Just because we can't get active in the redraft trade streets to wheel and deal doesn't mean we have to abandon our fantasy-relevant trade talk. The 2026 NFL calendar kicks off this week, and to celebrate, we gathered our band of experts to pitch their favorite NFL trades they want to see as they pertain to fantasy football.

Top Five NFL Trades We Want To See For Fantasy Football

A.J. Brown to the 49ers

Dwain McFarland: The 49ers' receiving corps has quickly been depleted over the last two seasons, losing Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel. George Kittle is 32 years old and coming off a season-ending Achilles tear during their Wild Card loss to the Eagles.

San Francisco could wait until Pick 27 in Round 1 to go after a receiver, but while this class is deep, there isn't a clear-cut alpha. KC Concepcion would be an interesting fit with Shanahan, but if the 49ers are in the market for immediate help, Brown is an intriguing option. Per Over The Cap, they have the 10th-most available cap space at $37M.

Brown will be 29 next season, and his production slipped last year. His yards per route run (YPRR) fell from 3.04 to 2.09. But still, that ranked 15th among NFL WRs with at least 250 routes. And he did it in an offense that was considered dysfunctional under Kevin Patullo. Brown was still dominant as a target earner, ranking sixth at the position with a 30% share.

Playing in a Shanahan offense that moves Brown all over the formation and uses play-action to buy him space at the intermediate levels of the field would be fun to watch. Brown could evolve from a man-beater into a dominant player versus zone looks in this scheme.

Brown is entering his eighth season, and history is littered with historical alphas who enjoyed great seasons in Year 8 or later:

• Mike Evans
• Davante Adams
• Antonio Brown
• DeAndre Hopkins
• Julio Jones
• Larry Fitzgerald
• Brandon Marshall
• Roddy White

Brown is currently my WR12, but with the 49ers, I could see him climbing as high as WR8.

Jalen Milroe to the Steelers

Ian Hartitz: Let’s trade Seahawks backup QB Jalen Milroe to the Steelers and see what happens!

Seriously: I love this trade. Milroe is basically a create-a-player in real life, thanks to his huge arm and reported 4.37-second 40-yard dash. He was a third-round pick in 2025 despite winning the Alabama job over Ty Simpson, who is now largely considered the draft’s consensus QB2 and a potential Round 1 pick. Meanwhile, Seattle no longer has a pressing need at quarterback after, you know, Sam Darnold led them to a f*cking Super Bowl championship.

We already saw Pittsburgh’s ceiling with old man Aaron Rodgers under center. Trading one of their extra third-rounders—they currently have three—for Milroe would present two fun possibilities:

• Milroe winds up being good, and the Steelers have a potential long-term answer at the position for the first time in the post-Big Ben era.
• Milroe isn’t good and causes the 2026 Steelers to SUCK … positioning them to finally be bad enough to have an early Round 1 pick in the allegedly QB-rich 2027 NFL Draft.

Regardless of whether Milroe is a good or bad real-life QB, it sure as hell would be more fun to watch than A-aron at this point in his career, and most importantly for fantasy purposes, his borderline erotic rushing ability would instantly make him your favorite fantasy nerd’s favorite late-round QB. Consider: 31 of 34 (91%) of QBs with 100-plus rush attempts since 2014 went on to post top-12 fantasy numbers on a per-game basis. SIGN ME UP.

Brian Thomas Jr. to the Patriots

Kendall Valenzuela: We collectively need to put this out into the universe because the recent rumors are that the Steelers are involved in trade talks for Brian Thomas Jr., and we as a society cannot let that happen. 2025 was just not Thomas’ best (to say the least)—BTJ was plagued by drops and just didn't seem to have consistent chemistry with Trevor Lawrence.

To make matters worse (even though it feels hard to do), he had only five games with 10 or more points. He was drafted as the WR9 and finished outside the top 40. The team also traded for Jakobi Meyers at the deadline, and the emergence of Parker Washington did not help. So if he is on the move, the best landing spot for me is between the New England Patriots and the Buffalo Bills. 

It's no secret that the Patriots have to get better weapons around Drake Maye. While he was almost the league's MVP, Maye deserves better than the likes of Kayshon Boutte, DeMario Douglas, Kyle Williams and Mack Hollins (no offense, no offense). Stefon Diggs is out of the picture now and Maye could take advantage of Thomas’ downfield ability. A change of scenery might also be just what BTJ needs to get back to that rookie season form we saw. 

Dolphins trade for Mac Jones

Pete Overzet: My colleagues stole all of the fun ones—my dream trade would be a remix of both Dwain and Kendall’s–AJB to the Patriots—but you snooze, you lose. Instead, let’s get practical. Can we get Mac Jones to the Dolphins? I don’t think Jones would become some hot fantasy asset in Miami, but I do think he could facilitate high-end fantasy production for both De’Von Achane and Jaylen Waddle. Is that too much to ask for?

This isn’t that far-fetched, either. Dolphins OC Bobby Slowik previously worked with Shanahan on the 49ers, so the transition would theoretically be smooth from an offensive system standpoint.

If we don’t get a Jones-level QB to Miami, we could be looking at a Breece Hall/Garrett Wilson-esque season from Achane and Waddle, and absolutely no one wants that.

Myles Garrett to the Texans

Matthew Freedman: The Browns are going nowhere anytime soon, and last year they toyed around with trading EDGE Myles Garrett before ultimately giving him a contract extension.

Coming off a DPOY campaign in which he registered an NFL-record 23 sacks, Garrett will likely never be worth more in the trade market than he is now.

As for the Texans: Just go all in on defense and try to have the greatest stop unit the league has ever seen. The Texans have problems on offense, but a team doesn't need to score many points if its opponents can't score at all.

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