Top 10 Biggest Trades In NFL History: Where Does Myles Garrett Deal Rank?

Los Angeles Rams general manager Les Snead hasn’t been shy about making big trades, but he might have made his biggest move yet on Monday. 

After very minimal buzz, the Rams landed two-time Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett from the Cleveland Browns for two-time Pro Bowler Jared Verse, a 2027 first-round pick, a 2028 second-round pick and a 2029 third-round pick. 

It’s a historic trade in multiple regards. Garrett is the first reigning Defensive Player of the Year winner to be traded. As a result, the Rams will become the first team in NFL history to have the reigning MVP and Defensive Player of the Year recipients on the same team (excluding seasons when the same player won both awards). 

But where does the Rams’ trade for Garrett stack up against the most eye-opening deals in NFL history? Here’s our full top 10. 

After Randy Moss was moved to the New England Patriots, his career found a second wind. He developed a special connection with Tom Brady and surpassed the 1,000-receiving yards mark each season. In 2007, he posted a career-high 1,493 yards and 23 touchdowns, the most by a receiver in a single season. Despite the individual success, Moss wasn’t a part of New England’s Super Bowl-winning teams.

A historical theory was tested with this trade: can a team be successful with a high-powered, high-paid running back? The Carolina Panthers felt they couldn’t be, dealing Christian McCaffrey to the San Francisco 49ers in 2022 during their fourth straight losing season. Since then, the 49ers have proved the opposite. In McCaffrey’s first season, San Francisco went to the NFC Championship. The following year, he led the NFL with 1,459 yards and 14 touchdowns and the 49ers reached the Super Bowl. 

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers traded a struggling Steve Young to San Francisco, where he resurrected his career. After spelling Joe Montana for four seasons, Young became the 49ers’ starter and led them to a Super Bowl victory in 1995. He also won the MVP in 1992 and 1994. 

Just one season after drafting Brett Favre in the second round of the NFL Draft, the Atlanta Falcons shipped him to the Green Bay Packers. This was a decision Atlanta would come to regret as Favre went on to lead Green Bay to a Super Bowl victory in 1997. He also won the MVP award in three straight seasons between 1995-1997, becoming the only player in league history to do that. 

Many view the Matthew Stafford for Jared Goff deal as a win-win. The Rams lost the Super Bowl in 2018 before missing the playoffs the next season and losing in the divisional round in the following year. So, in order to capitalize on a win-now window, they moved the younger Goff for the wily veteran Stafford. In his first season with the Los Angeles Rams, Stafford led the team to a Super Bowl title. While the deal instantly paid off for the Rams, it took a few seasons for the Detroit Lions. The Lions rebuilt around Goff as the city fell in love with the culture-setting quarterback. In 2025, they put it all together, going 15-2 as Goff threw for a career-high 4,629 yards and 37 touchdowns. The Rams are still reaping the rewards of the trade as well, with Stafford winning MVP in 2025.

While there were rumors about the Dallas Cowboys sending Parsons to the Packers, it was shocking when it actually happened. The Cowboys opted to trade Parsons a week before the start of the 2025 regular season, significantly diminishing their defense for two first-round picks. The Packers got a boost by having Parsons on their roster in 2025, logging 12.5 sacks in 14 games before tearing his ACL. Dallas, meanwhile, used one of the first-round picks on UCF edge rusher Malachi Lawrence in the 2026 draft. The other pick they acquired from the Packers allowed them to trade for New York Jets star defensive tackle Quinnen Williams in the middle of the 2025 season. 

Eric Dickerson’s first couple of seasons with the Indianapolis Colts were successful. After winning Offensive Player of the Year in 1986, Dickerson was traded for several picks and players, including three first-round picks. Dickerson ran for 1,011 yards in nine games after joining Indianapolis in 1987 before rushing for 1,659 yards and 14 touchdowns in 1987. But after that, his career started to trickle off as he only made one more Pro Bowl. 

The Colts were unwilling to pay Marshall Faulk, so they shipped him to the St. Louis Rams for a pair of draft picks. It was a huge win for the Rams, who won the Super Bowl in Faulk’s first season. During that year, Faulk rushed for 1,381 yards at a career-high 5.5 yards per rush clip. The following season (2000), he won the NFL’s Most Valuable Player Award. 

The Rams made another massive deal on Monday to earn themselves another spot on this list. They acquired Garrett for not only three draft picks (including a first-round selection), but they also gave up Pro Bowl edge rusher Jared Verse. That’s the price of acquiring a two-time Defensive Player of the Year in the midst of their prime, though, as Garrett also set the single-season record for sacks (23) in 2025. On top of the deal for Garrett, this marked the second trade the Rams made in which they traded a first-round pick for a star player. They gave up multiple picks in order to get All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie from the Kansas City Chiefs. 

Before the Micah Parsons trade, the Cowboys made another significant deal in which they traded a star player for picks. In this instance, Dallas traded Pro Bowl running back Herschel Walker for a haul of players and picks that ultimately set them up to win the Super Bowl in 1992, 1993 and 1995. The most significant piece came in the form of another running back, Emmitt Smith, whom the Cowboys drafted in 1990. Meanwhile, in Minnesota, Walker didn’t surpass the 1,000-yard rushing mark in any of his seasons there. 

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