Minnesota moved up ten spots in the fourth round of the 1995…
Minnesota moved up ten spots in the fourth round of the 1995 draft for quarterback Chad May, sending Denver picks 121 and 196. May never appeared in an NFL regular-season game. Denver used No. 196 on Terrell Davis, who became a league MVP, Super Bowl MVP, two-time champion and Hall of Fame running back. The Broncos also received the 121st pick. Few draft trades have produced a wider gap between the player targeted and the player surrendered.
Denver Broncos Received
- pick 1995 4th round pick (121st overall, Jamie Brown )
- pick 1995 6th round pick (196th overall, Terrell Davis)
Minnesota Vikings Received
- pick 1995 4th round pick (111th overall, Chad May)
Trade Analysis
Minnesota’s move was modest by draft-day standards. The Vikings climbed ten spots in the fourth round, from No. 121 to No. 111, to select Kansas State quarterback Chad May. To do it, they gave Denver the 121st pick and a sixth-rounder at No. 196. At the time, the sixth-round selection was the kind of secondary asset teams routinely used to complete small trades.
That secondary asset became Terrell Davis.
Denver selected Davis at No. 196, and he developed into one of the most important players in franchise history. Davis rushed for 7,607 yards in only 78 regular-season games, posted four consecutive 1,000-yard seasons to begin his career, and reached 2,008 yards in his 1998 MVP season. His postseason performance was even more consequential. Davis won Super Bowl XXXII MVP honors as Denver captured its first championship, then helped the Broncos repeat the following season. He earned three Pro Bowl selections, three first-team All-Pro honors, and eventually a place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Minnesota received virtually no return from the move. May never appeared in an NFL regular-season game. Denver also kept the 121st pick, using it on Jamie Brown, so the Broncos’ haul was not solely the lottery-ticket sixth-rounder.
Hindsight makes the trade look almost impossible, because no team could reasonably forecast Hall of Fame value at pick 196. But TradeVerdicts grades realized football outcomes, and those outcomes are extreme. Minnesota spent two selections to target a quarterback who never played. Denver moved down, gained an extra pick, and used that extra pick on a league MVP who powered two championships. The result merits the maximum grade for Denver and the minimum for Minnesota.