Scrambling after a disappointing season, the Chiefs eye David Montgomery and explore trading Trent McDuffie to rebuild their competitive edge.
The Kansas City Chiefs have their eyes focused on a new season in 2026 after the disappointment that came in 2025. After being the team to beat in the NFL for nearly a decade, a six-win season last year has the front office scrambling to bring the team back to a competitive level.
With the NFL Combine just days away and the Chiefs selecting at No. 9, the front office has a chance to retool the squad via the Draft. Selecting so high in the draft after being used to a position at the end of each round is exciting, but the front office is going to need to do more than simply draft this offseason if they want a bounce-back 2026 season.
Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine mocked up some trades for each NFL team on Friday ahead of the combine, and the Chiefs were mentioned in two hypotheticals that would shake up their roster.
The first of which was a deal that would land running back David Montgomery in Kansas City in exchange for a fifth-round pick. With Chiefs running backs Kareem Hunt and Isiah Pacheco hitting free agency, they need a reliable running back option in their backfield. That’s especially the case considering quarterback Patrick Mahomes may miss some time at the start of the season as he recovers from a torn ACL.
Even without that context, the running game in Kansas City for the last few years hasn't been great. Getting Montgomery and his 33 rushing touchdowns and 2,506 rushing yards over the past three seasons would be huge for the Kansas City offense. If they want to reestablish themselves as a competitive team again, the Chiefs need to be a threat in the ground game in 2026 – Montgomery would get them there.
The second trade the Chiefs were mentioned in would send away cornerback Trent McDuffie for a first-round pick at the end of the first round of this year’s draft. In a different move from the Montgomery trade, the Chiefs would certainly be getting worse in such a deal. That doesn't mean it’s unreasonable, however, as the Chiefs are in a bleak financial situation.
Kansas City has one of the largest cap debts to erase, and it has a history of trading away great cornerbacks in such situations. Marcus Peters and L’Jarius Sneed are some names that the Chiefs have dealt just a few years into their careers.
McDuffie is a two-time All-Pro already in his four seasons in the NFL, making him one of the most valuable corners in the league. He’ll be making $13.6 million in 2026 and entering free agency at the season’s end. If the Chiefs don’t find it feasible to re-sign McDuffie when he hits free agency, it would be wise to get a first-rounder in return for the young corner while they can.