Frank Clark trade looks even better in retrospect for Chiefs

Conclusion

Anyone willing to make ultimate claims about a “winner” and “loser” of this deal after a single season should be ignored. It’s silly and dismissive and ignorant.

However, after a year, Veach has to be very pleased about the way things have worked out for the team. Clark has been everything Veach hoped he would be for the Chiefs, not only as a performer on the field but also as a tenacious leader in the locker room and a strong vocal presence on a team sorely lacking toughness or swagger.

In addition, Veach also added another defensive anchor with as high of a ceiling as most players on the roster in Saunders. The rookie looks the part of major contributor in the making and he still has at least three games left to develop this year before getting a full offseason with the Chiefs coaches and strength and conditioning staff.

For the Seahawks, the attitude is much less enthusiastic but there’s still plenty of reason for cautious optimism. After all, the Seahawks are a model franchise and they’ve proven their ability to develop impressive defenders time and again. If they see Collier as another Michael Bennett and Barton as Kendrick’s replacement, then I’d trust the Seahawks to see their development through to completion.

In addition, the Seahawks still have a second round pick to use in this year’s deep draft. That’s a third player to add to this haul that will go a long way toward making things even.

For now, however, the Chiefs have to feel good about this deal even one year later. They are deep, young and talented in the trenches. Clark is a franchise face. It’s hard to imagine a better first year after the trade than what has developed for K.C.