Brett Veach should respond to Patriots with Patrick Peterson trade
The Patriots just made a splash in signing disgruntled wide receiver Antonio Brown. Do the Chiefs need to counter their move and trade for Patrick Peterson?
In a shocking move (sarcasm intended), the New England Patriots were the right place at the right time for another NFL head case in Antonio Brown. Brown is now a member of the Patriots after finagling his way out of his mega contract with the Oakland Raiders. It’s unclear when he will officially suit up for the team, but either way he’s a Patriot.
Like most fans who don’t claim the Patriots, it’s a little annoying. Mostly because it’s all the talking heads will discuss for the next three weeks, but I digress.
You have to give Bill Belichick credit. He has the unique ability to bring disgruntled and dysfunctional players in and make them useful at least for a short time. That’s called emotional intelligence, and while he’s not emotional in any sense himself at least to the public, he has that skill set in spades—maybe more so than any coach in any sport before him. You can’t fault him for wanting to win.
So the Patriots have now acquired one of the best receivers in the entire league and boast a receiving core of Antonio Brown, Julian Edelman, and Josh Gordon among others. While some would argue Gordon is a one-hit wonder, having one superstar season amongst many mediocre ones due in part to his personal problems but also in part because of inconsistency, he’s still a big bodied receiver with good hands and speed that will challenge most corners.
Not much needs to be said about Edelman. Against many odds, he seems to consistently produce. He’s a shifty and reliable receiver that has a knack for breaking a big play. Add to that Antonio Brown, and most teams are going to struggle to cover this trio consistently. This is of course assuming Brown doesn’t have problems with the coaches, front office or his quarterback, something he’s had at both stops in his NFL career. That’s a big assumption, but most think that Belichick is up to the task.
The Patriots now have a great receiving corps, even with the loss of tight end Rob Gronkowski, who some think is sure to return by November. Like the Chiefs, there are few teams that are able to consistently stop them. The ultimate question is whether or not this puts pressure on Brett Veach.
Veach has yet to replace Marcus Peters, a mercurial player in his own right but talented nonetheless. Peters has now been gone a full season, and there still remains a seemingly tremendous void at the cornerback position. Unique circumstances forced Veach’s hand this offseason to draft a receiver, so the Chiefs are left with mostly journeyman at the cornerback position. Will this group be enough to challenge teams like the Patriots?
A lot has been made of the “Pat needs Pat” movement, referring to Arizona Cardinals All-Pro cornerback Patrick Peterson. Peterson is suspended the first six weeks due to violating the league’s performance enhancing drug policy, so a trade wouldn’t culminate into on field production until the season was halfway through.
Truth be told, the Chiefs don’t desperately need Peterson. They still have the reigning MVP, the top receiving tight end, a trio of speed demons at receiver, and they just signed LeSean McCoy who is one season removed from the NFL Pro Bowl. Add this to the rebuilt defense around stopping the run, of which the Patriots are a run first team, and you get the picture. He would help, but it’s questionable whether the Chiefs need him and whether they should leverage their future to acquire him.
What’s more, the addition of Antonio Brown doesn’t necessarily move the needle for a Patriots team missing their best offensive weapon of the last several years, and Brady’s go to safety blanket. They’ll be better, but they’re not going undefeated as some Pats fans would have you believe.
All this said, who cares. I think I speak for all of Chiefs Kingdom, as well as every other NFL fan who doesn’t claim Patriots fandom. We’re tired of hearing about them because, to be truthful, they’re kind of boring. Brett Veach, you’re known for being bold. Now is the time to be extremely bold. Let’s beat the Patriots at the best time possible, when their mostly bandwagon fans are the cockiest and when they seem to have a stranglehold on the back door workings of the NFL.
Get a deal done for Patrick Peterson, and let’s end the Patriots’ dynasty once and for all.