Chiefs Could Also Make A Smaller Move To Get A Receiver

The Kansas City Chiefs are in the spotlight with the trade deadline approaching, and you don’t have to be an expert to figure out why. The Chiefs have close to no downfield playmakers, and the Seattle Seahawks exposed that weakness by shutting down running back Kenneith Walker III. 

The big names for a trade are already out there. Receiver Brian Thomas Jr. is the winner of this year’s “most likely to be moving” award,” with other major names including Garrett Wilson, Jerry Jeudy and Josh Downs. These last two came courtesy of Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, who was part of a weekly panel piece on some of the larger issues from around the NFL. 

But history says the Chiefs are far more likely to make a smaller move -- think Kadarius Toney or late-career DeAndre Hopkins, according to Dan Graziano. Ben Solak threw out Dontayvio Wicks Devaugh Vele as other names who might be part of a smaller deal, but we’re just at the beginning of the trade speculation window. 

The reason Graziano threw out the “smaller moves” idea is because the Chiefs have other needs they need to meet, especially with the offensive line. It makes sense, and the Chiefs at least need to make a significant depth move with Josh Simmons being place on IR after being asked to leave a meeting last week. 

The real question at this point is how much does coach Andy Reid still believes in receiver Xavier Worthy. Reid has been steadfast in his support of Worthy, despite his injuries and lack of production. 

But Worthy’s perforamce against the Seahawks was more of the same. He had one drop and three catches for 11 yards, and Seattle was able to use a safety on Worthy without compromising their ability to crowd the box and contain Walker and his jump cuts. 

If Reid is starting to lose faith in Worthy, the larger move becomes possible. We haven’t seen this before, but this is a different Chiefs team, one that can’t rely on quarterback Patrick Mahomes to run around and make plays anymore. 

If the coach backs up Worthy once again in his mid-week media comments, though, a smaller move is far more likely, especially given the issues on the offensive line. It’ll be more of the same in Kansas City, with another lesser receiver added to the mix. 

The Denver game on Sunday will tell us a lot. The Chiefs ambushed the Broncos in Week 1 by turning loose Walker, but the Broncos will be ready for him this time. That means someone will have to make plays catching the ball, and right now we have no idea who that will be.