Minnesota acquired wide receiver Ken Hebert from Pittsburgh…
Minnesota acquired wide receiver Ken Hebert from Pittsburgh for rookie running back Corny Davis on August 6, 1969. Hebert had been a Steelers third-round pick the year before, but the Vikings released him later that month and he never played a regular-season game for Minnesota. Davis likewise did not become a regular-season contributor for Pittsburgh. With neither incoming player producing game value for his new club, the swap finishes even.
Minnesota Vikings Received
- player Ken Hebert
Pittsburgh Steelers Received
- player Cornelius “Corny” Davis
Trade Analysis
What Changed Hands
Pittsburgh and Minnesota made a preseason player-for-player trade on August 6, 1969. Contemporary newspaper reporting described the Steelers sending second-year receiver Ken Hebert to the Vikings for rookie running back Corny Davis. Hebert had been a third-round Pittsburgh draft choice in 1968, while Davis entered the NFL as a Minnesota rookie from Kansas State. No draft picks or cash were part of the exchange.
What Minnesota Got
Hebert had been a productive college receiver at Houston and spent the 1968 season on Pittsburgh's roster. His opportunity in Minnesota was brief. Pro Football Archives records the August 6 trade and then his release by the Vikings on August 25, before the regular season began. He therefore did not provide Minnesota with a regular-season appearance, reception, or special-teams role. The Vikings essentially used the deal as a preseason roster look that did not survive final cuts.
What Pittsburgh Got
Davis also failed to generate meaningful regular-season value for his acquiring team. His professional record does not show a sustained Steelers role after the trade. Pittsburgh therefore gave up a receiver it no longer needed but did not turn the return into a contributor. The absence of draft compensation means there is no later selection to change the equation; the outcome rests on the two players themselves.
Final Verdict
This is an Even Trade with C grades for both teams. Minnesota received no regular-season production from Hebert, and Pittsburgh received no meaningful regular-season production from Davis. Each club moved a young player who was unlikely to remain central to its plans, and neither side extracted lasting value. The transaction was reasonable as a preseason roster shuffle, but the realized football return was essentially zero on both sides.