When looking for a franchise quarterbacks, said franchises must avoid the allure of “trading up” for one. This is not a hard and fast rule that applies to all trades up for all quarterbacks, but the splashy, top-three move has simply not paid off very often; this is actually as true for non-quarterbacks as it is for quarterbacks.
Prior to 2016’s two huge draft deals, the previous players traded for in the top three were Dion Jordan, Trent Richardson, Robert Griffin III, Michael Vick, Chris Samuels, Ricky Williams, and Ryan Leaf.