers, leading them to an AFL championship in the 1963 season. The four-time AFL All-Star made a smooth transition to the NFL following the merger, earning first-team all-pro honors with the Rams in the 1973 season.
The Green Bay Packers, almost a decade removed from the glorious Vince Lombardi-Bart Starr dynastic years, were in desperate need of a quarterback.
During the 1974 season, the Packers acquired Hadl from the Rams in exchange for 1975 and 1976 first-round picks, a pair of second-rounders, and a 1975 third-rounder. Clearly, the Packers thought they were getting the superstar version of a 34-year-old Hadl when they made the move.
Of course, the Hadl trade turned out to be by far the absolute worst in Green Bay Packers history. That’s saying a lot when you consider the success of QBS — with Bart Starr, Brett Favre, and Aaron Rodgers.
In one-and-a-half seasons with the Packers, Hadl went 7-and-12 as the starting quarterback with a 52.1 completion percentage, nine touchdowns, and 29 interceptions. The trade would set the Green Bay pack for almost two decades, as they wouldn’t acquire their next star QB in Favre until a blockbuster 1992 trade with Atlanta.
Hey, the Packers only have the greatest history of NFL quarterbacks. Even the best have to strike out with the game’s most important position sometimes. Fortunately for Green Bay fans, it’s been a half-century since they last struck out on a blockbuster QB move like this.
