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Denver Broncos 3 worst trades in franchise history

By Sayre Bedinger

PHILADELPHIA - DECEMBER 27 : Alphonso Smith #33 of the Denver Broncos celebrates after a play against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on December 27, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA - DECEMBER 27 : Alphonso Smith #33 of the Denver Broncos celebrates after a play against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on December 27, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /
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Denver Broncos
DENVER – SEPTEMBER 03: Alphonso Smith #33 of the Denver Broncos returns the opening kick off for thirty yards during the NFL preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals at Invesco Field at Mile High on September 3, 2009 in Denver, Colorado. The Broncos defeated the Cardinals 19-0. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) /

Denver Broncos worst trades of all-time no. 2: The Alphonso Smith trade(s)

Denver Broncos receive

  • 37th overall pick (2009 NFL Draft)

Seattle Seahawks receive

  • 2010 first-round pick (14th overall)

In Josh McDaniels’ first year on the job with the Denver Broncos, he made some — let’s call them bold — moves.

Just like his mentor Bill Belichick, Josh McDaniels tried to prove that he could put the Patriot imprint on the Denver Broncos franchise and he was making one wild trade after another.

More on that in a bit.

From a pure value standpoint, this is one of the dumbest trades in NFL history and you could make a legitimate argument it should be the number one item on a list such as this.

Even if the Denver Broncos had won the Super Bowl in 2009, McDaniels would have been trading the 32nd overall pick in a future draft for the 37th overall pick in the current draft.

The modern NFL Draft Trade Value Chart says the 37th overall pick is worth 530 points. The 32nd overall pick is worth 590. The difference there is 60 points, the equivalent of a high fourth-round pick.

Even if that was the only loss of value, it’s still a horrible trade.

As we’ve seen, you can land players like Joe Flacco for a nice fourth-round pick.

As it turned out, that 37th overall pick (valued at 530 points) ended up being traded for the 14th overall selection in 2010, worth 1,100 points.

The loss of value of 580 points is the equivalent of the 33rd overall pick.

It’s insane no matter what way you spin it, but it’s even more insane knowing the accurate loss of value.

It truly gets worse, though.

It’s not Alphonso Smith’s fault that he was the subject of this trade, but he did not end up having the type of career you’d expect for a player who was acquired for the price of a mid-first-round pick.

Actually, he ended up picking off eight passes from 2010-2011, but not with the Denver Broncos. Josh McDaniels didn’t like the immediate results from Smith and traded him essentially for Dan Gronkowski in his second year as a pro.

Smith’s career ended after the 2012 NFL season but he did have a couple of good years with the Lions.

The pick the Seahawks got back from the Broncos in this trade, the 14th overall selection in 2010, was Texas safety Earl Thomas.

We all saw how that one went.

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