Ranking the 10 best players drafted with traded NFL Draft picks

5. Earl Thomas: 2010 Pick #14 Traded by Denver Broncos to Seattle Seahawks

Super Bowl XLIX - New England Patriots v Seattle Seahawks

Josh McDaniels is about to embark on the 2022 NFL Draft as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, yet his time in the same role with the Denver Broncos isn’t remembered fondly at all.

With the Broncos having given Bill Belichick’s protégé full control over roster decisions, he immediately set about ripping up the depth chart and replacing anyone who didn’t fit into his offense.

One of the more bizarre moves, which was difficult to understand at the time, was agreeing to trade Denver’s first-round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft for the Seattle Seahawks’ second-round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft.

Alphonso Smith was the chosen one for McDaniels and the Broncos, yet a dismal season in Colorado would then see Seattle get to pick 14th in 2010.

With that selection in the 2010 NFL Draft, Pete Carroll worked his magic once more by drafting Earl Thomas, a free safety out of the University of Texas at Austin.

Thomas became another of the defensive lynchpins that carried the Seahawks to two successive Super Bowl appearances. His hard-hitting style perfectly fit the Seahawks’ modus-operandi at the time, while his ability to read the game saw him become one of the best in his position.

4. Marvin Harrison: 1996 Pick #19 Traded by Atlanta Falcons to Indianapolis Colts

AFC Championship - New England Patriots v Indianapolis Colts

In the 1990 NFL Draft, the Indianapolis Colts selected Jeff George to be their quarterback. To get into that position, the Colts worked on a trade with the Atlanta Falcons.

So there was a lot of irony in the fact that, ahead of the 1994 NFL Draft, the Falcons made a move to trade for George, the player they could have drafted four years earlier.

The Colts were more than happy to get rid of the quarterback and received a 1994 first-round pick, a third-round pick in 1994 and a conditional selection for the 1996 NFL Draft if George played 75% of snaps in nine victories in the 1995 season.

This is where things get interesting. George would, indeed, hit that clause with the Falcons, meaning that the conditional selection headed to Indianapolis was, indeed, the 19th pick in the 1996 NFL Draft, which the Colts used to select future Hall of Fame wide receiver Marvin Harrison.

Harrison would spend an entire 13-year NFL career with the Colts, racking up 14,580 receiving yards and 128 career touchdowns.

In the eight seasons played between 1999 and 2006, Harrison would be selected to the Pro Bowl in every single campaign.

3. Ray Lewis: 1996 Pick #26 Traded by San Francisco 49ers to Cleveland Browns/Baltimore Ravens

Wild Card Playoffs - Indianapolis Colts v Baltimore Ravens

The words "Ray Lewis" and "the Baltimore Ravens" still send a shudder down the spine of football fans in Cleveland.

In 1995, the Ravens were not yet in existence, with Art Modell merely in the process of moving the Browns to Baltimore at the time.

A certain Bill Belichick was head coach, and he worked with Ozzie Newsome on plans for the 1996 NFL Draft in Cleveland.

The Browns, though, wouldn’t exist by the time the NFL Draft came around, but a trade they made in 1995 as the Browns would carry over to the Ravens.

The Browns traded their 10th overall selection in the 1995 NFL Draft to the 49ers, and they would receive a 1995 first-rounder, a 1995 third-rounder, a 1995 fourth-rounder and the 49ers’ first-round selection in the 1996 NFL Draft.

This pick would be the 26th overall selection, and the Ravens would make the pick Belichick and the Browns would have made, too, selecting linebacker Ray Lewis.

Lewis won two Super Bowl championships in Baltimore and holds the NFL records for career solo tackles, career combined tackles and solo tackles in a single season.

He is widely regarded as one of, if not the, greatest defensive player of all-time and is part of the Hall of Fame.