KC Chiefs: Pre-draft trade ideas for Brett Veach to improve the roster

The DeVante Parker trade

Miami Dolphins get: Fourth round pick (No. 136), Fifth round pick (No. 181)
Kansas City Chiefs get: WR DeVante Parker

This is a shot in the dark. Really. I don’t know what it would take to lure DeVante Parker away from the Miami Dolphins and I’m not entirely sure the Chiefs would be interested at the overall cost. However, I can say that it’s intriguing to look at the parts involved and wonder if a connection can be made. Allow me to explain.

This hypothetical trade is contingent on one primary event: the Dolphins grab a top-tier playmaker early in the first round. Mock drafts have Miami linked to either Kyle Pitts of Florida or Ja’Marr Chase of LSU, and if they acquire either one of those players, the group of pass catchers on this roster is going to be very, very crowded (honestly, it already is). In addition to Chase/Pitts, the Fins would have Will Fuller, DeVante Parker, Jakeem Grant, Albert Wilson, Allen Hurns, Preston Williams, Mack Hollins, Robert Foster and more.

If the Chiefs are looking for that big physical target to replace Sammy Watkins, Parker would definitely be such a player and, in this exercise, they could do it without sinking one of their earliest draft assets to do it. Instead, the Chiefs could focus on offensive line and the pass rush with their first couple picks and only go receiver if the value was overwhelming at that specific selection. That’s a good play on paper.

As well as the Chiefs offense clicked with Watkins alongside Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill, Parker would provide the same punch. He has 135 receptions for 1,995 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns in the last two seasons, and that was with Ryan Fitzpatrick and Tua Tagovailoa throwing to him. Imagine what Parker can do with Mahomes under center and the myriad of one-on-one situations he’d find himself in with Andy Reid’s offense.

Here’s where the bubble bursts a bit. If the Chiefs were frustrated by Watkins’ injury history, then Parker’s isn’t that much better. He doesn’t have the health history of Watkins, but Parker’s injury history is nothing to brag about as it is. He’s also devante parker spotrac that would take up quite a bit of the Chiefs cap. He’s due for a $12M cap hit this year and subsequent hits of approximately $9M in each of the next two seasons as well. Fortunately the dead cap space shrinks considerably moving forward and the final season is not that big of a hit ($2.3M).

Basically, this deal would give the Chiefs a nice substitute for Watkins without having to draft one. Parker would be very productive for the Chiefs in this role, but the health concerns are apparent—even if they’re not comparable with Watkins. (Parker averages 13.8 games/season, while Watkins averages 12.3.) This trade also gives the Dolphins some return for a fairly risky asset who is likely to put up depreciating stats in an ever-crowded room. It’s not a high pick in return, but two picks gives them assets to leverage.