When the Tennessee Titans finished with the worst record in the NFL and were awarded the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, it was widely assumed that they would use that selection to draft their quarterback of the future. Cam Ward from Miami and Shedeur Sanders from Colorado were pinned as the likely targets for the Titans. However, that was never set in stone, and the narrative about Tennessee’s plans has started to drastically change.
Reports suggested the team might go with edge rusher Abdul Carter instead of a quarterback, and now it is widely believed that the team might trade the first pick altogether. NFL front office members reportedly left the Scouting Combine convinced that the Titans will move out of the top pick, with the New York Jets and New York Giants as realistic trade partners. Trading down is a smart way to add more draft capital and more talent to your roster, especially if you don’t like the players at the top of the draft board. However, you also risk missing out on a generational talent, as first-overall picks are supposed to be Hall of Fame caliber.
It is still unclear if the Titans will or won’t trade the most coveted draft pick in football, but they’d join the list of the 13 other times the number one pick was traded before. In this article, we are going to look at every time an NFL team traded the top draft pick.
Note: We will only be looking at trades during the Super Bowl era in this article.
2023: Chicago Bears to Carolina Panthers
Chicago Bears receive: DJ Moore, 2023 ninth overall pick (traded), 2023 61st overall pick (traded), 2024 first-round pick (Caleb Williams), 2025 second-round pick
Carolina Panthers receive: First overall pick (Bryce Young)
The draft moved to April in 1967, and since then, no team has traded away the first overall pick quicker than the Chicago Bears in 2023 (March 10). The team shouldn’t have even had the top selection, but the Houston Texans anti-tanked and lost their chance to pick first with a Week 18 victory.
Meanwhile, the Bears already had a recent first-round quarterback, as Justin Fields was taken 11th overall in 2021. Fields, while streaky as a passer but had already established himself as one of the best rushing quarterbacks ever, so the Bears traded the pick that everyone knew would become Bryce Young to a Carolina Panthers team desperate for a quarterback.
Chicago walked away with a plethora of assets for their rebuild. Notably, they added a legitimate number one receiving option in DJ Moore. They also got the ninth pick, which they used to trade down only one selection and add Darnell Wright to be their long-term right tackle. Additionally, they added the 61st pick, which they again used to trade back and add Tyrique Stevenson. While talented, Stevenson is most known for the Hail Mary blunder last season, where he was preoccupied with talking trash to Washington Commanders fans rather than focused on defense.
It was the future 2024 draft capital that was really important for Chicago, though. Bryce Young struggled as a rookie and quickly started to look like an all-time bust, which led to the first-round pick owed to Chicago becoming the first overall pick. The top prospect this go around was viewed as much more generational, and the Bears used the selection to add Caleb Williams. The USC product had an up-and-down rookie season, but the team would still take him first overall if they had a chance to do it over because of his immense potential.
Williams can one day become the face of the NFL, and Chicago isn’t done adding from this trade, either. They are still owed a second-round pick. For Carolina, Young started to turn things around late last season, so there is hope that he can become the clear franchise guy. He certainly isn’t the caliber of player Williams is/can become, though.
2016: Tennessee Titans to Los Angeles Rams
Tennessee Titans receive: 2016 15th overall pick (traded), 2016 43rd overall pick (Austin Johnson), 2016 45th overall pick (Derrick Henry), 2016 76th overall pick (traded), 2017 first-round pick (Corey Davis), 2017 third-round pick (Jonnu Smith)
Los Angeles Rams receive: 2016 first overall pick (Jared Goff), 2016 113th overall pick, 2016 177th overall pick
The St. Louis Rams were slated to move to Los Angeles for the 2016 season, and they needed a quarterback to kickstart the new era. They traded with the Titans for the first pick and the right to select Jared Goff. Goff wasn’t viewed as an elite first-overall pick, which kept the price of this trade down some, but he was good enough that the Rams thought he could be their quarterback of the future.
Goff was okay in Los Angeles, and he even led the Rams to a Super Bowl appearance. Neither he nor the team really broke out until they eventually traded him for Matthew Stafford in 2021, though. Goff broke out as one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL on the Detroit Lions, and the Rams won the Super Bowl with Stafford leading the way.
Going back to the 2016 trade, though, the Titans ended up with a couple of key pieces. They were able to trade the 15th overall pick to move up for Jack Conklin, who was a Pro Bowl-caliber offensive tackle for a few years. More importantly, though, they also added the pick that became Derrick Henry. King Henry is one of only nine 2,000-yard rushers ever, and he is one of the two or three best running backs of the 21st century. He is even one of the best players in Titans’ franchise history.
The Titans lone mistake in this deal was selecting Corey Davis with the 2017 first-round pick that ended up being the fifth overall selection. Davis became a bust, but the Titans still won this trade. So, will history repeat itself with a 2025 Tennessee trade involving pick 1-1?
2001: San Diego Chargers to Atlanta Falcons
San Diego Chargers receive: Tim Dwight, 2001 fifth overall pick (LaDainian Tomlinson), 2001 67th overall pick (Tay Cody), 2002 second-round pick (Reche Caldwell)
Atlanta Falcons receive: 2001 first overall pick (Michael Vick)
The 2001 trade between the San Diego Chargers and Atlanta Falcons involving the first overall pick ended up becoming one of the biggest trades in NFL history. You can say that this trade worked out for both sides. Although Michael Vick’s career didn’t reach its fullest potential because of the jail time he served after six seasons with the Falcons, Vick’s prime is still one of the best ever, and fans were never forget the highlight reel that he was.
Vick combined never-before-seen speed and juking ability with one of the prettiest throwing forms of all time. He was on pace to become an all-time great, but even his short time in Atlanta was pretty good. The Chargers got someone even better, though. The fifth pick they added became LaDainian Tomlinson. The running back is not only arguably the best Chargers player ever, but he is one of the best players in NFL history overall.
Vick had 6,109 career rushing numbers, which was a mark not passed by a quarterback (Lamar Jackson) until late last season. Tomlinson, meanwhile, is seventh on the all-time rushing list with 13,684 career ground yards.
1997: New York Jets to St. Louis Rams
New York Jets receive: 1997 sixth overall pick (traded), 1997 67th overall pick (traded), 1997 102nd overall pick (Terry Day), 1997 207th overall pick (traded)
St. Louis Rams receive: 1997 first overall pick (Orlando Pace)
If the Titans trade away the first overall pick this year, they will show a proven tendency to trade down from the top pick. The Rams, on the other hand, clearly like to move up to find their undisputed franchise guy. In addition to their 2016 trade for Goff, they moved up to pick one in 1996 for Orlando Pace.
A trade up to the top of the draft for a non-quarterback is rare, and it hasn’t happened since this deal. It worked out for the Rams, though, as Pace ended up becoming arguably the best offensive lineman ever. The tackle won a Super Bowl, made seven Pro Bowls, and was thrice named First-Team All-Pro during his career. He was a key reason the Rams became The Greatest Show on Turf.
The Jets would continue wheeling and dealing the picks that they added in this deal, and they didn’t end up with much of anything. This trade is used an example for those who believe in quality over quantity.
1995: Carolina Panthers to Cincinnati Bengals
Carolina Panthers receive: 1995 fifth overall pick (Kerry Collins), 1995 36th overall pick (Shawn King)
Cincinnati Bengals receive: 1995 first overall pick (Ki-Jana Carter)
While the 1997 trade served as an example of why not to trade out of the top pick, the draft two years prior was likely a factor in why the Jets traded away the number one pick, and it can be used to show the risk of trading for the top selection. While number-one draft picks are selected so high for a reason, they are still at risk of busting out, just like any other prospect. You simply can’t know for sure how a college player will translate to the NFL, and injuries are always a risk in a sport as violent as football.
Ki-Jana Carter, the 1995 first overall pick, became one of the biggest draft busts in NFL history after the Bengals moved up to take him with pick number one. Injuries derailed the career of the running back out of Penn State, and he only racked up 14 starts and 1,114 rushing yards throughout his entire career.
Carter tore up his knee on only the third carry of his first preseason game, and he was never the same player. No team has taken a running back first overall since the Bengals made this mistake of a trade/selection. While Shawn King did next to nothing for the Panthers, Collins turned into a solid player, although he was far from a great one. He made the Pro Bowl in his second season, the same season he helped the Panthers become the youngest team to clinch a playoff birth (he was the expansion teams first draft selection).
Collins only lasted three years in Carolina, though. He eventually led the New York Giants to a Super Bowl appearance, and he made a second Pro Bowl team with the Titans.
1991: New England Patriots to Dallas Cowboys
New England Patriots receive: 1991 11th overall pick (Pat Harlow), 1991 41st overall pick (Jerome Henderson), Ron Francis, David Howard, Eugene Lockhart Jr.
Dallas Cowboys receive: 1991 first overall pick (Russell Maryland)
Michael Irvin, Troy Aikman, and Emmitt Smith joined the Dallas Cowboys in 1988, 1989, and 1990, respectively. It was Russell Maryland who helped them get over the hump to become a dynasty that won three Super Bowls, though. The 1991 first overall pick was a somewhat average player to be honest, and he was pretty below average for first overall standards. Still, he was a key contributor on one of the best teams in league history. The defensive tackle made the Pro Bowl once.
Maryland was never supposed to be the pick here, though. Rocket Ismail was the consensus number-one prospect in 1991, but he spurned the NFL for a record American football contract in the Canadian Football League. The decision forced the Cowboys to go with plan B (or plan C since they tried to flip the first overall pick that they already acquired to the Atlanta Falcons, who employed Ismail’s brother). It worked out for Dallas in the end, though, and Ismail eventually joined the Cowboys in 1999. The Patriots got nothing but a few mediocre role players from this deal.
1990: Atlanta Falcons to Indianapolis Colts
Atlanta Falcons receive: Chris Hinton, Andre Rison, 1990 121st overall pick (Reggie Redding), 1991 first-round pick (Mike Pritchard)
Indianapolis Colts receive: 1990 first overall pick (Jeff George)
The first overall pick was traded in back-to-back years to start the ’90s. In 1990, the Colts traded up for Jeff George. The quarterback with a cannon for an arm was mega-talented, but personality issues prevented him from working out with the Colts, and they traded him (ironically) to the Falcons after four years.
The original trade was great for Atlanta. They landed an All-Pro lineman in Chris Hinton (who was originally involved in the famous John Elway trade) and one of the best receivers of the ’90s in Andre Rison. Mike Prichard became a decent player for the team, too.
Funny enough, after originally passing on George, the trade to then bring him into Atlanta’s system four years later is what hurt the Falcons. That trade cost them two first round picks, one of which became Marvin Harrison.
1984: Cincinnati Bengals to New England Patriots
Cincinnati Bengals receive: 1984 16th overall pick (Pete Koch), 1984 28th overall pick (Brian Blados), 1984 265th overall pick (Brent Ziegler), 1985 fifth-round pick (Lee Davis)
New England Patriots receive: 1984 first overall pick (Irving Fryar)
The Bengals owned the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ first-round pick in 1984, and the selection ended up at the top of the draft. The Bengals used that leverage to deal the pick to the Patriots for two more first-round picks. The Patriots drafted Irving Fryar, who is one of only two first-overall receivers.
Fryar had a long and solid career, as his 12,785 career receiving yards rank 22nd all-time. However, most of his production came in his 30s when he played on teams outside of New England. The Bengals didn’t get much production out of any of their trade additions, though.
1978: Tampa Bay Buccaneers to Houston Oilers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers receive: Jimmie Giles, 1978 17th overall pick (Doug Williams), 1978 44th overall pick (Brett Moritz), 1979 third-round pick (Reggie Lewis), 1979 fifth-round pick (Chuck Fusina)
Houston Oilers receive: 1978 first overall pick (Earl Campbell)
The late ’70s was a golden age for running backs, both in the college game and at the NFL level. That was evidenced by Ricky Bell, the Buccaneers first overall pick in 1977. Bell had a great career that included a national championship at USC, and the Buccaneers had high hopes for him, even after a disappointing rookie season.
Bell’s year one struggles led to the Buccaneers receiving the first pick again in 1978, but because they believed in their ball-carrier, they traded the pick to the Houston Oilers. Earl Campbell was the consensus top pick, and Tampa Bay thought that they didn’t need him. This proved to be a mistake, as Campbell became one of the best running backs ever.
He had a short career, but his prime was one of the best peaks ever. He led the league in rushing yards in each of his first three seasons and in rushing touchdowns in two of his first three years. The Buccaneers actually got some solid players back in this deal, though. Tight end Jimmie Giles went to multiple Pro Bowls while he was with the team, and Doug Williams quarterbacked the team for five years (although he is best known for becoming the first black Super Bowl-winning quarterback when he was with the Washington Redskins). At the end of the day, though, Campbell won the MVP and three Offensive Player of the Year awards.
1975: Baltimore Colts to Atlanta Falcons
Baltimore Colts receive: 1975 third overall pick (Ken Huff), George Kunz
Atlanta Falcons receive: 1975 first overall pick (Steve Bartkowski)
Steve Bartkowski is the player the Atlanta Falcons traded up to select first overall in 1975. While he has been somewhat forgotten due to the test of time, he is one of the most underrated and underappreciated quarterbacks in league history. Bartkowski played 11 of his 12 seasons in Atlanta. He was a two-time Pro Bowler, and he led the league in passing touchdowns, passer rating, and completion percentage in different seasons. He is even one of only 10 quarterbacks with consecutive 30-touchdown seasons.
The Colts walked away with two very good offensive linemen to protect their quarterback, Bert Jones, who won the MVP award a year after this trade. The Falcons probably did win this trade, but it was still fairly even compared to a lot of the deals on this list.
1974: Houston Oilers to Dallas Cowboys
Houston Oilers receive: Tody Smith, Billy Parks
Dallas Cowboys receive: 1974 first overall pick (Ed Jones), 1974 53rd overall pick (Danny White)
Too Tall Jones was a standout player for the Cowboys during the ’70s, and it took a trade for the first overall pick to get him. The 6-foot-9 defensive lineman racked up 106 career sacks. This trade seemed like a fleece from the day it happened, and that proved true over time. For whatever reason, the Oilers didn’t even demand a draft pick back in return.
Instead, they dealt for two-year veteran Tody Smith, who only had five career sacks thus far, as well as two-year veteran Billy Parks, who only had five career receiving touchdowns to that point. Neither player completed four years in Houston, making this one of the most lopsided trades for a first-overall pick ever.
1968: New York Giants to Minnesota Vikings
New York Giants receive: Fran Tarkenton
Minnesota Vikings receive: 1968 first overall pick clause (Ron Yary), 1967 first-round pick (Clint Jones), 1967 second-round pick (Bob Grim), 1969 second-round pick (Ed White)
The AFL and NFL merged in 1966, and the Giants were awarded a weird clause that ensured that they would pick at the top of either the 1967 or 1968 NFL Draft. The team prioritized a quarterback, though, so they traded this clause – along with a number of other assets – for Fran Tarkenton.
Tarkenton was the OG scrambler in the NFL. He is more known for his two stints with the Minnesota Vikings, but his years in New York were some of his best. Four of Tarkenton’s nine Pro Bowls came on the Giants roster. The Vikings turned the first pick into offensive linemen Ron Yary, who became one of the best players in Vikings’ franchise history.
The seven-time Pro Bowler was a staple on the offensive side during the Purple People Eaters era. Clinton Jones was a part of this deal, too. He wasn’t the first overall pick like Yary, but he was taken second overall. However, his NFL career was unspectacular. Ironically, the Vikings ended up trading back for Tarkenton five years later.
1967: New Orleans Saints to Baltimore Colts
New Orleans Saints receive: Gary Cuozzo
Baltimore Colts receive: Bubba Smith
A lot of first-overall pick trades have involved the same teams. The Panthers, Titans/Oilers, Rams, Falcons, Bengals, Patriots, Cowboys, and Colts are responsible for 19 out of the 26 teams involved in a trade out of/for the first overall pick, as all of those teams made a move involving the pick on multiple occasions.
The Colts were the first team during the Super Bowl era to trade for the pick, and they fleeced the Saints in this 1967 deal. The Saints needed a quarterback in their first season, so they made this deal for Johnny Unitas’ backup, Gary Cuozzo, but the quarterback never came close to matching his mentor’s success. Cuozzo was off of the Saints roster after only one season.
While Smith did deal with some injury issues, he was a force to be reckoned with when he was on the field. He led the way on some of the best Colts teams ever. His resume includes a Super Bowl win, an NFL Championship, and two Pro Bowls.
The post Every time an NFL team traded the 1st overall draft pick appeared first on ClutchPoints.
