Seattle acquired rookie receiver Steve Largent from the…

Seattle was an expansion franchise in 1976, which made finding foundational players more important than protecting low-value future draft capital. Steve Largent gave the Seahawks one of those rare opportunities. Houston had selected the Tulsa receiver in the fourth round of the 1976 draft, but before the regular season the Oilers sent him to Seattle for an eighth-round pick in 1977, No. 198 overall.

Nothing about the price suggested the career that followed. Largent became Seattle's most accomplished early star and remained with the Seahawks for 14 seasons. He finished with 819 receptions, 13,089 receiving yards and 100 touchdown catches. He made seven Pro Bowls and, according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, retired holding six major NFL receiving records. His production was not a brief burst attached to one good team; it stretched across different quarterbacks, coaches and stages of an expansion franchise's development.

The trade also had significance beyond the statistical return. Seattle needed players who could give a new fan base an identity, and Largent became one of the first names permanently associated with Seahawks football. His No. 80 was retired by the franchise, and he became a member of both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Seahawks' Ring of Honor. The Oilers, by contrast, received only the future eighth-round selection.

Hindsight makes this one of the easiest verdicts in the archive. The Seahawks gave up a late-round pick for a player who became an all-time great at his position and the most important offensive player of their first era. Houston's decision is understandable only in the narrow context of a team deciding that a rookie receiver did not fit its immediate plans. Once the full careers are known, there is no meaningful balance between the sides. Seattle acquired 14 seasons of Hall of Fame production for a pick near the end of the following draft.