Ranking The Five Biggest Deals In NFL Trade Deadline History

The 2025 NFL Trade Deadline has officially come and gone, but not without several big moves along the way.

The Indianapolis Colts made a blockbuster trade with the New York Jets for superstar cornerback Sauce Gardner. The Jets continued their fire sale by trading star defensive tackle Quinnen Williams to the Dallas Cowboys.

And the Seattle Seahawks added to an already talented wide receiver corps with the addition of New Orleans Saints speedster Rasheed Shaheed.

Only time will tell how those moves work out. But there are plenty of examples of league-changing moves at the deadline in the past, and we’re counting them down.

Biggest Moves In NFL Trade Deadline History

Unlike the NBA or MLB, the NFL doesn’t exactly have an extensive history of trade deadline blockbusters. Sure, you’ll get the occasional big move. But most substantial trades occur in the offseason.

What that does mean, however, is that when a big-time deal gets done at the deadline, it receives a lot of press and could significantly change the direction of the current season.

These five moves are the biggest in league history.

5) The Jacksonville Jaguars Trade Jalen Ramsey To The Los Angeles Rams

The Jacksonville Jaguars used the fifth pick of the 2016 NFL Draft on star cornerback Jalen Ramsey out of Florida State. But while Ramsey lived up to the hype, the Jags did little to hold up their end of the bargain.

So when 2019 rolled around, and with Ramsey looking for a major contract extension, he asked out.

On October 15, 2019, the Jaguars traded Ramsey to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for a 2020 first-round pick (20th overall), a 2021 first-round pick (25th overall), and a 2021 fourth-round pick (130th overall). Ramsey went on to make two All-Pro teams in LA and helped lead the Rams to victory in Super Bowl LVI.

4) Eric Dickerson Goes To The Indianapolis Colts In Three-Team Deal

By 1987, Eric Dickerson had established himself as a superstar for the Los Angeles Rams. The No. 2 pick in the 1983 NFL Draft was a three-time first-team All-Pro and the NFL’s reigning offensive player of the year.

But with Rams sitting at 1-5, they dealt the Hall of Fame running back to the Indianapolis Colts in a three-team deal involving the Buffalo. Bills involved

The deal involved 10 total players, including future draft picks. Dickerson helped the Colts to the playoffs in 1987 and was again named a first-team All-Pro, as he was in 1988 as well.

But Indy would not make the playoffs again in his tenure.

3) Marshawn Lynch Joins The Seattle Seahawks From The Buffalo Bills

Marshawn Lynch was a good player for the Buffalo Bills. The 2007 first-round draft pick made the Pro Bowl in 2008 and rushed for over 1,000 in each of his first two seasons.

But nobody could’ve imagined what Lynch would be come when the Seattle Seahawks gave up a fourth-round pick and a conditional fifth-round pick to acquire him in 2010.

In Seattle, Lynch blossomed into one of the league’s elite running backs, making four more Pro Bowls, eclipsing 1,000 yards rushing four times, making maybe the most iconic run in NFL history, and leading Seattle to a Super Bowl victory.

In fact, had Seahawks coach Pete Carroll put more faith in Lynch, it very likely would’ve been two Super Bowl victories.

2) The Carolina Panthers Trade Christian McCaffrey To The San Francisco 49ers

Unlike Lynch, Christian McCaffrey was well-established as a superstar for the Carolina Panthers early in his career. There was just one problem. The Panthers were absolutely terrible. And an elite running back on a terrible team really isn’t worth all that much to anybody.

And so in 2022, Carolina deal McCaffrey to the 49ers for a second, third, fourth, and fifth-round pick, which still feels like far too little in hindsight.

The 49ers haven’t won the Super Bowl with McCaffrey, so maybe they didn’t quite get everything they wanted. But he was named the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year in 2023 and is still widely regarded as one of the league’s most dangerous offensive threats.

1) The Minnesota Vikings Sell The Farm To The Dallas Cowboys For Herschel Walker

Herschel Walker joined the Dallas Cowboys in 1986 after a brief stint in the USFL and quickly supplanted Tony Dorsett as the team’s star running back.

But like the Panthers and McCaffrey, the Cowboys were putrid in the late 1980s. The Minnnesota Vikings, meanwhile, had Super Bowl aspirations.

So on Oct. 12, 1989, after Walker had played five games for the Dallas Cowboys, the Vikings and Cowboys pulled off a the most famous trade in NFL history.

The Cowboys sent Walker along with third- and 10th-round picks in 1990 and a third-round pick in 1991 to the Vikings for five players: Jesse Solomon, David Howard, Issiac Holt, Alex Stewart, and Darrin Nelson.

More importantly, however, Dallas received an incredible haul of draft picks: first, second, and sixth rounders in 1990; first and second rounders in 1991; and first, second, and third rounders in 1992.

Walker played three seasons in Minnesota and never rushed for 1,000 yards. Meanwhile, Dallas used those picks to draft superstars such as Emmitt Smith, Darren Woodson, and Russell Maryland, propelling them to a dynasty that won three Super Bowls in four seasons.