The offseason is a perfect time for fans and analysts alike to daydream about possible trades they wish their favorite teams will make in hopes of bolstering their roster to make a Super Bowl run the following season. Sometimes we even get lucky and see these fantasies come to life.
This past Tuesday, we saw a massive trade go down with the Seattle Seahawks shipping off 9x Pro-Bowl quarterback Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos, receiving a king’s ransom in return.
These frequently called ‘blockbuster’ trades like the one above don’t usually come to fruition as there are many moving parts and components to them; teams often find it challenging to come to an agreement on both sides of the deal.
For the sake of having some fun in this article, however, we’re going to look at some possible flashier trades the Chiefs might be keen to make to improve their odds at winning Super Bowl LVII next season.
Trade: Chiefs Acquire RB Saquon Barkley
This is the least logical of the three hypothetical trades on this list as the Chiefs don’t have a dire need here, but an intriguing one nonetheless as Barkley is said to be on the trade block possibly.
Barkley is a four-year veteran that stormed into the NFL, setting the league on fire with the Giants in 2018 before fading out the last couple of years, nagging injuries seemingly playing a large role. After two impressive seasons with New York, Barkley went down with a torn ACL in week two of 2020, forcing the running back to miss the remainder of the season.
Last season Barkley returned to play 13 games in 2021 but never quite found the groove of his first two years in the league. The Giants running back tallied 856 yards from scrimmage and scored four touchdowns, two from the ground and two coming through the air.
One can maybe chalk up Barkley’s lackluster 2021 season because he was still recovering from his torn ACL the year prior. Still, the lack of burst and continuing injuries is problematic and a vast reason the Giants seem to be okay with moving on from the former first-round running back.
This could be the perfect time to swing a deal for Barkley as his value is seemingly at an all-time low, with reports suggesting New York may be willing to ship the running back out of town for just a fourth-round pick.
The Chiefs are certainly in the running back market as Darrel Williams and Jerick McKinnon are set to become free agents in just several days, with Derrick Gore slated to become an exclusive-rights free agent (players with two or fewer seasons of service time). That leaves Clyde Edwards-Helaire as the only sure-fire running back to be on the Chiefs’ roster in 2022.
Trading for Barkley would give the Chiefs a great one-two punch at running back while allowing both former first-round backs to not carry the burden of receiving all the targets and carries in the offense. The high upside of Barkley would give Kansas City the potential of a much more effective rushing attack next season while further opening up the passing game for Patrick Mahomes. The only caveat here is that Barkley’s cap hit comes in at about $7.2 million in 2022.
Hypothetical Trade:
Chiefs receive: RB Saquon Barkley
Giants receive: Kansas City’s 2022 fourth-round pick
Trade: Chiefs Acquire WR DK Metcalf
Now, this one will probably be an instant turn-off for some Chiefs fans as Kansas City had a chance to draft Metcalf back in 2019 but instead opted to trade up and select Georgia wide receiver Mecole Hardman. Regardless if Veach made the wrong decision three years ago, though, this is his chance to right the wrong and land a real significant weapon to go alongside Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce in the Chiefs’ offense.
After trading franchise quarterback Russell Wilson and releasing 6x All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner this week, many in the media have speculated that Seattle may be headed into full-on rebuild mode and are poised to have a fire sale this offseason. With that in mind, wide receiver DK Metcalf may be out there to be had for the right price.
Metcalf, the Ole Miss alum, is a straight-up athletic freak for lack of a better word, standing at 6’4″, weighing 235 pounds, and running a 4.33 forty time. Oh yeah, and the dude is ripped.
Since entering the league three years ago, Metcalf has turned himself into one of the top receivers in the game, finishing with no fewer than 900 receiving yards and no less than seven touchdowns in a single season. Even in a season where Geno Smith was his starting quarterback for three games, DK managed to reel in 967 receiving yards and set a new career-best with 12 receiving touchdowns in 2021.
Adding a receiver of Metcalf’s caliber to the Chiefs’ offense would elevate the unit to all-time elite stats, with Pro Bowl players lining up at nearly every position. Metcalf would also be the solution to most of Kansas City’s offensive woes they experienced in 2021, with teams forcing Mahomes to look for his third and fourth options. DK would draw attention away from Kelce and Hill while making defenses choose who they want to leave one-on-one, alleviating the pressure and constant double teams off the Chiefs’ top two targets.
Do you want to see DK Metcalf beat All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey for a touchdown? Well, here you go.
Throwing Metcalf into the Chiefs’ array of weapons would almost be unfair to the rest of the league, turning an already explosive offense into an absolute juggernaut for opposing defenses to try and slow down.
Hypothetical Trade:
Chiefs receive: WR DK Metcalf
Seahawks receive: Kansas City’s 2022 first-round pick and 2023 third-round pick.
Trade: Chiefs Acquire DE Josh Allen
Here’s the crown jewel trade of them all for the Chiefs; acquiring pass rusher Josh Allen from the Jacksonville Jaguars.
It’s common knowledge that Kansas City lacked a bit on the defensive side of the ball last season, specifically in the pass-rushing department. Despite having over $34 million of the cap in 2021 committed to just two players in that department, the Chiefs ranked 29th in the entire league in the sacks category. Not exactly ideal for a team with aspirations to win the Super Bowl each season.
It’s expected that the Chiefs will cut edge rusher Frank Clark ($26.3M cap hit in 2022) at some point this offseason, so Kansas City will have a hole to fill on the defensive line; the 24-year-old, three-year vet in Jacksonville may be the perfect solution.
As ‘Arrowhead Live’ states above, if Kansas City were to make a trade for Josh Allen, his cap hit in 2022 would be next to nothing, and it would still even come in at over $10 million less than Frank Clark’s cap hit in 2023, should Allen’s fifth-year option be exercised.
The Chiefs already have ties with Jacksonville that may help them land a trade for the star pass rusher. Kansas City hired Joe Cullen as their defensive line coach this offseason after moving Brandan Daly to linebacker’s coach. Cullen, the former defensive tackle at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, spent last season down in Jacksonville with Josh Allen as the pass rusher’s defensive coordinator. Allen had his best season statistically since his rookie year. The Jaguar’s new head coach, Doug Pederson, also obviously has some friendly ties to the Chiefs and coach Reid, which could prove important should Kansas City look to swing a deal with Pederson’s new team.
Landing a pass rusher of Josh Allen’s ability would surely give a boost to the Chiefs’ pass rush in 2022 and beyond as Allen has elite qualities that few possess and has proved to be a game-wrecker for the Jaguars.
Veach and company would be smart to float a trade offer out to Jacksonville and see if they can’t get something done to bring the edge rusher to Kansas City this offseason. A player like Allen would be a huge addition for a defense looking to get back to their “sack nation” ways and return to the Super Bowl in 2022.
Hypothetical Trade:
Chiefs receive: DE Josh Allen
Jaguars receive: Kansas City’s 2022 second-round pick and 2023 second-round pick.
Who do you think the Chiefs should trade for this offseason? Leave a comment down below to join the discussion.
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