Trading Tyreek Hill was best long-term move for KC Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs have traded Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins for multiple draft picks.

Hill has been a game-changing wide receiver for the Chiefs and has been in contract talks with Kansas City over the last couple of months for an extension. However, with Davante Adams being traded to Las Vegas, and the Raiders giving him a historic contract, Hill’s price inevitably went up.

Miami gave Hill a four-year/$120 million with $72 million guaranteed. That is simply a number the Chiefs could not afford, and why this trade makes a lot of sense for Kansas City.

The Tyreek Hill trade is best for the Kansas City Chiefs in the long run.

This trade does make the Chiefs worse today, but in the long run, this blockbuster trade benefited Kansas City tremendously.  In return for Hill, the Dolphins coughed up five draft picks including a first and second in this upcoming draft.

Kansas City is entering a time in their franchise where the quarterback is eating up a lot of cap space, and because of that, major pieces will have to be sacrificed. Cap space was a bit tight for the Chiefs prior to this trade happening with only $8 million available to spend. Trading Hill opened up $20 million in cap space, giving the Chiefs $28 million in cap space.

It would have been fantastic if this trade happened a week earlier with free agency just under way. However, there are still very competent options on the market, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Bobby Wagner, Carlos Dunlap, and Stephon Gilmore are all players who the Chiefs can make a move for. Kansas City may not be as explosive offensively, but the team could have more depth and be better overall.

More Articles About Chiefs Trade History:

Another reason this trade makes too much sense for the Chiefs to turn down is the fact they received five draft picks for Hill. Compare that to the Packers who traded Adams away for two picks. To have sustained success in this league, sometimes it is better to move on from a player when his value is astronomically high. Hill is coming off a season where he caught 111 passes for 1,239 yards and 9 touchdowns. Selling him on his historical production over the last few years is a very smart move by the Chiefs. Paying $30 million a year for a receiver would hold the Chiefs captive annually. Kansas City would not be able to be aggressive in free agency, and if they were to do so, it would result in moving money around into future years, keeping Kansas City in a ruthless cycle.

With this trade, Kansas City has back-to-back picks in the first round, four picks inside the top 62, and eight out of 135 picks. The Chiefs have an opportunity to address multiple needs and build depth across the roster.

This trade also allows the Chiefs to possibly draft Hill’s replacement in the first couple of rounds. Kansas City does not necessarily need to draft a wideout in the first round. There is plenty of depth at the wide receiver position in the draft. In addition, as good as Hill is, he is 28 years old and expensive. The Chiefs are not in a place where they can pay everybody, and when you have a quarterback like Patrick Mahomes, who has the ability to elevate the players around him, there is no need to throw that kind of money at a wideout.

There will be people out there who think that the Chiefs have ruined their future, but attempting to win Super Bowls by outscoring teams on a regular basis is just not sustainable. To win in this league, you have to win to be multidimensional. Throwing the ball a majority of the time has made the Chiefs offensive predictable. Hopefully, this forces Andy Reid to run more and Mahomes will go through his reads, and not focus on one receiver. The Chiefs are worse today on paper, but Kansas City has the ability to build the best roster they have had with Mahomes with so many draft selections.