The Indianapolis Colts find themselves in an interesting predicament when it comes to the 2023 NFL draft as they are one of the favorites to trade up to the No. 1 overall pick.
Currently held by the Chicago Bears, who are unlikely to draft a quarterback, there’s expected to be somewhat of a bidding war for the top spot. The thought process behind moving up to the No. 1 overall pick essentially is that if there’s a top prospect in the team’s eyes, go get him.
The package the Colts would need to send isn’t all that clear. Right now, the Bears have the leverage but moving back three spots to No. 4 overall still guarantees them one of the top defenders in Georgia’s Jalen Carter or Alabama’s Will Anderson.
Since the 1967 merger, there have only been 12 trades involving the top selection. Four of them involved teams moving up to draft a quarterback, and there have only been two trades since 2000. Three of them involve the Colts.
So before we propose our own trades, let’s take a look at the history of trades involving the No. 1 overall pick.
2016: Tennessee Titans and Los Angeles Rams
Date: April 4, 2016
Titans received:
- 2016 first-round pick (No. 15; subsequently traded, WR Corey Coleman)
- 2016 second-round pick (No. 43, DT Austin Johnson)
- 2016 second-round pick (No. 45, RB Derrick Henry)
- 2016 third-round pick (No. 76; subsequently traded, OT Shon Coleman)
- 2017 first-round pick (No. 5, WR Corey Davis)
- 2017 third-round pick (No. 100, TE Jonnu Smith)
Rams received:
- 2016 No. 1 pick (QB Jared Goff)
- 2016 fourth-round pick (No. 113; subsequently traded, LB Nick Kwiatkoski)
- 2016 sixth-round pick (No. 177, TE Temarrick Hemingway)
2001: San Diego Chargers and Atlanta Falcons
Date: April 20, 2001
Chargers received:
- WR Tim Dwight
- 2001 first-round pick (No. 5, RB LaDainian Tomlinson)
- 2021 third-round pick (No. 67, DB Tay Cody)
- 2002 second-round pick (No. 48, WR Reche Caldwell)
Falcons received:
- 2001 No. 1 pick (QB Michael Vick)
1997: New York Jets and St. Louis Rams
Date: April 17, 1997
Jets received:
- 1997 first-round pick (No. 6; subsequently traded, OT Walter Jones)
- 1997 third-round pick (No. 67; subsequently traded, OL Dan Neil)
- 1997 fourth-round pick (No. 102, DE Terry Day)
- 1997 seventh-round pick (No. 207; subsequently traded, QB Koy Detmer)
Rams received:
- 1997 No. 1 pick (OT Orlando Pace)
1995: Carolina Panthers and Cincinnati Bengals
Date: April 22, 1995
Panthers received:
- 1995 first-round pick (No. 5, QB Kerry Collins)
- 1995 second-round pick (No. 36, DE Shawn King)
Bengals received:
- 1995 No. 1 pick (RB Ki-Jana Carter)
1991: New England Patriots and Dallas Cowboys
Date: April 19, 1991
Patriots received:
- 1991 first-round pick (No. 11, T Pat Harlow)
- 1991 second-round pick (No. 41, DB Jerome Henderson)
- CB Ron Francis
- LB David Howard
- LB Eugene Lockhart Jr.
Cowboys received:
- 1991 No. 1 pick (DT Russell Maryland)
1990: Atlanta Falcons and Indianapolis Colts
Date: Apil 20, 1990
Falcons received:
- OT Chris Hinton
- WR Andre Rison
- 1990 fifth-round pick (No. 121, TE Reggie Redding)
- 1991 first-round pick (No. 13, WR Mike Pritchard)
Colts received:
- 1990 No. 1 pick (QB Jeff George)
- 1990 fourth-round pick (No. 83, WR Stacey Simmons)
1984: New England Patriots and Cincinnati Bengals
Date: April 5, 1984
Bengals received:
- 1984 first-round pick (No. 16, DE Pete Koch)
- 1984 first-round pick (No. 28; OL Brian Blados)
- 1984 10th-round pick (No. 265, RB Brent Ziegler)
- 1985 fifth-round pick (No. 129, DB Lee Davis)
Patriots received:
- 1984 No. 1 pick (WR Irving Fryar)
1978: Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Houston Oilers
Date: April 25, 1978
Buccaneers received:
- TE Jimmie Giles
- 1978 first-round pick (No. 17, QB Doug Williams)
- 1978 second-round pick (No. 44, G Brett Moritz)
- 1979 third-round pick (No. 78, DE Reggie Lewis)
- 1979 fifth-round pick (No. 133, QB Chuck Fusina)
Oilers received:
- 1978 No. 1 pick (RB Earl Campbell)
1975: Baltimore Colts and Atlanta Falcons
Colts received:
- 1975 first-round pick (No. 3, G Ken Huff)
- OL George Kunz
Falcons received:
- 1975 No. 1 pick (QB Steve Bartkowski)
1974: Houston Oilers and Dallas Cowboys
Oilers received:
- DE Tody Smith
- WR Billy Parks
Cowboys received:
- 1974 No. 1 pick (Jones)
- 1974 third-round pick (No. 53, QB Danny White)
1968: New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings
Giants received:
- QB Frank Tarkenton
Vikings received:
- 1968 No. 1 pick (OT Ron Yary)
- 1967 first-round pick (No. 2, RB Clint Jones)
- 1967 second-round pick (No. 28., WR Bob Grim)
- 1969 second-round pick (No. 39, OL Ed White)
1967: New Orleans Saints and Baltimore Colts
Saints received:
- QB Gary Cuzzo
Colts received:
- 1967 No. 1 pick (DT Bubba Smith)
