playNFL NationNov 3, 2026, 06:20 AM ETCloseNFL Nation is made up of 32 team-specific reporters who cover the NFL year-round across ESPN.com, ESPN television shows, ESPN Radio, ESPN+ and social media platforms. It was established ahead of the 2013 season.Multiple AuthorsOpen Extended ReactionsIf you’ve felt like games have been closer than ever in the 2026 NFL season, you’re not wrong. There have been 71 games decided by one score (eight points or fewer), tied with 2022 for the most through Week 8 in NFL history, per ESPN Research.So how do teams start to really separate at this point of the season? Well, the easiest way might be by making big trades before the Nov. 10 deadline. (Some teams have already been active, with the Bears adding former Titans DT Jeffery Simmons and the 49ers bringing back DT DeForest Buckner.)To preview how important the deadline can be, we asked our NFL Nation reporters to pick the best in-season trade acquisition by each team in their franchise’s history.
That includes the acquisition of draft picks who eventually became stars, like the Cowboys using a pick earned from the Herschel Walker trade to select running back Emmitt Smith in the 1990 draft.To form the 1-32 list, our power panel of more than a dozen NFL analysts evaluates how all 32 teams stack up against one another. Here are a few highlights from this week’s rankings:The Broncos are in the top five of our rankings for the first time this season after defeating the Chiefs — their fourth win while trailing in the fourth quarter this season. Quarterback Bo Nix now has 13 fourth-quarter comeback wins over his career, which is the most by any quarterback in their first three seasons since starts were first tracked in 1950. And Denver is now the favorite to win the AFC West on DraftKings.The NFC North is the only division with all four teams in the top 15 of our rankings, starting with the Bears at No. 5 and ending with the Packers at No. 14.
Minnesota dropped its first game of 2026 against Detroit, which scored the first fourth-quarter touchdown against Brian Flores’ defense this season. The Bears, Packers and Lions also are all 4-1 in their past five games, as well. Entering Sunday, the Ravens had -215 odds to make the playoffs on DraftKings. Those odds are now +280 (10th in the AFC) after their blowout loss to the Bills, and they’re down six spots from last week’s Power Rankings.
Baltimore lost two quarterbacks to injury Sunday (Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley), which puts undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano into the spotlight for their Thursday night matchup against Jacksonville (if he isn’t out because of injury). The Ravens have lost three straight games.Let’s get into the full list, starting with the a different No. 1 team from last week.Jump to a team: ARI | ATL | BAL | BUF | CAR | CHI | CIN CLE | DAL | DEN | DET | GB | HOU | IND JAX | KC | LAC | LAR | LV | MIA | MIN NE | NO | NYG | NYJ | PHI | PIT | SF SEA | TB | TEN | WSH1. Buffalo Bills (6-1)Week 8 result: Beat the Ravens 36-10 Week 8 ranking: 2Best in-season trade acquisition ever: LB Cornelius Bennett in 1987Dubbed the “Trade of the Decade,” the Bills acquired Bennett as part of a 10-player, three-team deal that sent Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson to the Colts. Bennett became a fixture on the Bills’ Super Bowl defenses, notching 52.5 sacks and 19 forced fumbles in nine seasons with Buffalo, including three seasons with All-Pro honors.
Only Bruce Smith and Darryl Talley have more career tackles in a Bills uniform than Bennett. — Nick Suss2. San Francisco 49ers (6-1)Week 8 result: Bye Week 8 ranking: 1Best in-season trade acquisition ever: DE Fred Dean in 1981Apologies to RB Christian McCaffrey (acquired in 2022), but you can draw a direct line between the Niners landing Dean and the rise of their dynasty. Upon Dean’s induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, former owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr. said “the greatness of the 49ers began with Fred Dean’s arrival in San Francisco.” The Niners sent a second-round pick to the Chargers in October 1981 for Dean with an eye toward bolstering the pass rush. Over the final 11 games, he recorded 12 sacks and earned first-team All-Pro honors.
Dean added another in the playoffs as the Niners won their first Super Bowl (XVI) against Cincinnati. San Francisco won Super Bowl XIX as well, with Dean contributing four sacks in that postseason run. — Nick Wagoner3. Jacksonville Jaguars (5-2)Week 8 result: Beat the Colts 42-7 Week 8 ranking: 6Best in-season trade acquisition ever: WR Jakobi Meyers in 2025Of the eight in-season trades in which the Jaguars acquired a player for immediate help, adding Meyers last season stands out. Brian Thomas Jr. was out because of an ankle injury, Travis Hunter was out for the season because of a knee injury, Dyami Brown was dealing with a shoulder injury, Parker Washington had yet to emerge, and the Jaguars led the NFL in drops (19) when they sent fourth- and sixth-round picks to Las Vegas the day before the deadline.
Meyers’ precise route running and sure-handedness sparked an offense that averaged 22 points before his arrival to averaging 33 points after he joined the team. — Michael DiRocco4. Denver Broncos (6-2)Week 8 result: Beat the Chiefs 28-24 Week 8 ranking: 8Best in-season trade acquisition ever: WR Haven Moses in 1972The Broncos acquired Hall of Famer Gary Zimmerman just before the start of the 1993 regular season, so the wayback machine had to be fired up to get to the best in-season trade. The Broncos acquired Moses from the Bills via a one-for-one swap for Dwight Harrison. Moses played nine full seasons for the Broncos after the 1972 season, averaging at least 17 yards a catch in eight of those years and having 44 total touchdown catches.
He is in the team’s Ring of Fame and played on the franchise’s first Super Bowl team in 1977. — Jeff Legwold5. Chicago Bears (6-2)Week 8 result: Beat the Seahawks 34-17 Week 8 ranking: 7Best in-season trade acquisition ever: DE Montez Sweat in 2023Three seasons before the Bears sent three draft picks, including two first-rounders, to Tennessee to acquire All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons, GM Ryan Poles got aggressive in 2023 to land Sweat. Chicago sent a 2024 second-rounder to Washington in exchange for Sweat, who led both the Commanders (6.5) and Bears (6.0) in sacks in 2023, making him the first player in NFL history to lead two different teams in sacks in the same season. Sweat recorded his first double-digit-sack season and reached similar production in 2025, when he led Chicago with 10 sacks.
Coach Ben Johnson called that season the best of Sweat’s career. — Courtney Cronin6. Kansas City Chiefs (5-2)Week 8 result: Lost to the Broncos 28-24 Week 8 ranking: 4Best in-season trade acquisition ever: WR Kadarius Toney in 2022The Chiefs had one of the league’s best offenses in 2022 and still added Toney, acquiring him from the Giants for a 2023 third-round pick and a 2023 sixth-round pick. He wasn’t a major part of the offense, but he made contributing plays to help the Chiefs to the No. 1 seed in the postseason. The greatest game in Toney’s career was Super Bowl LVII, when he scored a touchdown and generated a pivotal 65-yard punt return in the second half to help the Chiefs complete their comeback victory.
That punt return is the longest in Super Bowl history. — Nate Taylor7. Minnesota Vikings (6-1)Week 8 result: Lost to the Lions 19-15 Week 8 ranking: 3Best in-season trade acquisition ever: DE Jim Marshall in 1961As they began their inaugural season, the Vikings acquired five players from the Browns in exchange for second- and 11th-round picks in the 1962 draft. Marshall was among that group and went on to become one of the best players in franchise history. He set an NFL record that stood for decades by playing in 282 consecutive games, and he was a captain for 14 seasons that included four trips to the Super Bowl.
Upon Marshall’s death in 2025, Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterb
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