NFL: Five Biggest Blockbuster Trades of All-Time

San Francisco 49ers vs Kansas City Chiefs
San Francisco 49ers vs Kansas City Chiefs

2. The New York Giants trade Odell Beckham Jr. to the Cleveland Browns (2019)

Indianapolis Colts v Cleveland Browns
Indianapolis Colts v Cleveland Browns

His stock price may have dipped slightly in Cleveland, but Odell Beckham Jr. was seriously hot property in the NFL at the time the Giants and the Browns agreed on a trade.

Be the GM of your favorite team, use our free Mock Draft Simulator with trades

youtube-cover

New York has since used those picks to recruit defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence and outside linebacker Oshane Ximines from the NFL Draft, with the former looking a real player for the Giants since his arrival.

Beckham, on the other hand, has endured two injury-ravaged campaigns with the Browns. He struggled with a core muscle injury in his first year and, after getting off to a good start in 2020 (319-yards and 3 touchdowns in 5 games), blew out his ACL and spent the rest of the year on IR.

The Browns did brilliantly to reach the playoffs last season, but they did it without Odell Beckham Jr. As such, it's hard to say that New York didn't get the best end of the deal on this blockbuster trade.

1. The Herschel Walker Trade (1989)

Dallas Cowboys vs New York Giants
Dallas Cowboys vs New York Giants

It was the most blockbuster trade in NFL history (and quite possibly the most lopsided), a trade that saw the Dallas Cowboys send all-purpose running back Herschel Walker to the Minnesota Vikings.

Herschel Walker had amassed over 2,000-yards in the 1988-89 NFL season, but it wasn't enough to persuade Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson that his ailing locker room didn't need an injection of young blood.

The Cowboys decided to trade Walker to the Vikings, plus their third- and a 10th-round pick in the 1990 NFL draft; the San Diego Chargers' fifth-round pick (given to the Cowboys in a trade for running back Darrin Nelson) and their third-round pick in the 1991 NFL Draft... In exchange, Minnesota sent linebackers Jesse Solomon and David Howard, defensive end Alex Stewart, cornerback Issaic Holt and first-, second-and sixth-round picks in 1990, alongside a second-round pick in the 1992 NFL Draft back to Dallas.

Herschel Walker didn't find much success in Minnesota with the Vikings. The former Cowboys player appeared just once in the playoffs and signed with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1992.

Dallas used the picks given to them by the Vikings to bring in such talents as running back Emmitt Smith, defensive tackle, Russell Maryland, and safety, Darren Woodson.

It was players like the aforementioned who under saw the greatest period of dominance in the Cowboys' franchise history, as the team went on to lift three Super Bowl trophies in four seasons (1993; 1994, & 1996); thus making the Herschel Walker trade the most blockbuster of all.

Quick Links