KC Chiefs: Three players with the most trade value before NFL deadline

Austin Blythe

Of all players listed here, this is the most realistic trade potential of all because it’s dealing from a position of strength and depth without turning the Chiefs into deadline sellers.

Austin Blythe signed with the Chiefs in free agency as a stopgap solution at center, a player who could step into the role vacated by Austin Reiter after two seasons as a starter. Blythe came with both experience and versatility from the NFC after years with the Los Angeles Rams, with full years under his belt starting at both guard and center.

At the time they signed Blythe, the Chiefs were in the midst of a massive overhaul of everything related to the offensive front and the signing of Blythe gave them important security and versatility moving forward. WIth Blythe in tow, the Chiefs could upgrade a position or two without feeling a glaring need to force something if the value didn’t present itself in the free agent market or the draft.

Fast forward through the rest of the offseason and it’s clear the Chiefs loved what they saw in talents like Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith. Together with Joe Thuney, Blythe was suddenly out of a starting role on a team with a new front five. More than that, the Chiefs also had returning players like Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and Nick Allegretti and Mike Remmers to go with new faces like Kyle Long. That’s left Blythe on the outside looking in nearly every week as a healthy scratch just waiting for his chance.

Blythe is certainly capable of much more and the Chiefs are blessed with plenty of depth here to be able to stomach the loss and still carry more linemen than they need (remember Blythe is always joined by LDT or Prince Tega Wanogho among inactives most weeks). Long is also due to come back from injured reserve sometime soon, which will only make things more crowded.

Offensive linemen are at a premium in the league this year (and most years) which should allow the Chiefs to flip him for some sort of low-level draft asset (and give him a chance to play more snaps elsewhere).