Trade History: Packers make several deals involving star quarterbacks
Much like the Broncos with John Elway, the Packers saw their franchise fortunes turn around after making a trade for a quarterback. In Green Bay’s case, the acquisition of little-used Falcons backup Brett Favre led to 10 postseason berths and two Super Bowl appearances from 1993-2004. Although the team’s other star passers, Bart Starr and Aaron Rodgers, came to Green Bay through the draft, several other trades on the team’s top 10 list included quarterbacks.
1. (Part One) April 29, 1956:
Packers acquired: DT Don King and G Gene Donaldson
Browns acquired: A fifth-round pick in the 1957 NFL Draft
(Part Two) September 15, 1959:
Packers acquired: DT Henry Jordan
Browns acquired: A fourth-round pick in the 1960 NFL Draft
King, a defensive tackle from Kentucky, was signed by the Browns as an undrafted free agent in 1954. He appeared in nine games with Cleveland as a rookie and was traded to Green Bay after taking a year off in 1955. King played six games with the Packers after the trade, then was released and signed with the Eagles for the rest of the season. His last action came as a member of the AFL’s Denver Broncos, where he made two starts and had two interceptions in the league’s inaugural season of 1960. Donaldson, a guard, was King’s teammate at Kentucky and was drafted by the Browns in the third round of the 1953 NFL Draft. He played 11 games with Cleveland as a rookie and never appeared in the NFL again.
Although there is some spotty history about NFL trades before 1960, especially those involving draft picks, the consensus is that a fifth-round pick was sent back to the Browns. Cleveland used the selection on Henry Jordan, a defensive tackle from Virginia. Jordan played every game in his first two seasons with Cleveland as a reserve before he was shipped back to Green Bay before the 1959 season. He overcame his “small size” (248 pounds) according to Browns coach Paul Brown to become one of the best defensive tackles of his era. In 11 seasons with Green Bay Jordan made four Pro Bowls and was a five-time All-Pro while also posting 20 fumble recoveries. He was also a part of five Packers championship teams, including starting in the first two Super Bowls. Jordan retired after an injury-filled 1969 season and started Summerfest, a Milwaukee-based event that is billed as the “World’s Largest Music Festival.” He passed away in 1977 after suffering a heart attack during a workout and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame posthumously in 1995.
In exchange, the Browns received a fourth-round pick in 1960 that they used on Johnny Brewer, a tight end and linebacker from Mississippi. He chose Cleveland despite also being selected by the AFL’s franchise in Minnesota (the ownership group was lured away to the NFL and became the Vikings, while the AFL replaced the team with the Oakland Raiders). Brewer spent seven seasons with the Browns, and was part of the team’s last championship in 1964. He switched to linebacker in 1966 and made his only Pro Bowl that season. After one more year with Cleveland, Brewer was traded to the Saints, where he played three seasons before retiring in 1970. After a long career in the insurance industry, he passed away in 2011.
Assessment: Although Brewer was a solid player and made a Pro Bowl, Jordan showed his detractors in Cleveland wrong by becoming one of the best defensive tackles in the NFL and earning a spot in the Hall of Fame. PACKERS
2. July 7, 1967:
Packers acquired: A first-round pick in the 1967 NFL Draft and a player to be named
Saints acquired: FB Jim Taylor
Despite having two-star linebackers already in Ray Nitschke and Dave Robinson, the Packers used the first-round pick on Fred Carr, a 1967 All-American at the University of Texas at El Paso. Although he just missed playing in those first two Super Bowls, Carr was selected to three Pro Bowls while amassing 15 fumble recoveries and eight interceptions. He retired in 1977 and died in 2018 after suffering from prostate cancer and dementia. The player to be named was Phil Vandersea, a linebacker and defensive end from the University of Massachusetts, who Green Bay originally drafted in the 16th round in 1965. Vandersea earned a title as a reserve in his rookie season, then spent a year in New Orleans after the Saints selected him in the Expansion Draft. He played 24 games in two seasons after returning to Green Bay and retired after the 1969 season.
Taylor was an All-American at LSU, and was drafted by the Packers in the second round the following year. He was a four-time champion and a five-time Pro Bowler who earned league MVP and All-Pro honors after leading the NFL with 1,474 yards and 19 touchdowns in 1962. Taylor showed his toughness in that season’s championship game, overcoming frigid conditions, a stout Giants defense, and a bout of hepatitis to rush 31 times for 85 yards and a score in a 16-7 win at Yankee Stadium. He is also Green Bay’s all-time leader with 81 touchdowns, and ranks second with 8,207 rushing yards. When Taylor was traded to the Saints, he was reunited with Tom Fears, a former tight end who also was a former Packers’ assistant coach. In 1967, Taylor caught 38 passes out of the backfield, but ran for just 390 yards, the lowest total since his rookie season. As a result, Fears wanted to use Taylor mostly on special teams in 1968, but he retired at the end of training camp. After his playing career, he turned to the world of business, including a stint as commissioner of the ill-fated United States Rugby League in 1977 (which never got off the ground due to lack of funding). A 1976 Pro Football Hall of Famer, Taylor passed away in 2018 at age 83.
Assessment: While Carr did not have the same impact as Jordan in the trade before, he was selected to three Pro Bowls while Green Bay traded away Taylor, who was clearly in the twilight of his career. PACKERS
3. September 2, 1970:
Packers acquired: C Malcolm Walker and DE Clarence (Sweeney) Williams
Cowboys acquired: CB Herb Adderley
Walker was a 1964 All-American center at Rice University in Houston. He spent his first four seasons with the Cowboys, playing in 48 games and starting every game in both 1968 and ’69. In his first two years, he was a reserve in two Dallas losses to Green Bay in NFL Championship Games. After the trade, Walker played 11 games with Green Bay and was released in 1971 after suffering due to knee issues, retiring soon after. Williams was a defensive end from Prairie View A&M who spent his rookie season on Dallas’ practice squad before the trade. He played 111 games, starting 94 during his eight-year run with the Packers before he was released, which led to his retirement in 1978. Williams was an assistant coach at St. Norbert College and Southeast Missouri State, and he passed away in 2017.
Adderley was a former Michigan State running back who the Packers drafted in the first round in 1961. Despite his talent, Adderley was moved to cornerback because the Packers already had Taylor and Paul Hornung on the roster. The move paid off, as Adderley became a five-time Pro Bowler, a four-time All-Pro and a star on five Green Bay championship teams in the 1960s. His 29 interceptions rank third in team history, and his seven touchdown returns are second. Adderley had issues with Vince Lombardi’s replacement, Phil Bengtson, and the rift eventually led to a trade. With Dallas, Adderley played in 39 games and had nine interceptions in three seasons before retiring in 1972. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980.
Assessments: Walker was a non-factor, but Williams started for seven years in Green Bay, while Adderley played just three more in Dallas before he retired. PACKERS
4. (Part One) June 24, 1971:
Packers acquired: A first-round pick in 1972
Chargers acquired: DT Kevin Hardy
(Part Two) October 22, 1974:
Packers acquired: QB John Hadl
Rams acquired: First-, second- and third-round picks in the 1975 NFL Draft, as well as first- and second-rounders in 1976
Here is a case that sums up Green Bay’s decade of mediocrity in the 1970s. The team was still unable to recover from the retirement of most of its stars from the ’60s, especially quarterback Bart Starr. The Packers made one bad trade for a quarterback, and then another, to try and fix the position. With the first-round pick in 1972, Green Bay selected Jerry Tagge, a star on Nebraska teams that won back-to-back National Championships in 1970 and ’71. He could not imitate his college success however, posting a 6-6 record with the Packers in three seasons while totaling just three touchdowns to 17 interceptions. He was backing up Scott Hunter when Green Bay made it’s only playoff appearance during the decade in 1972. Tagge played one year in the World Football league with the San Antonio Wings, but was intercepted five times in his only start. From there, Tagge went to the CFL, where he was an All-Star with the BC Lions in 1977. He retired in 1979, after three years in Canada.
Tagge’s lack of production directly led to Green Bay having to make another trade, this one with the Rams. The Packers acquired Hadl, a veteran in his 13th season who was named to six Pro Bowls and was coming off an All-Pro selection in his first season with the Rams in 1973. He lasted just 22 games in Green Bay, posting a 7-12 record and amassing an awful 9-to-29 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Hadl finished his career with two seasons in Houston before retiring in 1977. He was a coach after his playing career before returning to Kansas and serving at his alma mater until his retirement in 2018.
Hardy is best known for getting drafted in the first round by the Saints in 1968 (seventh overall) and being released in training camp. He spent one year as a reserve with the 49ers and another with the Packers before the trade that brought him to San Diego. Hardy started 10 games with the Chargers in 1971, but was out of the NFL after the following season.
The Rams pulled in quite a haul of picks for Hadl: First, Los Angeles selected Notre Dame defensive tackle Mike Fanning ninth overall in 1975. A 1974 All-American, Fanning played eight seasons in L. A., mostly as a reserve. He did start in the 1979 season, and had a sack in the NFC Championship Game to help the Rams reach Super Bowl XIV. Fanning was traded to the Lions in 1982 and finished his career with the Seahawks the following year. The second-round pick was Monte Jackson, a cornerback from San Diego State. Jackson was made two Pro Bowls and was an All-Pro in 1976, when he led the NFL with 10 interceptions and three returned for touchdowns. He signed with Oakland in 1978, and won a title with the Raiders two years later in Super Bowl XV. Jackson returned to the Rams for one final season in 1983 before retiring with 23 career interceptions. With the final pick in 1975, Los Angeles selected Washington State center Geoff Reece, who played 14 games in 1976 with the Rams and three the following year with the Seahawks before he retired.
The Rams traded the 1976 first-round pick (Wisconsin tackle Dennis Lick) to the Lions as compensation for signing wide receiver Ron Jessie, who spent his first four seasons in Detroit. Jessie played five years with the Rams, including 1976, when he made his only Pro Bowl after posting career highs with 779 yards and six touchdowns. His final season with the team was in the Super Bowl season in 1979, but he was not active for any playoff games. Jessie spent two years with the Bills before retiring in 1981. The Rams used the second-rounder on Pat Thomas, a two-time All-American cornerback from Texas A&M. Thomas played his entire seven-year career with the Rams, earning two Pro Bowl selections and an All-Pro nod in 1980 while posting 26 career interceptions. After retiring in 1982, Thomas coached for the next 20 years in college, the NFL and the USFL.
Assessment: The Packers needed to make two trades in a failed attempt to shore up the quarterback position. After Tagge’s stunningly poor career, Green Bay needed to overpay for an aging Hadl, who also did not produce. Meanwhile, Los Angeles made the playoffs eight straight years from 1973-80, including five appearances in the NFC Championship Game and a trip to Super Bowl XIV. RAMS
5. April 14, 1987: Packers acquired:
A third-round pick in the 1987 NFL Draft and a fourth-rounder in 1988
Raiders acquired: WR James Lofton
Green Bay used the third-round pick on Frankie Neal, a wide receiver at Fort Hays State University in Kansas. Neal played just one season in the NFL, totaling 36 receptions, 420 yards and three touchdowns with the Packers in 1987. The fourth-rounder was Oregon defensive tackle Rollin Putzier, who was cut by Green Bay in training camp. He played five games with the Steelers in 1988 and 11 with the 49ers the following year as his only NFL experience. Putzier played with the World League of American Football (the precursor to NFL Europe) in 1992 before retiring at the end of the season.
Lofton, a Stanford graduate, spent his first nine seasons with the Packers, earning seven Pro Bowl selections, being named an All-Pro in 1981, and posting five 1,000-yard seasons. He ranks second in team history with 9,656 yards, fourth with 530 catches and eighth with 49 touchdowns. After the trade, Lofton played just two years with the Raiders, posting 69 catches, 1,429 yards, and five scores. He spent four seasons with the Bills, making the Pro Bowl in 1991 and playing in three Super Bowls. He split his final year between the Eagles and Rams before retiring in 1993 as the NFL leader in receiving yards with 14,004 (he now ranks 12th all-time). The 2003 Hall of Famer has spent most of his post-playing career as an analyst for NFL coverage on Westwood One radio and CBS.
Assessment: Despite Lofton only playing two years in Oakland, he was still a productive player, and posted better numbers in both seasons than Neal did as a rookie. RAIDERS
6. February 11, 1992:
Packers acquired: QB Brett Favre
Falcons acquired: A first-round pick in the 1992 NFL Draft
This trade was the one referenced in the opening. Favre, a Southern Mississippi product, was third on the Atlanta quarterback depth chart behind Chris Miller and Billy Joe Tolliver in 1991. He threw just four passes, completing none to Falcons receivers but two to the other team. Favre supplanted both Mike Tomczak and Don Majkowski in Green Bay, and the rest was history. The Packers made the playoffs 11 times over the next 16 seasons, including four NFC Championship Game appearances and two trips to the Super Bowl (with a 35-21 win over the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI). Favre racked up individual accolades with the Packers as well: three straight MVP awards (1995-97), nine Pro Bowl and three All-Pro selections, as well as Offensive Player of the Year honors in 1995. He holds team records with 61,655 yards and 442 touchdowns (he is fourth in NFL history in both categories for his full career), and also holds the league record with 297 consecutive regular-season starts. Favre was finally supplanted on Green Bay’s depth chart by Aaron Rodgers, and was traded to the Jets in 2008, making the Pro Bowl in his only season with New York. He signed with the Vikings in the following year and was selected to his 11th and final Pro Bowl in 2009. He retired (for maybe the fourth or fifth time, depending upon the source) in the 2011 season and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016.
No one from the 1992 Draft even came close to Favre’s 11 Pro Bowls (four players led the way with five selections each), so it would take a lot to make this trade even remotely level. The Falcons traded the acquired selection to the Cowboys for first- and fourth-round picks that became Tony Smith and Frankie Smith. Ironically, Tony Smith was a running back who was Favre’s teammate at Southern Mississippi. He had 329 yards as a rookie with the Falcons, but was used solely as a kick returner for the following two years. The back signed with the expansion Panthers in 1995, but spent two seasons on injured reserve after breaking his tibia and fibula during a preseason game. Smith spent 1998 with the CFLs Toronto Argonauts and was signed by the Eagles the following year. However, he injured his hamstring during offseason workouts and retired. Frankie Smith, a cornerback from Baylor, was released by the Falcons in training camp. He played in 103 games in an eight-year NFL career with the Dolphins, 49ers and Bears, totaling 116 tackles and four sacks. Smith is now a teacher and coach with the Mexia Independent School District in eastern Texas.
Assessment: I said it would take a lot to make this trade level. That’s certainly not Tony and Frankie Smith. PACKERS
7. April 22, 1995:
Packers acquired: Third- and fifth-round picks from both Browns and Jaguars in the 1995 NFL Draft in separate deals (thirds are Freeman and Henderson)
Browns acquired: A third-round pick in 1995
Jaguars acquired: QB Mark Brunnell
The Packers completed two Draft-day trades in 1995 that brought in third- and fifth-round picks from both the Browns and the Jaguars. Green Bay’s deal with Jacksonville resulted in fullback William Henderson and running back Travis Jervey. Henderson was a North Carolina product who played all 12 NFL seasons with the Packers. He served as the main blocker for Dorsey Levens and then Ahman Green. Henderson became a champion in his second year when the Packers won Super Bowl XXXI, and he was also named a Pro Bowler and an All-Pro in 2004. He retired in 2007 after totaling 320 catches and 19 total touchdowns (14 receiving and five rushing). Jervey, a product of The Citadel, joined Henderson as part of the Super Bowl-winning squad in 1996 and became Green Bay’s first Pro Bowler on special teams the following year. He spent his first four years with the Packers, then two with the 49ers and three with the Falcons, retiring in 2002.
Green Bay found another talented player after making the trade with the Browns. Antonio Freeman was a star at Virginia Tech who was taken in the third round. He became one of Favre’s favorite targets, catching 431 passes for 6,651 yards and 57 touchdowns in eight seasons with the Packers. He was one of the stars of Super Bowl XXXI, posting three receptions for 105 yards and a score in a 35-21 win. Freeman earned the only Pro Bowl and All-Pro selections of his career in 1998, when he set career highs with 84 catches, 14 touchdowns, and a league-leading 1,424 yards. He signed with the Eagles in 2001, but returned to Green Bay after one season. Freeman had a failed tryout with the Dolphins in 2004, but didn’t officially retire until he signed a one-day contract in 2007 to leave the NFL as a member of the Packers. Despite all of his accolades, Freeman is best known for a catch in overtime against the Vikings in 2000. He dove for the ball, which popped off his body several times before he got control. The Vikings player, thinking it hit the ground, stopped defending, and Freeman got up and ran into the end zone for a game-winning touchdown that left Al Michael yelling “He did WHAT?!” The other pick from that trade was used on Jay Barker, a quarterback from Alabama who was a Heisman Trophy finalist in 1994. He split his rookie season between the Packers and Patriots and spent 1996 with the Patriots, but he never appeared in an NFL game. Barker played four seasons with the CFLs Toronto Argonauts (1998-2001) and one in the original XFL with the Birmingham Thunderbolts in 2001. He is now a sports talk show host in Alabama.
The Browns used their acquired pick on Eric Zeier, a 1994 All-American quarterback at Georgia. Zeier spent his rookie year with the Browns and was with the franchise for the move to Baltimore. He went to Tampa Bay in 1999 and played two years with the Buccaneers before retiring. Zeier totaled 16 touchdowns and 15 interceptions in his six-year career while posting a 4-8 record as a starter.
Jacksonville fared a little bit better with the quarterback acquired in a trade from Green Bay. Brunell played two games with the Packers and spent the next nine years as the Jaguars’ starter. He was a three-time Pro Bowler who topped the NFL with 4,367 passing yards and led Jacksonville to the AFC Championship Game in just its second season in 1996. Brunell is the team’s all-time leader with 25,698 yards and 144 touchdowns, and he was also a dangerous runner who had 38 scores on the ground. He was traded to Washington in 2004, spent three years with the Redskins, then two with the Saints and two with the Jets before retiring in 2011.
Assessment: Despite Brunell’s stellar career with Jacksonville, Green Bay found three players who contributed to a championship, with two calling the “Frozen Tundra” home for around a decade. PACKERS
8. April 15, 2000:
Packers acquired: RB Ahman Green and a fifth-round pick in the 2000 NFL Draft
Seahawks acquired: CB Fred Vinson and a sixth-round pick in 2000
Green was a high school All-American and a member of two National Championship teams with Nebraska (1995 and ’97). He was selected in the third round by Seattle in 1998, and spent his first two years as a reserve with the Seahawks. Green started right away in Green Bay, posting six 1,000-yard rushing totals in seven seasons, including a Packers record 1,883 yards, as well as a 15 touchdown season in 2003. He signed with the Texans in 2007, but returned to Green Bay for one final season in 2009. Green is the Packers’ all-time leader with 8,322 rushing yards, while also amassing 350 receptions and 68 total scores (54 rushing and 14 receiving). He played with the United Football League’s Omaha Nighthawks in 2010, and had a tryout with the CFLs Montreal Alouettes the following year, but was released due to an injured hamstring and retired. He was named the first esports coach at Lakeland University in Wisconsin in February 2020. The Packers used the pick on Joey Jamison, a wide receiver from Texas Southern who never appeared in the NFL.
Vinson was a Vanderbilt product who was taken by Green Bay in the second round in 1999. He played every game as a rookie, totaling two interceptions, four passes defensed, 21 tackles and a sack. Vinson tore his ACL and missed the 2000 season, however, and he never played for Seattle. He couldn’t find a home until 2004, when he played one season with the Arena Football League’s Carolina Cobras before retiring. Seattle used the sixth-round pick on Tim Watson, a defensive tackle from Rowan College, a Division III school in New Jersey. Watson had his career ruined before it began thanks to a freak injury. During training camp, he slipped and punctured his knee on an exposed hook on a training sled, which removed nearly two inches of cartilage. He never was able to pass a physical, and he never played in the NFL.
Assessment: Green had a solid career, while none of the other players in this trade had any prolonged success, although Watson could have if not for the injury. PACKERS
9. March 5, 2001:
Packers acquired: First- and third-round picks in the 2001 NFL Draft
Seahawks acquired: QB Matt Hasselbeck and a 2001 first-round pick (Steve Hutchinson)
Green Bay selected Jamal Reynolds, a 2000 All-American defensive end at Florida State, in the first round. Reynolds played just 18 games in three seasons with the Packers, amassing three sacks and 18 tackles. He signed with the Browns in 2004, but was released before the season began and retired. In the third round, Green Bay took Torrance Marshall, a linebacker from Oklahoma. Marshall also played some fullback with the Packers, but was primarily used on special teams. He had 77 tackles, four fumble recoveries, and one sack in 51 games. After a year off, Marshall played one season each with the Arena Football League’s Austin Wranglers (2005) and Tampa Bay Storm (2006).
With Brett Favre around, Hasselbeck had no chance to start with the Packers. He threw just 29 passes in two seasons, but spent the next 10 years as Seattle’s starter. Hasselbeck hit the 3,000-yard mark seven times, and was a three-time Pro Bowler. He went 26-for-49 passing for 273 yards and a touchdown, but the Steelers spoiled the Seahawks’ first appearance in the “Big Game” with a 21-10 win in Super Bowl XL. Hasselbeck was recently eclipsed by Russell Wilson for the most passing yards in team history, but he still ranks second with 29,434 yards and third with 174 scoring passes. He signed with Tennessee in 2011 and spent two years with the Titans and three with the Colts before retiring in 2016. The first-round pick was used on Steve Hutchinson, a guard who was a member of Michigan’s National Championship team as a freshman in 1997 and an All-American as a senior in 2000. With Seattle, Hutchinson quickly became one of the best guards in the NFL. He earned three Pro Bowl and two All-Pro selections, helped pave the way for running back Shaun Alexander’s MVP campaign in 2005, and was a starter for the Seahawks in Super Bowl XL. Hutchinson signed with the Vikings in 2006 and was a four-time Pro Bowler and a three-time All-Pro over the next six years. He was reunited with Hasselback in Tennessee before retiring after the 2012 season. Hutchinson was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2020.
Assessment: Hasselbeck proved his worth after getting out of Favre’s shadow, and Hutchinson was one of the main reasons for that success. This was a rare miss on a trade by Ron Wolf, a Hall of Fame general manager who retired from the Packers three months after this deal was made. SEAHAWKS
10. (Part One) August 30, 1999:
Packers acquired: A seventh-round pick in the 1999 NFL Draft
Bears acquired: RB/KR Glyn Milburn
(Part Two) April 29, 2006:
Packers acquired: Second- and third-round picks in the 2006 NFL Draft
Patriots acquired: A second-round pick in 2006
(Part Three) April 26, 2008:
Packers acquired: Second- and fourth-round picks in the 2008 NFL Draft
Jets acquired: A first-round pick in 2008
Let’s try something a little unorthodox here, shall we? The Packers have had a knack for finding wide receivers after the first round and turning them into standout players, so here are three examples rolled into one spot. Rarely do seventh-round picks have the impact of choice 213 in 1999. That spot is where the Packers found Donald Driver, from Alcorn State. Driver was a top target of both Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers, posting seven 1,000-yard seasons during his 14-year career. He is the all-time franchise leader in receptions (743) and yards (10,137), and he ranks fourth with 61 touchdowns. Driver was a starter in Super Bowl XLV, which the Packers won 31-25 over the Steelers. He retired in 2013.
A 2006 trade with the Patriots provided the Packers two selections, which they used on Greg Jennings and Jason Spitz. Jennings was a star receiver at Western Michigan and continued to produce opposite Driver with the Packers. Jennings was a two-time Pro Bowler who hit the 1,000-yard mark three times in seven seasons in Green Bay. He had more than 100 yards receiving twice in the 2010 playoffs, and caught four passes for 64 yards and two touchdowns in the Super Bowl XLV win. Jennings ranks high on Green Bay’s all-time list with 53 scores (sixth), 6,537 yards (eighth), and 425 receptions (10th). He signed with Minnesota in 2013 and spent two years with the Vikings and one with the Dolphins before retiring in 2016. Spitz was a center out of Louisville who played 65 games in five seasons with the Packers, ending his time with Green Bay after the Super Bowl victory. He played 10 games with the Jaguars in 2011, but missed all of the next season with a foot injury. Spitz signed with the Seahawks in 2013, but was released after two weeks without appearing in a game.
Two years after that deal, the Packers acquired a pair of picks from the Jets. Green Bay used the second-rounder to select Jordy Nelson, a 2007 All-American at Kansas State. Nelson developed into a solid slot receiver in Green Bay, posting four 1,000-yard seasons, including a career-high 1,519 in 2014, when he was selected to his only Pro Bowl. He was a star in Super Bowl XLV, totaling nine catches for 140 yards and a score and helping Aaron Rodgers take home game MVP honors. Despite missing 2015 with a torn ACL, Nelson finished his career second in Packers history with 69 touchdowns, third with 550 receptions and fifth with 7,848 yards. He signed with the Raiders in 2018 and played his final season in Oakland before retiring. The fourth-round pick was used on Dwight Lowery, a safety from San Jose State, who was cut by the Packers in training camp and signed with the Jets. He played with five teams in his nine-year career, amassing 17 interceptions, 395 tackles, and 67 passes defensed.
Milburn was acquired from the Lions early in 1998 and never played a game with the Packers before being sent on to the Bears in late August. He starred as a returner in Chicago, totaling 4,596 kick return years in four seasons, including a league-leading 1,550 in 1998. Milburn earned his only Pro Bowl and All-Pro selections in 1999, but was released two years later after the emergence of Devin Hester. He played six games with the Chargers before retiring in 2001.
After moving up 16 spots in 2006, the Patriots selected Chad Jackson, a former Florida receiver. Jackson totaled just 544 yards (268 on kickoff returns, 171 receiving, 83 on punt returns, and 22 rushing) in three seasons with New England and Denver. He had failed tryouts with the Bills and Raiders before playing with the United Football League’s Omaha Nighthawks in 2011 before he retired.
In 2008, the Jets traded back into the first round and grabbed Dustin Keller, a solid tight end at Purdue who continued his productive ways in New York. Keller totaled 241 catches, 2,876 yards and 17 touchdowns in five seasons and helped the Jets reach back-to-back AFC Championship Games. He caught a touchdown in each game during the 2009 playoffs, and amassed eight catches for 64 yards in the 2010 title game. Keller signed with the Dolphins in 2013, but his career ended after he suffered a torn ACL, PCL and MCL, as well as a dislocated knee during a preseason game.
Assessment: Milburn was a fantastic kick returner, but Driver set two Green Bay receiving marks, giving the Packers the edge in the first trade. There is no contest in the second trade, since Jackson was a complete bust with New England. The third trade was the closest, but Nelson had better production over a longer career span. PACKERS
Unless otherwise indicated, all NFL statistics and awards courtesy of https://www.pro-football-reference.com/
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