Forks in the road.
Those are the moments when decisions are made in a figurative and literal sense. In the NFL, those can include trades, free-agent signings, hirings, firings and more. Each of those decisions will alter the course of franchise and league history – some for better and others for worse.
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The Myles Garrett and A.J. Brown blockbuster trades are only the latest examples of that in a league that has become increasingly aggressive in making moves.
MORE: NFL players that could be traded next after Myles Garrett blockbuster
And perhaps there is no better evidence of that increased deal-making than looking back at the last decade. There have been countless trades that left a lasting impact on the league as we know it. Sometimes it comes in the form of draft-day trade-ups for players like Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen. In other cases, it can be an offseason move for coaches or a disgruntled star.
Super Bowls might be decided on the field, but some have been determined by one phone call that changed everything.
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Here’s a look at the top 10 trades of the last 10 years in the NFL.
Top 10 NFL trades of the last 10 years
Honorable mention: Sean Payton and Bruce Arians headline head coach trades
Coaches aren’t often traded in the NFL, so it tends to be a big deal when that happens. In 2023, the Broncos acquired Payton and a 2024 third-round pick from the Saints in exchange for a 2023 first-round pick and a 2024 second-round pick. It’s a move that came after Payton took a year off from patrolling the sidelines and the coach has since established the Broncos as a Super Bowl contender. In terms of players, the Saints landed Bryan Bresee and Kool-Aid McKinstry, whom they traded up for, while the Broncos landed Riley Moss after packaging the pick to trade up.
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Yet that wasn’t the only coach trade in the last 10 years. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers acquired Bruce Arians from the Arizona Cardinals in 2019, but for much less than the Payton trade. Tampa sent a sixth-round pick in exchange for Arians and a seventh, which worked out well for the franchise. Arians would end up bringing in Tom Brady ahead of his second season, a year that culminated in the franchise’s second Super Bowl victory.
If you’re wondering what came of those picks, Arizona drafted Georgia center Lamont Gaillard in the sixth round and Tampa selected Missouri DT Terry Beckner Jr. at the top of the seventh round.
10. Bills trade up for Josh Allen
The Bills are now considered a perennial Super Bowl contender, but it wasn’t always that way – at least not before Allen arrived. It wasn’t long ago that the Bills were starting quarterbacks like Ryan Fitzpatrick, EJ Manuel and Tyrod Taylor. Luckily for Buffalo, that quarterback carousel stopped spinning when the Bills moved up five spots in the 2018 NFL Draft to select the Wyoming signal-caller.
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It was a leap of faith at the time to draft Allen. He had all the tools to be a great quarterback and arguably the highest ceiling of anyone in that class, but it was going to take plenty of development to turn Allen into a star. A difficult rookie season didn’t necessarily instill confidence; however, Allen has been everything the organization could’ve dreamed of ever since.
Buffalo traded the No. 12, No. 53 and No. 56 picks in the 2018 draft to Tampa in exchange for the No. 7 and No. 255 picks. While the Bills walked away with the future league MVP and WR Austin Proehl, the Buccaneers added some quality starters with the picks they received. Tampa ended up with Vita Vea, M.J. Stewart, Carlton Davis and Jordan Whitehead – if you factor in trades made with those picks.
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9. Titans trade A.J. Brown to the Eagles
This was a shocker in the moment. Years later, we can look back on this trade as the moment the Titans‘ window of contention closed and a big reason why the Eagles eventually won another Super Bowl. Tennessee acquired the No. 18 and No. 101 picks in the 2022 draft from Philadelphia in exchange for Brown, who needed a new contract. The Titans selected Arkansas’ Treylon Burks as Brown’s immediate replacement at No. 18, while the other pick was used in a trade that took the team out of the first round.
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Burks was put in an impossible spot, especially for a franchise that was coming off a 12-5 season in the midst of a three-year run of success under Mike Vrabel. Burks struggled to stay healthy, playing in just 27 games through three seasons in the Music City. The receiver would end his Titans career with 53 catches, 699 receiving yards and one touchdown. To put it in perspective, Brown totaled 88 catches, 1,496 yards and 11 touchdowns in his first season with the Eagles.
Philadelphia would appear in the Super Bowl in Brown’s first season, but ultimately lost to Kansas City. The Eagles would get their revenge a couple of years later, knocking off the Chiefs in Super Bowl 59. While Brown was a big part of Philadelphia’s success, the star receiver’s absence in Tennessee led to the firing of general manager Jon Robinson in 2022 and the franchise has only won 19 games in the four seasons since the trade.
8. Ravens trade up for Lamar Jackson
Two-time NFL MVPs don’t grow on trees and the Ravens managed to acquire one without breaking the bank. Baltimore capped off the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft by trading up with Philadelphia to select Jackson. It came at a time when the Joe Flacco era was ending, meaning the Ravens could’ve faded into irrelevance if Jackson hadn’t emerged as a star.
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The Ravens dealt the 52nd and 125th picks, plus a 2019 second-round selection, in exchange for Jackson and the 132nd pick in that draft. The quarterback has experienced plenty of success in the regular season since being selected by Baltimore, but Jackson has his team in a good position to challenge for a Super Bowl despite his fair share of playoff struggles.
Philadelphia went on to use that trio of picks to select Dallas Goedert, Avonte Maddox and Miles Sanders.
7. The Bryce Young trade becomes the Caleb Williams trade
Given what we know now, you can’t tell the story of the last decade without mentioning the Williams trade. Or, as it was better known at the time – the Bryce Young trade. The Panthers wanted to secure their quarterback of the future and made a big splash to do so. To acquire the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Carolina parted with DJ Moore, two first-round picks and two second-round picks.
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In other words, it was a lot. The Panthers were even worse in Young’s rookie season and handed the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft to the Bears – who went on to select Williams out of USC. In fairness to Young, he did lead the Panthers to a playoff appearance in 2025, but he faces an uphill climb against what became a package that altered the course of Bears’ history.
Williams’ arrival in Chicago eventually helped the team land Ben Johnson as its next head coach. The draft picks helped them select players like Darnell Wright, Luther Burden, Tyrique Stevenson and Tory Taylor. In the 2026 offseason, Chicago traded Moore to Buffalo for a second-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft that was packaged in multiple draft trades. Meanwhile, in Carolina the Panthers are still debating whether Young can be the long-term solution for the franchise.
6. Cowboys deal Micah Parsons to Packers
The 2025 offseason was filled with drama, but it ultimately culminated in a shocking blockbuster trade. The Cowboys shipped Parsons to the Packers a week ahead of the 2025 season in exchange for Kenny Clark and first-round picks in 2026 and 2027. Parsons was rewarded with a four-year, $188 million extension upon arrival, while the Cowboys used the assets to rebuild a broken defense.
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Dallas ended up swinging a trade deadline deal with the New York Jets for Quinnen Williams, using a 2027 first-round pick as part of the package. For the 2026 draft, they traded the Packers’ first-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles and moved back. That pick eventually turned into a trio of players for Dallas – Malachi Lawrence, Devin Moore and LT Overton.
While the Packers hope Parsons makes them a Super Bowl contender, the Cowboys hope the quantity of players acquired outweighs the quality of the star they traded.
5. Seahawks get a haul from Broncos for Russell Wilson
The Broncos took a big swing by trading for Wilson, but it was actually the Seahawks that ended up rounding the bases. In fact, it was this trade that helped build the Seattle team that won Super Bowl 60. Denver eventually moved on from Wilson and invested a premium draft pick in Bo Nix, but not before the damage was done.
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It was a move that ushered in a new era for the Seahawks, as four of the five draft picks they acquired became Charles Cross, Boye Mafe, Devon Witherspoon and Derick Hall. In addition to those picks, Seattle also received Drew Lock, Noah Fant and Shelby Harris.
So while the Broncos’ new ownership group, headlined by the Walmart heir, was handing out a big-money extension to the tune of five years, $242.5 million to Wilson in 2022, it also indirectly created a new juggernaut in the Pacific Northwest.
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4. 49ers acquire Christian McCaffrey from Panthers
Football fans, executives and media will debate the value of running backs until the end of time, but this is one instance where the position was worth every penny. In a 2022 trade deadline deal, McCaffrey ended up being something of a missing piece for Kyle Shanahan’s team. The Niners have experienced plenty of success with McCaffrey being the engine of the offense, even if it hasn’t been enough to win a Super Bowl.
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Regardless, the trade transformed San Francisco‘s offense and, in some ways, the league’s thinking about whether it’s possible to win with a highly-paid running back.
As for the Panthers, they would receive a second, third and fourth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft in addition to a fifth-round selection in the 2024 NFL Draft. They would go on to deal the second-round pick as part of the package to trade up for Bryce Young. The third and fourth-round picks would be packaged to move up for EDGE DJ Johnson, while the 2024 fifth-round pick would be shipped to the Giants along with Brian Burns.
3. Browns trade Myles Garrett to Rams for Jared Verse, draft picks
Over a year after requesting a trade, Garrett finally got his wish and packed his bags for Hollywood. The two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year headlines not only one of the biggest trades in recent memory, but also in league history. It’s a move that signals the Rams are all-in on trying to win another Super Bowl, especially since they parted with Jared Verse, a 2027 first-round pick, 2028 second-round pick and 2029 third-round pick in exchange for Garrett.
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There is a chance this trade could be a transformative move for the Browns, given the amount of draft capital they acquired, along with a rising star. Even if the Rams got the best player in the trade, it could work for both sides. History will determine whether this deal moves up the rankings.
2. Chiefs move up for Patrick Mahomes
What if the NFL’s latest dynasty never got its quarterback? The Chiefs weren’t in a position to select Mahomes in the 2017 NFL Draft as they headed into the first round with the No. 27 pick. As the story goes, Mahomes would come off the board at No. 10, but it required a rival’s help to make that partnership a reality. Kansas City moved up 17 spots with Buffalo, which allowed the Chiefs to draft the quarterback who has blocked the Bills’ path to the Super Bowl ever since.
And it only took the No. 27 overall pick, a third-round pick and a 2018 first-round selection to make it happen. The Bills clearly don’t walk away as winners, but they used the No. 27 pick to draft Tre’Davious White and packaged the other selections in trades that helped acquire Zay Jones, Dion Dawkins and Tremaine Edmunds.
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Mahomes wasn’t a sure thing by any means, but his development under Andy Reid turned the former Texas Tech prospect from a reckless gunslinger into one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. He has gone on to lead the Chiefs to three Super Bowls and seven appearances in the AFC championship game over eight years as the starter. As for the Bills, they are still waiting for a return to the Super Bowl stage.
1. Rams trade Jared Goff to Lions for Matthew Stafford
It’s one of those rare occasions where both teams walk away as winners of the trade. Stafford won a Super Bowl with the Rams in his first season, putting 12 years of failure in Detroit behind him. The quarterback who previously owned a 0-3 postseason record went on to win four playoff games in 2021 and has remained at the top of his game ever since – including being named NFL MVP in 2026 for the first time.
In many ways, Stafford saw his career reborn with the Rams and reached a level of superstardom that was never happening with the Lions. However, Detroit also walked away as a big winner in this case. The original terms of the deal saw Stafford head to L.A. in exchange for Goff, a 2021 third-round pick, as well as first-round picks in 2022 and 2023.
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The expanded details, which include trades the Lions made involving these assets, tell the story of how Detroit reestablished itself on the NFL map. Like Stafford, Goff made the most of his change of scenery and has quarterbacked the team through some of the most successful seasons in franchise history. In addition to Goff, the Lions used those picks indirectly to draft Jahmyr Gibbs, Sam LaPorta and Jameson Williams – all players who are key parts of the team’s current core.
Five years later, both franchises can look to this deal as the turning point in their history – for the better.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ranking NFL trades of last 10 years after Myles Garrett blockbuster
