KC Chiefs could buy low on Kadarius Toney

The Kansas City Chiefs could take a chance on New York Giants wide receiver Kadarius Toney if they want a chance to buy low in this market.

The National Football League’s trade deadline is rapidly approaching at the beginning of next month. Fortunately the Kansas City Chiefs have some downtime ahead, giving them space for evaluation and reflection. Do they want to make any trades to strengthen the roster? Do they want to run with the roster that brought them this far? It’s hard to tell.

If the Chiefs have a desire to tinker with things at wide receiver, they’re not without options on the market right now—and that’s not even from losing teams. The New York Giants have won six of their first seven games in Brian Daboll’s first season as head coach, and while they’re certainly not sellers at this stage, they do have a piece or two that could be traded. When it comes to receiver, Kadarius Toney is a name that’s been mentioned on the trade block.

Toney was the Giants’ first-round pick from a year ago as a dynamic slot receiver and returner with the ability to turn any play into a potential big gain. He profiles in similar ways to Mecole Hardman, although perhaps with more upside, and serious questions about his physical size and raw routes. For various reasons, however, Toney has felt like an ill fit from the beginning in New York and it doesn’t help that the new regime wasn’t responsible for drafting him.

Given Chiefs general manager Brett Veach and his tendency to like buy-low situations on former high-round draft picks, we thought we’d explore the idea of Kadarius Toney a bit further. We asked our friend Matt Lombardo, NFL insider for Heavy, to tell us more about Toney’s situation in the Big Apple and whether he thinks a trade will happen or not.

Why would the Giants put a young player with such a high investment level on the block when his stock couldn’t be lower?

I think the key thing to remember here is that *THIS* regime did not draft Kadarius Toney, and he has struggled to stay on the field, ever since before his rookie minicamp. I’m also not sure that there’s a world where both Toney and rookie Wan’Dale Robinson coexist. They’re very similar players, Robinson was chosen by GM Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll, has made an immediate impact when he’s been able to get on the field, and seems like a scheme fit. I think the theory might be that so long as Toney is still viewed as a player with “potential” and a former first-round pick, it may be time to strike and get an asset to use to keep building the roster.

When healthy, who does he resemble to you? Do you like his pro potential?

Admittedly, I have not seen him play a snap this season. But, as far as his skill-set and future role, I could see him as a smaller and slightly quicker version of Cordarrelle Patterson, maybe with Gabriel Davis upside.

What would a return for Toney realistically look like?

I think it’s hard to envision the Giants getting much more than a 3rd round pick for Toney, at this point, and Schoen would probably be thrilled with that asset for next year’s draft.

Do you think a deal gets made before the deadline?

I do. Because I think that this season has always been a transition year for Schoen and Daboll, even amid a 5-1 start, this doesn’t strike me as a regime that is going to trick itself into thinking this roster is capable of meaningfully competing, and because Toney at this juncture is a role player, I’d think this front office would value any draft capital return more than they do him as a player.