NFL Trade Deadline: 30 greatest trades in NFL history

13. Rams trade nine players for Ollie Matson

Way back in the day, Ollie Matson was selected with the third overall pick back in 1952 by the then-Chicago Cardinals after an impressive college career at San Francisco. To get a better idea of what football was like back then, Matson went on to share NFL Rookie of the Year honors with Hugh McElhenny, despite only recording 531 yards from scrimmage and six touchdowns.

After spending the following year away from football to serve in the army, Matson made his return to the Cardinals in 1954. He seemed to take his game to a whole other level.

By crushing his numbers from two years prior after recording 1,117 yards from scrimmage with seven touchdowns during that first season back, Matson’s NFL stock was clearly on the rise. That would come in handy down the road when he was traded to the Los Angeles Rams.

So what exactly did it take for the Cardinals to trade their beloved running back to the Rams prior to the start of the 1959 season? Nine players were involved in the deal for Los Angeles to land Matson from Chicago, although some of them came later as future draft picks.

All things considered, this was one of those trades that always makes for a great debate. It’s difficult to decide who the real winner was, especially with how Matson’s numbers from three years with the Rams weren’t exactly what they expected.

However, when looking at what it took for Los Angeles just to get the running back that would one day punch his ticket into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the Matson trade deserves to be on a list like this one, all things considered.