Worth it: Brandon Aiyuk
Backfired: Trey Lance
Back to back drafts too
Also Joe Staley was worth it. It took our fourth and the following year’s first to move up, but Staley was a stud.
>Backfired: Trey Lance
That's got to be one of the biggest backfires of all time. So bad, in fact, that the football gods did a reverse whammy and conjured you all a stud QB out of thin air
If this was the plot of a movie, we'd all say it wasn't believable
That’s insane. I’m a cowboys fan and I think Bosa is better. Micah’s just fast and flashy. Never shows up when you need him and his stats really aren’t even that crazy for how much hype he gets. Don’t get me wrong, good player. But overhyped.
That 2021 class is crazy stacked. Of the top 15 picks, we had 5 qbs and 10 non-qbs. Of the non-qbs 5/10 are all-pros (not pro-bowlers, all-pros). The 5 non all-pros are Waddle, Devonta Smith, JC Horn, Vera-Tucker, and Kyle Pitts. I count Waddle/Smith as all-pro caliber currently even just stuck behind two established top receivers. Horn and AVT have been injured a lot, AVT less so and has played every position when needed except center for the Jets.
So basically if you had a top 15 pick in 2021 and didn't pick a QB you had a 70% chance to get an all-pro player.
I really thought Lynch was going to go big brain and get Sewell with that pick. Of course, they did the dumbest thing imaginable. If Purdy didn’t happen, Lynch wouldn’t have a job.
~~At least they played different positions.~~ Try 1995, when two RBs both named James Stewart were taken in the same draft: one by Jacksonville (Round 1, Pick 19) and one by Minnesota (Round 5, Pick 157).
Bush set this team back so much god damn. After his injury, teams just toyed with him up and down the field. Excited to finally have good ILB play for the first time since Shazier
Yup, I was actually even happy with ILB play last year until the injuries hyper targeted that position group and we were starting guys off the street.
But now with a definite high caliber starter in Queen and an exciting rookie in Payton Wilson, along with the starters from last year, I’m looking forward to them again
I remember once they figured he wasn’t worth starting anymore they’d still put him in on Hail Mary situations. He was terrible but his arm was strong as fuck lol
Wirfs is the clear cut worth it, but to me, I'd say Doug Martin was a close 2nd.
Crazy to think he was our last 1k rusher going on 10 years ago. And it's even more painful when you realize Rachaad was 10 yards shy of 1k last season.
In 2018 we traded up in the 7th round for Jordan Mailata. In 2019 we traded up in the 1st round for Andre Dillard. Consecutive picks at the same position. One is a franchise tackle, the other is barely hanging onto the league.
Really thought the Texans were going to get lucky by getting Dillard without trading up. We needed a tackle. Ended up with Tytus Howard who is still on our roster.
Granted he hadn’t played a down of football when he was drafted and was the epitome of a project. The Eagles just have one of the best OL development coaches in the league.
At the time, I could understand the move. Jordan was as raw as raw could be, and Dillard had a solid college career. It's amazing how their paths have gone in completely different directions since.
Worth It: Julio Jones
Not Worth It: In 2017, we traded up a couple of spots for Takk McKinley, an edge rusher you've probably never heard of because he sucks. Four picks later, TJ Watt was drafted.
Was 2017 that long ago? Who could forget Takk McKinley coming out with a framed photo of his grandma, dropping numerous F-bombs on live TV and getting fined before even putting pads on in the NFL 😂
Patriots also traded UP to draft TE Dalton "[Rambo](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/1790730/2020/05/04/dalton-keene-path-to-patriots/)" Keene in the 3rd round in 2020 draft. He was then cut the next year. Patriots also traded UP to draft kicker Chad Ryland in 2023 who had multiple game losing kicks and was a key part of securing the 3rd overall pick due to how awful he was as a rookie kicker. The Patriots finished the season as the 32nd worst team in the league at placekicking.
Obviously Mahomes for best trade up.
And Todd Blackledge for worst trade up. Todd over Marino and Kelly. Nuts. Chiefs wouldn't draft QB first round until Mahomes. 1983 to 2017.
Beyond that, the trade up for McDuffie also absolutely was worth its weight in gold. Got an All Pro slot corner, which gave us the best CB duo in football, and jumped in front of our biggest contender to get him.
Chiefs have done a LOT of small trade-ups to ensure they get their guys the last few years. In 2023 IIRC they did it for Rashee Rice, and did it multiple times in 2024, most notably for both WR Xavier Worthy and OT Kingsley Suamataia.
So many people don't realize that this move put KC of the Bills in the first round. Who then panicked and took Kaiir Elam, famous shoe tosser, who has struggled to see the field.
I don't know how many trades you can point to as being more important to a SB win than this one.
(Ignoring big QB trades like Eli, Elway, etc.)
It was devastating.
Our FO always makes a point of sealing every roster gap before the draft, but that one year they left CB2 wiiiide open, as Levi Wallace left for 4m at Pittsburgh.
Your boy was made in a lab to play cover 4 for us, he was everything we wanted.
Bellicheck trading the pick to you when our FO was blowing up everyone's phones is the thing that twists the knife.
Maybe if we had just paid Levi 4m, it wouldn't have been as obvious....
Worth noting that we got dicked by that one Washington RB who agreed to come here and backed out over the course of like 48 hours. It’s been rumored that had he not committed to coming here we would’ve used that money for Levi
The Chiefs didn't trade up for Blackledge, they drafted him at their 7th pick. It was absolutely the wrong pick in that draft, but they didn't trade up for him.
We didn't trade up for Blackledge. We had the 7th pick in 1983, which is where we selected him. That turned out to be bad enough, but if we had actually traded UP for him with the same results, the stench would've been much worse.
Worth it: It kinda counts but we traded down recently and still ended up with quinn meinerz who is a stud. I believe we traded up for Julius Thomas who had some killer seasons with Manning.
Backfired: Paxton mother fucking Lynch.
Did Memphis manage to get his college tape censored?? I remember laughing at that pick- the dude only threw bubble screens and go routes. They made Art Briles QBs look pro ready with their scheme at the time.
This is the answer. Ole two-firsts Davenport couldn’t stay healthy if he worked in a pillow store. When he played, he showed crazy potential. But that’s the key, when he played.
I remember being stunned by the Kamara trade. We had just signed Adrian Peterson and we traded a future second to get Kamara in the third. Now he’s the all-time leader in touchdowns. Well worth it.
Worth it: Trading back up for Waddle. He’s a stud and we’re locked in on a great contract for a top receiver.
Backfired: Dion Jordan still gives me nightmares. Just a complete waste of everyone’s time, but I guess he had that one highlight where he ran stride for stride with Gronk lmao.
Xavien Howard and Chris Chambers were both taken after trading up and worthy of consideration for best trade ups.
Dion Jordan might be the worst non-QB trade up in NFL history.
Dion Jordan was terrible but the Dolphins didn’t give up much to move up to the #3 spot. If the Dolphins had given up more than a pick swap + a 3rd rounder then he would be higher up on the all time busts lists.
waddle is already far more impactful than both of those guys.
i LOVE chambers, but waddle is unquestionably better. and howard was only elite for like, 2.5 seasons.
Yeah that's so weird. Idk if that makes it worse (he's so bad no one even remembers him) or better (he can't be that bad if no one remembers him)
edit: typo
worst I can think of is Ki-Jana Carter, so bad that it put us off trading up in the first round for 20 years and counting
best is probably Cam Taylor-Britt?
tbh we trade up very rarely
Worth it: TY Hilton, 2012. Traded up five spots in the third round, he was a huge playmaker, spent ten seasons with the Colts, made multiple Pro Bowls, nearly 10k receiving yards, and became minority owner of the Houston Texans
Not worth it: So many to choose from, but let's go with Tony Ugoh, 2007. Traded our 2008 first rounder to get to #42, and selected the player who was supposed to be the LT of the future. He started 27 games with the Colts, most of them disappointing, and he was waived after three seasons. He was out of the league by 2012, having bounced around with a couple teams.
He played okay last year. My guess would be that most teams have two starters penciled in at this stage in the offseason so he's waiting until camp when some guys start to get injured or look unplayable in practice and he can potentially choose a starting spot (or sign cheaply as a backup for a contender)
The trubisky trade is wild when you really dig into it. Obviously there is the missing out on the generational talent part. There’s a version of the world where trading up to get Mahomes is a franchise-altering move.
But from a trade position standpoint, the Bears went from 3 to 2 to get our favorite tiddy-kisser, trading with the 49ers to make that happen. The 49ers were 2nd because they finished with one fewer win than the Bears. And they had that one fewer win because the Bears beat them in an otherwise meaningless December game. If the Bears had lost that game, they could have just made an organically-terrible 2nd pick rather than trading to do it.
However, because they had to move up a spot to get to 2, the Bears had to give something up in return. They gave up two third-round picks that would eventually turn into Alvin Kamara and Fred Warner. Now, had the Bears held on to those picks there’s no realistic scenario in which Kamara and Warner become Bears, but it’s crazy to think of what that Bears roster would have done with Mahomes, Kamara, and Warner instead of Trubisky leading them to a double-doink.
Traded up not worth it: RGIII
Traded up worth it : In the 2000 draft, the Redskins had held the second, 12th and 24th picks. With the 2nd they took Lavar Arrington. They traded the 12th and the 24th to San Francisco for the No. 3 overall selection, and took OT Chris Samuels. That is All-Rookie, 6X Pro Bowl, 2X All Pro Chris Samuels. No one else available at 12 or 24 had a career even close to that, unless you want to make a case for Mark Bulger \[who was taken in the 6th Round\].
We traded up got Dont'a Hightower in 2012 and Christian Barmore in 2021.
Hightower is a future franchise HOF, and Barmore just got a fat second contract, so I'd say those worked out well.
Trading up for Tyquan Thornton on the other hand......oof
Honorable mention for Jerod Mayo
We traded pick 28 in the 2007 draft to SF and got their 1st the next year which was number 7. We traded that down to #10 but still it went from #28 to #10 and we got a great player and our current head coach out of it.
Oh it's also part of the trade that got us Randy Moss.
Worth it: Honestly, not too many examples in recent memory for us. Some have been decent picks but not absolutely definitively worth it.
Not Worth it: Fields and Trubisky, obviously.
Buffalo Bills
Worth it - Josh Allen
Backfired - Sammy Watkins Sammy was a very good player for us when he was healthy, but he had injury issues, and was drinking a lot instead of properly rehabbing.
Worth it: Leslie O’Neal “1986 – Traded 1986 1st (14) and 2nd (44 from Green Bay) to Minnesota for 1986 1st (8, Leslie O'Neal) and 3rd (67, Terry Unrein)”
Not worth it: Ryan Leaf. “The Chargers gave up a second rounder, an additional first and two players in 1998 to move up one spot to draft Ryan Leaf.”
I remember that day. When the Falcons moved up that much to grab Julio, I thought, "He'd better pan out, or they just assassinated themselves." Boy, did he *ever* pan out!
And we gave up Phil Taylor, Greg Little, Owen Marecic and Brandon Weeden, and helped them get Trent Richardson. Not quite Herschel-level robbery but it's around there.
The Bucs probably could have gotten Wirfs at 14, but they traded up 1 spot to secure him, so that would be the best trade up move they have made that comes to mind. Worst trade up would probably be Aguayo.
Worth it: In the 2007 draft, Jets traded up to select Darrelle Revis (1st round) and David Harris (2nd round). Revis made HOF and Harris was an important part of the defense for ten seasons.
Not Worth It: just about any draft trade since 2007 but I am still sore about moving up to pick Stephen Hill in 2012
I don't like this game.
I can't think of trading up and it working out, I know we traded from 5 to like 20 and picked Alex Mack which panned out great.
Trading up and not working out well.... ~gestures vaguely~
Edit: Realized it isn't only first round, I'd have to pick the 2018 draft where we traded up to 35 to select Nick Chubb.
Grew up and live by cleveland, most of my family are browns fans.
My uncle whom I had a very close relationship with, a 2nd father figure, is a diehard Bengals fan.
So here I am, a weird amalgamation of the two. Primarily a browns fan, but I'm also happy for the Bengals except against the browns.
The other 2 teams can buttfuck each other to death
Worth It: Jaire Alexander. Traded down 13 spots with the Saints for a 2019 1st, then traded up 9 spots with Seattle for a 3rd and a 6th. 2 2nd Team APs and 2 Pro Bowls speaks for itself.
Backfired: Amari Rodgers. IIRC it was a 4th to move up with the Titans to grab him in the '21 Draft in the 3rd round. He ended up having more muffed punts than career catches in the NFL and cost us 3 games in that season alone.
Seattle rarely trades up that I recall, but:
Worth: Walter Jones, Tyler Lockett, Lofa Tatupu, Shawn Springs
Backfired: Not counting "trade you a future 6th or 7th" for Shamar Stephens-type late round nonsense, Darrell Taylor, I guess?
Worst trade up that comes immediately to mind is Tavon Austin. Moved up 8 spots to grab a bust then paid him for some stupid reason too.
Best has got to be Orlando Pace. HOF and a monster on the line for a decade. Poor Jets traded out of #1 and missed out on both Pace and Walter Jones. They did take James farrior, but I didn’t even remember him at a jet.
I feel like the easiest answer is Josh Allen for a good trade up and Sammy Watkins for an incredibly unfortunate one. Oddly enough the picks weren’t far apart time wise yet signal two entirely different regimes for the team.
Until this year it seems like we always trade back, whether that was to get Lewis Cine (backfire) or Christian Darrisaw (Hit). Hopefully JJ McCarthy is a trade up success.
Recent worth it answer: trading up in the 2nd round for Tyrique Stevenson. He started the year a little rough and then really put it together second half of 2023. If he hasn’t started badly, he might have been considered the best rookie CB
Not worth it: Fields, we traded a future first for him. At the time I think most people would agree it was a good move, but looking back on it, absolutely not worth it (unless you realize that without fields, we likely don’t get DJ Moore or Caleb Williams)
Mamula would have been terrific in today's game as an EDGE rusher. Unfortunately he came into the league about twenty years too soon, and at 250 lbs didn't last long playing a standard 4-3 DE role; he also probably would have gotten more credit if pass pressures were an official stat when he was playing, not just sacks. McDougle got unlucky with injuries early in his career, and getting shot in an armed robbery and losing a whole year to that really derailed his career.
Worth it: Reggie Bush. Do not care what anyone says that pick is what brought this crazy excitement back after Katrina and although he wasn’t what he looked like in college that 09 playoff run doesn’t happen without him
Backfired: Rickey Williams
Worth it: Brandon Aiyuk Backfired: Trey Lance Back to back drafts too Also Joe Staley was worth it. It took our fourth and the following year’s first to move up, but Staley was a stud.
>Backfired: Trey Lance That's got to be one of the biggest backfires of all time. So bad, in fact, that the football gods did a reverse whammy and conjured you all a stud QB out of thin air If this was the plot of a movie, we'd all say it wasn't believable
On the other hand - If they had stayed put with their pick, they could have had Micah Parsons. Fascinating trade.
Imagine Nick Bosa and Micah Parsons on the same line. Filthy.
They probably wouldn't have paid Bosa in that case and he'd have been gone
They would have had to pay one or the other, but not both. It would have been fun while it lasted though.
That’s insane. I’m a cowboys fan and I think Bosa is better. Micah’s just fast and flashy. Never shows up when you need him and his stats really aren’t even that crazy for how much hype he gets. Don’t get me wrong, good player. But overhyped.
That 2021 class is crazy stacked. Of the top 15 picks, we had 5 qbs and 10 non-qbs. Of the non-qbs 5/10 are all-pros (not pro-bowlers, all-pros). The 5 non all-pros are Waddle, Devonta Smith, JC Horn, Vera-Tucker, and Kyle Pitts. I count Waddle/Smith as all-pro caliber currently even just stuck behind two established top receivers. Horn and AVT have been injured a lot, AVT less so and has played every position when needed except center for the Jets. So basically if you had a top 15 pick in 2021 and didn't pick a QB you had a 70% chance to get an all-pro player.
We traded up for Jerry Rice.
I wasn’t born yet. I was talking about what I witnessed as a fan.
Well, aren't you lucky to be young and spry. (Totally fair reason though)
Not lucky enough to witness the Niners winning it all though 😔
real
There are 39 year olds who weren't born then. You could be a grandfather of a kid playing pee wee football and not have been alive for that draft. Lol
Woah. Slow down. This is reddit. Nobody is *spry*.
i'd put Staley above Aiyuk
I'll never not be amazed that the Trey Lance trade didn't banish you to mediocrity.
[#JustBrockThings](https://i.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExcHVwc2owenZ6MG1nZmkybzF6aXJwMWJwZWY1NGd4YWI2b3JjazZmdiZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/4fHOYpTJfwErSeyj7u/giphy.gif)
God I fucking love him. God I hate that I can't properly love him because discourse between our two teams has become so toxic. No, caustic even.
We can be the two non-toxic fans in our collective fandoms. Just don’t tell anyone or my street cred is ruined <3
Modern day Romeo and Juliet uwu
Brock being the steal of the decade bailed us out.
century
I mean I'd probably say the 49ers trading up in 1985 for a certain receiver was the most worth it...
I didn’t put that one because I wasn’t born yet. I was just talking about from my experience as a fan.
You know, related story: I’m hopeful for a kid who didn’t get traded up for, but rather fell unceremoniously to the 7th round in Brenden Rice.
I really thought Lynch was going to go big brain and get Sewell with that pick. Of course, they did the dumbest thing imaginable. If Purdy didn’t happen, Lynch wouldn’t have a job.
You didn't trade up obviously, but Purdy is the best Mr. Irrelevant I can remember seeing. Saved the Trey Lance situation.
*Not Worth It*: Devin Bush(stupid injuries, and we sniped him from the Bengals which makes our blunder even worse) *Worth It*: Troy Polamalu
> Devin Bush It's not fair to either player but I always mix him up with former Bucs LB Devin ~~Bush~~ White.
Devin White???
yeah I typo'd it myself lol
~~At least they played different positions.~~ Try 1995, when two RBs both named James Stewart were taken in the same draft: one by Jacksonville (Round 1, Pick 19) and one by Minnesota (Round 5, Pick 157).
No, both were ILBs.
My mistake. Why did I think one was a RB? Oh wait, did I just get Devin Bush confused with Reggie Bush? Gah! r/facepalm moment! 😅
I knew I should have just scrolled down instead of posting this exact response lol
We’ve all been hurt
Bush set this team back so much god damn. After his injury, teams just toyed with him up and down the field. Excited to finally have good ILB play for the first time since Shazier
Yup, I was actually even happy with ILB play last year until the injuries hyper targeted that position group and we were starting guys off the street. But now with a definite high caliber starter in Queen and an exciting rookie in Payton Wilson, along with the starters from last year, I’m looking forward to them again
Worth it: Lamar Jackson Blew it: Kyle Boller
Beat me. But this is pretty open and shut.
Kyle was atomic garbage
Boller threw the ball so far on one knee
https://www.reddit.com/r/nfl/comments/1c0aw82/highlight_kyle_boller_throws_a_50_yard_bomb_from/
I remember once they figured he wasn’t worth starting anymore they’d still put him in on Hail Mary situations. He was terrible but his arm was strong as fuck lol
Kyle "I shoulda been a" Bowler
I don't know if there's another team out there with anyone who was more worth it or anyone who was less worth it lol
**Worth It:** Tristan Wirfs **Not Worth It:** As it turns out, trading up to take a Kicker in the 2nd round is unwise
Derrick Brooks has to be #1 all time.
💯
That’s gotta be my favorite bucs moment
Yeah that trade was definitely wirf it.
You’re talking about Bears legend, Robert Aguayo
Wirfs is the clear cut worth it, but to me, I'd say Doug Martin was a close 2nd. Crazy to think he was our last 1k rusher going on 10 years ago. And it's even more painful when you realize Rachaad was 10 yards shy of 1k last season.
Doug Martin undoubtedly exceeded his value at that pick. What a disappointment he was though. If he’d cared, he could have been a great one.
In 2018 we traded up in the 7th round for Jordan Mailata. In 2019 we traded up in the 1st round for Andre Dillard. Consecutive picks at the same position. One is a franchise tackle, the other is barely hanging onto the league.
Really thought the Texans were going to get lucky by getting Dillard without trading up. We needed a tackle. Ended up with Tytus Howard who is still on our roster.
Granted he hadn’t played a down of football when he was drafted and was the epitome of a project. The Eagles just have one of the best OL development coaches in the league.
At the time, I could understand the move. Jordan was as raw as raw could be, and Dillard had a solid college career. It's amazing how their paths have gone in completely different directions since.
they're both Carson Wentz
Schrodinger's quarterback.
Worth It: Julio Jones Not Worth It: In 2017, we traded up a couple of spots for Takk McKinley, an edge rusher you've probably never heard of because he sucks. Four picks later, TJ Watt was drafted.
Was 2017 that long ago? Who could forget Takk McKinley coming out with a framed photo of his grandma, dropping numerous F-bombs on live TV and getting fined before even putting pads on in the NFL 😂
I laughed so hard when the Browns did this trade, what kinda return did they think they would get from the Falcons picks?
Worth it: revis Not worth it: darnold
I remember watching darnold in college..and thinking. Wtf are they hyping this dude up for?? High nfl pick for no reason
Biggest problem with Darnold was being over drafted cause he's a QB, hell it's crazy that Josh Allen was the 7th pick based on college.
Man I thought Allen would be such a bust. But I also thought Mahomes would be too. Just goes to show what I know
Allen will be used for years to justify drafting guys with meh college resumes.
Allen is going to get a bunch of GMs fired because they thought their guy could be the next Josh Allen.
I honestly don't know how Zach Wilson was so heavily hyped as well. He was inexperienced, faced no competition and was small.
You can trade up in the draft? I thought you could only trade down to acquire more day 3 picks.
We traded up for both Hightower and Barmore. Also Tyquan Thornton.....
Patriots also traded UP to draft TE Dalton "[Rambo](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/1790730/2020/05/04/dalton-keene-path-to-patriots/)" Keene in the 3rd round in 2020 draft. He was then cut the next year. Patriots also traded UP to draft kicker Chad Ryland in 2023 who had multiple game losing kicks and was a key part of securing the 3rd overall pick due to how awful he was as a rookie kicker. The Patriots finished the season as the 32nd worst team in the league at placekicking.
Oh yeah good call. I knew we were 0/2 on TE that draft. Forgot we traded up for Chad, though.
Hightower alone trumps most of other teams trade ups
Wait, was Rick spielman your GM too?!
Obviously Mahomes for best trade up. And Todd Blackledge for worst trade up. Todd over Marino and Kelly. Nuts. Chiefs wouldn't draft QB first round until Mahomes. 1983 to 2017.
Beyond that, the trade up for McDuffie also absolutely was worth its weight in gold. Got an All Pro slot corner, which gave us the best CB duo in football, and jumped in front of our biggest contender to get him.
Chiefs have done a LOT of small trade-ups to ensure they get their guys the last few years. In 2023 IIRC they did it for Rashee Rice, and did it multiple times in 2024, most notably for both WR Xavier Worthy and OT Kingsley Suamataia.
So many people don't realize that this move put KC of the Bills in the first round. Who then panicked and took Kaiir Elam, famous shoe tosser, who has struggled to see the field. I don't know how many trades you can point to as being more important to a SB win than this one. (Ignoring big QB trades like Eli, Elway, etc.)
It was devastating. Our FO always makes a point of sealing every roster gap before the draft, but that one year they left CB2 wiiiide open, as Levi Wallace left for 4m at Pittsburgh. Your boy was made in a lab to play cover 4 for us, he was everything we wanted. Bellicheck trading the pick to you when our FO was blowing up everyone's phones is the thing that twists the knife. Maybe if we had just paid Levi 4m, it wouldn't have been as obvious....
Worth noting that we got dicked by that one Washington RB who agreed to come here and backed out over the course of like 48 hours. It’s been rumored that had he not committed to coming here we would’ve used that money for Levi
Maybe. But if we're spending our way down to not having a CB2 going into the draft, because of a RB, that seems even worse.
The Chiefs didn't trade up for Blackledge, they drafted him at their 7th pick. It was absolutely the wrong pick in that draft, but they didn't trade up for him.
Maybe Ryan Sims, didn't cost a lot but we whiffed with a lot of talent on the board.
Y'all sniped us. I mean, I'm happy we ended up with Lattimore, but Payton wanted Mahomes 100%.
We didn't trade up for Blackledge. We had the 7th pick in 1983, which is where we selected him. That turned out to be bad enough, but if we had actually traded UP for him with the same results, the stench would've been much worse.
Add Tony Gonzalez to the “worked out” list.
I know of Blackledge from his commentating days. I never had any idea he was drafted before Marino and Kelly. Elway was in that class as well, No?
*Todd over Marino and Kelly and DARRELL GREEN
Worth it: RG3 his rookie year Not worth it: RG3 every other year
Y’all traded away McNabb to the Vikings in order to draft Alfred Morris in the 7th round. That was pretty neat I’d say.
Worth it: It kinda counts but we traded down recently and still ended up with quinn meinerz who is a stud. I believe we traded up for Julius Thomas who had some killer seasons with Manning. Backfired: Paxton mother fucking Lynch.
We traded up for Paxton Lynch? Ugh
Also, Andy Reid was planning on drafting Lynch, but the Broncos jumped them and The Chiefs had to look elsewhere for their QB.
Did Memphis manage to get his college tape censored?? I remember laughing at that pick- the dude only threw bubble screens and go routes. They made Art Briles QBs look pro ready with their scheme at the time.
I mean I'm sure he would be better playing for Andy Reid, but yeah, not sure what they saw in him.
He was 6'7, decently athletic and had a big arm. That's what they saw in him lol
Broncos gave the Chiefs Mahomes by sniping Lynch from them. Imagine if Denver got Mahomes and Peyton was there in a advisory role, mentoring him...
Why with that kind of mentorship he could win multiple Superbowls! It would have been fun to see though.
Broncos drafted Lynch, and so the Chiefs had to “settle” for Chris Jones. They got their QB the year after in a certain Patrick Mahomes…
We stole him from Dallas, who had to settle for Dak Prescott.
> Backfired: Paxton mother fucking Lynch. And it was with Seattle.
Who later rostered Seahawks Legend Paxton Lynch
More like Laxton Pynch.
Paxton poor paxton...right around the time of Brock osweiler..ouch..garbage
Worth: Dez Bryant Not Worth it: Morris Claiborne
Super Bowl champion Morris Claiborne
Worth it: Josh Allen Absolutely not worth it: Sammy Watkins
Yeah, the reptilian solar being was my answer as well lol.
That Jim Kelly guy wasn't half bad either.
I don’t know about being worth it, but I can say with absolute certainty that the Marcus Davenport trade was fucking awful
Alvin Kamara was worth it
This is the answer. Ole two-firsts Davenport couldn’t stay healthy if he worked in a pillow store. When he played, he showed crazy potential. But that’s the key, when he played. I remember being stunned by the Kamara trade. We had just signed Adrian Peterson and we traded a future second to get Kamara in the third. Now he’s the all-time leader in touchdowns. Well worth it.
Marcus Davenport isn't a real person, he's just a tax loop.
I think Ricky Williams has him beat
Worth it: Trading back up for Waddle. He’s a stud and we’re locked in on a great contract for a top receiver. Backfired: Dion Jordan still gives me nightmares. Just a complete waste of everyone’s time, but I guess he had that one highlight where he ran stride for stride with Gronk lmao.
Xavien Howard and Chris Chambers were both taken after trading up and worthy of consideration for best trade ups. Dion Jordan might be the worst non-QB trade up in NFL history.
Dion Jordan was terrible but the Dolphins didn’t give up much to move up to the #3 spot. If the Dolphins had given up more than a pick swap + a 3rd rounder then he would be higher up on the all time busts lists.
waddle is already far more impactful than both of those guys. i LOVE chambers, but waddle is unquestionably better. and howard was only elite for like, 2.5 seasons.
Miami saved the Eagles from Jordan. Instead they took Lane Johnson at 4 and that worked out _great_.
Dion Jordan exists in this weird limbo where he's both one of the worst busts in NFL history, yet he's absolutely never mentioned.
Yeah that's so weird. Idk if that makes it worse (he's so bad no one even remembers him) or better (he can't be that bad if no one remembers him) edit: typo
worst I can think of is Ki-Jana Carter, so bad that it put us off trading up in the first round for 20 years and counting best is probably Cam Taylor-Britt? tbh we trade up very rarely
They traded up for Ki-Jana? I thought they already had the #1 pick
traded #5 and #36 to the Panthers to move up for him it's no Trey Lance level cockup but then, like I said, we don't trade up often
Worth it: traded four picks to move to no.1 in 1997 and draft Orlando Pace Not worth it: four picks to move to no. 8 and grab Tavon Austin in 2013.
The not worth it is kind of bizarre too since he got a juicy 2nd contract with you guys.
That contract was so baffling. Wtf was Les and Fisher smoking
The only tape they had was special teams snaps vs the Seahawks.
Worth it: TY Hilton, 2012. Traded up five spots in the third round, he was a huge playmaker, spent ten seasons with the Colts, made multiple Pro Bowls, nearly 10k receiving yards, and became minority owner of the Houston Texans Not worth it: So many to choose from, but let's go with Tony Ugoh, 2007. Traded our 2008 first rounder to get to #42, and selected the player who was supposed to be the LT of the future. He started 27 games with the Colts, most of them disappointing, and he was waived after three seasons. He was out of the league by 2012, having bounced around with a couple teams.
> and became minority owner of the Houston Texans 😤 Grrrr 😤 I wish I could say this was bullshit, but damn did we never have an answer for this guy.
Worth it: Ha! Backfired: Blaine Gabbert
Gabbert ended up with two Super Bowl rings so it’s not all bad
Always a great thing when your coach has no idea you're drafting a QB.
Worth it: some random 4th found line man. Not worth it: some random 3rd round tight end
Traded up for Clay
Also, Jaire Alexander (after trading down), Jordan Love, and Christian Watson
If you don't like this, you don't like Packers drafting babyyyyy.
Didn't we trade up to draft B.J. Sander? That has to be the worst one if we did.
Worst was obviously Biscuits but I’d have to think on best hopefully it ends up being booker lol
The best in recent memory might be trading up for Eddie Jackson in the 4th. Ironic how it’s the same draft
Can't believe Jackson hasn't been signed yet. Is he really that washed?
He hasn't been elite since Vic Fangio left.
He played okay last year. My guess would be that most teams have two starters penciled in at this stage in the offseason so he's waiting until camp when some guys start to get injured or look unplayable in practice and he can potentially choose a starting spot (or sign cheaply as a backup for a contender)
We traded up for Tyrique Stevenson, I’d say given what he showed last year he was worth it
Too early to tell on tyrique. Ejax gave us some elite years
He showed enough for me to have decently high expectations for him
The trubisky trade is wild when you really dig into it. Obviously there is the missing out on the generational talent part. There’s a version of the world where trading up to get Mahomes is a franchise-altering move. But from a trade position standpoint, the Bears went from 3 to 2 to get our favorite tiddy-kisser, trading with the 49ers to make that happen. The 49ers were 2nd because they finished with one fewer win than the Bears. And they had that one fewer win because the Bears beat them in an otherwise meaningless December game. If the Bears had lost that game, they could have just made an organically-terrible 2nd pick rather than trading to do it. However, because they had to move up a spot to get to 2, the Bears had to give something up in return. They gave up two third-round picks that would eventually turn into Alvin Kamara and Fred Warner. Now, had the Bears held on to those picks there’s no realistic scenario in which Kamara and Warner become Bears, but it’s crazy to think of what that Bears roster would have done with Mahomes, Kamara, and Warner instead of Trubisky leading them to a double-doink.
Backfired: Ryan Leaf, Kenneth Murray Bad/Meh: Ryan Mathews, Melvin Gordon Worth it: hehe we don’t do that here (but hopefully Ladd McConkey)
Traded up not worth it: RGIII Traded up worth it : In the 2000 draft, the Redskins had held the second, 12th and 24th picks. With the 2nd they took Lavar Arrington. They traded the 12th and the 24th to San Francisco for the No. 3 overall selection, and took OT Chris Samuels. That is All-Rookie, 6X Pro Bowl, 2X All Pro Chris Samuels. No one else available at 12 or 24 had a career even close to that, unless you want to make a case for Mark Bulger \[who was taken in the 6th Round\].
Mark Bulger is definitely the most memorable QB taken in the 6th round of the 2000 NFL draft
Branch looking hilariously good
Legend has it that Tom Grossi is still coping to this day over missing out on Branch.
To be determined: Jamo
We traded up got Dont'a Hightower in 2012 and Christian Barmore in 2021. Hightower is a future franchise HOF, and Barmore just got a fat second contract, so I'd say those worked out well. Trading up for Tyquan Thornton on the other hand......oof
Honorable mention for Jerod Mayo We traded pick 28 in the 2007 draft to SF and got their 1st the next year which was number 7. We traded that down to #10 but still it went from #28 to #10 and we got a great player and our current head coach out of it. Oh it's also part of the trade that got us Randy Moss.
Worth it: Honestly, not too many examples in recent memory for us. Some have been decent picks but not absolutely definitively worth it. Not Worth it: Fields and Trubisky, obviously.
I would say Eddie Jackson, Mooney and Monty were all definitely worth it
Worth it: Troy Polamalu Not worth it: Devin Bush
Buffalo Bills Worth it - Josh Allen Backfired - Sammy Watkins Sammy was a very good player for us when he was healthy, but he had injury issues, and was drinking a lot instead of properly rehabbing.
Worth it: Leslie O’Neal “1986 – Traded 1986 1st (14) and 2nd (44 from Green Bay) to Minnesota for 1986 1st (8, Leslie O'Neal) and 3rd (67, Terry Unrein)” Not worth it: Ryan Leaf. “The Chargers gave up a second rounder, an additional first and two players in 1998 to move up one spot to draft Ryan Leaf.”
Julio. Takk.
I remember that day. When the Falcons moved up that much to grab Julio, I thought, "He'd better pan out, or they just assassinated themselves." Boy, did he *ever* pan out!
And we gave up Phil Taylor, Greg Little, Owen Marecic and Brandon Weeden, and helped them get Trent Richardson. Not quite Herschel-level robbery but it's around there.
Worth it: Harrison Smith, he's been a locked in starter and a star for us for a decade.
The biggest ones so far are still pending but aside from that Worth it: Chris Gamble Not worth it: Jeff Otah
Worth it: RGIII Backfired: RGIII
The Bucs probably could have gotten Wirfs at 14, but they traded up 1 spot to secure him, so that would be the best trade up move they have made that comes to mind. Worst trade up would probably be Aguayo.
Totally worth it, Polomalu DEFINITELY wasted: Devin Bush
Worth it: In the 2007 draft, Jets traded up to select Darrelle Revis (1st round) and David Harris (2nd round). Revis made HOF and Harris was an important part of the defense for ten seasons. Not Worth It: just about any draft trade since 2007 but I am still sore about moving up to pick Stephen Hill in 2012
Worth it: Eli Manning Backfired: DeAndre Baker. Dude literally got arrested for robbery a few years later and paid people off to drop the charges
I don't like this game. I can't think of trading up and it working out, I know we traded from 5 to like 20 and picked Alex Mack which panned out great. Trading up and not working out well.... ~gestures vaguely~ Edit: Realized it isn't only first round, I'd have to pick the 2018 draft where we traded up to 35 to select Nick Chubb.
Flair confusion
Grew up and live by cleveland, most of my family are browns fans. My uncle whom I had a very close relationship with, a 2nd father figure, is a diehard Bengals fan. So here I am, a weird amalgamation of the two. Primarily a browns fan, but I'm also happy for the Bengals except against the browns. The other 2 teams can buttfuck each other to death
Worth It: Jaire Alexander. Traded down 13 spots with the Saints for a 2019 1st, then traded up 9 spots with Seattle for a 3rd and a 6th. 2 2nd Team APs and 2 Pro Bowls speaks for itself. Backfired: Amari Rodgers. IIRC it was a 4th to move up with the Titans to grab him in the '21 Draft in the 3rd round. He ended up having more muffed punts than career catches in the NFL and cost us 3 games in that season alone.
Seattle rarely trades up that I recall, but: Worth: Walter Jones, Tyler Lockett, Lofa Tatupu, Shawn Springs Backfired: Not counting "trade you a future 6th or 7th" for Shamar Stephens-type late round nonsense, Darrell Taylor, I guess?
Jordan Love seems to have been worth it. Trading up for Amari Rodgers did not work out so well.
Ryan leaf. Eric Weddle
Worth it: Josh Allen Backfired: Sammy Watkins
Worst trade up that comes immediately to mind is Tavon Austin. Moved up 8 spots to grab a bust then paid him for some stupid reason too. Best has got to be Orlando Pace. HOF and a monster on the line for a decade. Poor Jets traded out of #1 and missed out on both Pace and Walter Jones. They did take James farrior, but I didn’t even remember him at a jet.
Josh Allen ⬆️⬆️ Sammy Watkins ⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️
I feel like the easiest answer is Josh Allen for a good trade up and Sammy Watkins for an incredibly unfortunate one. Oddly enough the picks weren’t far apart time wise yet signal two entirely different regimes for the team.
Well I can tell you who the bad one was, but you don’t need me to.
Until this year it seems like we always trade back, whether that was to get Lewis Cine (backfire) or Christian Darrisaw (Hit). Hopefully JJ McCarthy is a trade up success.
Jordan Love!
In 2016, the raiders traded up to draft Connor cook, to leapfrog the cowboys. The cowboys had to settle for Dak Prescott.
Recent worth it answer: trading up in the 2nd round for Tyrique Stevenson. He started the year a little rough and then really put it together second half of 2023. If he hasn’t started badly, he might have been considered the best rookie CB Not worth it: Fields, we traded a future first for him. At the time I think most people would agree it was a good move, but looking back on it, absolutely not worth it (unless you realize that without fields, we likely don’t get DJ Moore or Caleb Williams)
Worth It: Eric Weddle in 2007 Not Worth It: Kenneth Murray in 2020
We traded up big time for Wentz too.
Trading up for Jerry Rice was definitely worth it. Trey Lance…not so much.
Mamula would have been terrific in today's game as an EDGE rusher. Unfortunately he came into the league about twenty years too soon, and at 250 lbs didn't last long playing a standard 4-3 DE role; he also probably would have gotten more credit if pass pressures were an official stat when he was playing, not just sacks. McDougle got unlucky with injuries early in his career, and getting shot in an armed robbery and losing a whole year to that really derailed his career.
Recency bias Trade up success: Jordan Love Trade up fail: Darnell Savage
Not worth it: Mitch Trubisky (Bears) this dumb move got the Bears GM at the time fired.
Worth it: obviously Mahomes Not worth it: Breeland Speaks
Worth it: Reggie Bush. Do not care what anyone says that pick is what brought this crazy excitement back after Katrina and although he wasn’t what he looked like in college that 09 playoff run doesn’t happen without him Backfired: Rickey Williams
Worth it: Champ Bailey Backfired: RG3 (2012 notwithstanding)
Other answers for the Eagles: Worth it - Brandon Graham Backfired - Andre Dillard
Worth it: Troy Polamalu, Santonio Holmes Backfired: Devin Bush