Four minor trades for Kansas City Chiefs to consider

THE ‘IT’S ALL YOURS, JODY’ TRADE

Chiefs trade: TE Noah Gray
Bengals trade: 6th round pick in 2023

On the surface, the idea of trading Noah Gray should be silly. He hasn’t done anything wrong. He’s only been around for one year and he just so happened to back up a future Hall of Fame player who was as dominant as ever in 2021 in tight end Travis Kelce. In other words, Gray could hardly stand out on a team that’s given him no room to stand out.

Gray was a fifth-round pick for the Chiefs just a year ago and was lauded for his great hands, high intelligence, and non-stop motor. That combination could lead to an upward-trending prospect who could force his way onto the field with better blocking, separation, and route-running. That said, Kelce is not only in the way but there’s plenty of other competition as well.

Last year, the presence of both Jody Fortson and Blake Bell forced the Chiefs to go with four tight ends, which is not the best use of limited roster spots if you ask us. However, the ceiling of Fortson was too exciting to risk on waivers and Bell is the only above-average blocker in the lot. Unfortunately, last year the Chiefs lost Fortson to a season-ending injury after the first month, which halted his development and kept the future of the position in stasis.

Is Fortson the future? What about Gray? No one knows and no one wants Kelce to step aside anytime soon to find out. And surprisingly, the Chiefs brought back Bell for another round, which means the position is just as crowded as ever. The downside for Gray is that other fringe roster players have impressed in minicamp like Jordan Franks and Matt Bushman.

As for the Bengals, the tight end position is a real question mark after this season. Hayden Hurst is a free agent following the 2022 season, and Drew Sample is on the same timeline. Mitchell Wilcox is the best young tight end on the roster as a former rookie free agent, which would be a nice wide-open door for Gray in an already elite offense.

The Chiefs might not want to trade Gray, and they certainly don’t have to, but if there was an internal push to go all-in on Fortson (or the other way around for that matter), the Chiefs could deal a young tight end and at least recoup something close to their original investment in order for all parties to move on with greater clarity.