3 Chiefs players who could be traded away at NFL deadline

The Kansas City Chiefs have been exclusively considered as buyers ahead of the trade deadline. Do they have any value to gain as sellers instead?

The NFL trade deadline is at 4 PM EST on Tuesday. The Kansas City Chiefs are knotted up with their next opponent—the Tennessee Titans—for the second-best record in the AFC and have only been considered as buyers in the weeks leading up to the deadline. The Kadarius Toney trade was a move to improve the offensive efficiency from the perspective of wide receiver scoring. All of the buzz around adding to the offense, and the further potential it offers to the club in the short term, begs the question of what else the front office will do before the deadline arrives.

Many folks are calling for a blockbuster to bring in Brian Burns or even someone less pricey—Jerry Hughes, for example—to simply add depth to the Chiefs’ thin defensive line. Very few people are considering the Chiefs as sellers, but the idea is not too far-fetched. Here are three players that the Chiefs brass could consider trading before Tuesday’s deadline.

1. Mecole Hardman

Mecole Hardman just had his signature game with three touchdowns against the Niners, and we all hold home grown success stories close to our hearts. It may seem brutal, but there has never been a better time to recuperate value for him.

The Chiefs drafted Hardman with the 56th overall pick in 2019 as an insurance measure against potentially losing Tyreek Hill to suspension. Hill was never suspended though, and Hardman never had an opportunity to shine in the offense. This season was supposed to feature a far greater involvement from the fourth-year receiver, and this being a contract year led to some preseason hype about his upcoming performance. Outside of Week 7 in San Fransisco, however, that hype has been nulled.

The acquisition of Kadarius Toney made Mecole Hardman’s skillset a bit redundant in Kansas City. Toney, a former first-round selection with low mileage on his frame and longer team control available, makes a stronger case to be the shifty wideout in K.C. If the Chiefs could find a new home for Mecole Hardman and recover the sixth-round pick they sent to New York for Toney, we could look ahead to next year’s draft with a reloaded chamber of picks. This move would also create roster space for any wideouts that may still be floating around in free agency.