10 possible wide receiver trade targets for the Chiefs given Rashee Rice's injury

The Kansas City Chiefs win against the Los Angeles Chargers came at a huge cost on Sunday. That's because Rashee Rice may have suffered a season-ending ACL injury in the first quarter. The Chiefs rallied after an awful start and pulled out a 17-10 win to advance to 4-0 on the season. While they are the back-to-back defending Super Bowl champions and one of only two undefeated teams to start the season, Rice's injury could be tough to overcome going forward.

Rice's injury is especially devastating because they have already lost both Marquise "Hollywood" Brown and Isiah Pacheco to lengthy injuries as well. That's not to say they're incapable of winning, since the Chiefs' defense has stepped up. They also still have Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. Xavier Worthy had a fantastic long touchdown this week, too. But if they want to continue to be a serious contender to complete the NFL's first-ever Super Bowl "three-peat," the Chiefs may need to make a trade to bring in some more help at wide receiver.

The Chiefs are sitting with an estimated $4.6 million in cap space currently. In terms of draft capital, they have a 1st, a 2nd, two 3rds, a 4th, a 5th, and three 7th-round 2025 draft picks to use as trade bait if they decide to make a move. The extra 3rd and 7th rounders could make a deal easier to work out.

So what players might be available? Let's break it down by category.

Big Name Wide Receiver Trade Targets for the Kansas City Chiefs

These are the three biggest options that might be available and that would make the biggest splash if KC traded for them. These are the types of options that NFL insider Josina Anderson was likely talking about when she put this out on Sunday night.

DeAndre Hopkins - 6'0" - 200 lbs - 32 years old - Tennessee Titans

DeAndre Hopkins has been connected to the Chiefs on numerous occasions, but nothing has ever materialized out of it. The 32 year old is set to be a free agent at the end of the season and the Titans currently sit at 0-3 heading into their Monday night game against the Miami Dolphins. Will Levis hasn't looked like the answer at quarterback through three games this year, so the Titans may be willing to trade away one of his weapons in order to improve their likelihood of drafting his replacement in the process.

Hopkins has been banged up to start the season and has just 8 receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown through three games. He did top 1,000 yards just last season though. The biggest hold-up on Hopkins may be his cap number. I'm not 100% sure what bonuses would carry over in a trade, his base salary and likely incentives alone would top $10 million. So the Chiefs would have some cap work to do to pull this one off.

Amari Cooper - 6'1" - 211 lbs - 30 years old - Cleveland Browns

Amari Cooper is another wideout who's on the wrong side of 30 and set to be a free agent this offseason. With the Browns off to a 1-3 start and looking like they need to draft a replacement for the epic mistake that is Deshaun Watson, they may be willing to make a deal. Cooper might be the biggest difference maker available, as he might not be as close to the end of his career as Hopkins is at this point.

Cooper has put up 16 receptions for 148 yards and 2 touchdowns through four games this season. He had over 1,200 yards receiving last season and, best of all, because most of his cap number for the Browns is signing bonus money, his cap hit for the Chiefs if they traded for him would only be about $1 million. That could make Cooper the most realistic option of these big-name targets.

Diontae Johnson - 5'10" - 183 lbs - 28 years old - Carolina Panthers

Another highly productive wideout who has had some rumored interest from the Chiefs in the past is Diontae Johnson. The 28 year old is the top pass catcher for the Panthers this season. Since the Panthers are expected to be one of the worst teams in the NFL again this season and Johnson is on a one-year deal, it would make sense for him to be a likely target.

Two main red flags with that. The first is that Johnson is on a $10 million contract that would require some cap management to make work in K.C. this season. The bigger issue, in my opinion, is that Johnson has really been Carolina's only proven offensive weapon so far this season. He already has 20 receptions for 239 yards and 2 touchdowns and has been the go-to guy now that Andy Dalton has taken over at quarterback. The Panthers are already in hot water with their fans over their quarterback decisions, trading away their only reliable wideout may not go over well, especially if they plan to put Bryce Young back in at any point this season.

Potential Brett Veach Reclamation Project Wide Receivers

We all know that Brett Veach likes to target former top prospects that haven't panned out in the NFL so far. These four wide receivers all fit that mold and could probably be had for a reasonable price.

Treylon Burks - 6'2" - 225 pounds - 24 years old - Tennessee Titans

Treylon Burks has been a complete and total bust in the NFL. However, if Brett Veach wanted to target someone to try and build up throughout the season to eventually take over some of Rashee Rice's role in the offense, Burks makes some sense. Rice wasn't productive because he was a master route runner; he was great after the catch and could break tackles. That just so happens to be a perfect description of what Burks' strengths were coming out of college.

Burks would be a long-term project, not an immediate help, but if K.C. thinks they can get through to him, they could start him on a limited snap count with manufactured touches and try to build him up through the remainder of the season in hopes he steps up in a new environment. He only has 2 catches on the season and his cap hit would be around $2 million. He also has one more year after this left on his deal if things did work out.

Jonathan Mingo - 6'2" - 220 lbs - 23 years old - Carolina Panthers

Jonathan Mingo is only in his second NFL season, but he's another receiver who is off to a slow start. To make matters worse for Mingo, the Panthers drafted a similar type of receiver this year in Xavier Legette. Legette is already outproducing Mingo as a rookie, so it doesn't look like Mingo has much hope of developing into a large role in Carolina.

Mingo is another raw receiver with impressive size and power but lacking in the route-running department. He could be brought along in the exact same manner as Burks as a potential manufactured touch guy who tries to replicate some of what they were doing with Rashee Rice. Mingo's cap hit would only be around $1.2 million and he's under contract for two more seasons after this year.

Jalin Hyatt - 6'0" - 185 lbs - 23 years old - New York Giants

Jalin Hyatt is in his second season after being an early third-round draft pick in 2023. The speedster only had 23 receptions as a rookie for the Giants and has yet to have a reception through four games this year. With the arrival of superstar rookie Malik Nabers, the Giants may be willing to move on from Hyatt, if someone made them a decent offer.

On one hand, Hyatt seems like an Andy Reid type. He certainly wouldn't be the first speedy wideout that Reid liked. The problem might be that his skillset is too similar to Xavier Worthy, who has already proven himself to be better than Hyatt in just four games. Hyatt hasn't proven himself to be much of an all-around receiver, and while he's got great speed, he doesn't offer the same tackle-breaking prowess like Burks and Mingo do to try and replicate Rice's use in the offense.

Elijah Moore - 5'10" - 180 lbs - 24 years old - Cleveland Browns

Elijah Moore looked like a promising young wide receiver prospect when he first arrived in the NFL with the New York Jets. However, after just two seasons they decided to deal him to the Cleveland Browns in return for trading up from the 3rd round to the 2nd round in the 2023 draft. Moore put up okay numbers last season in Cleveland, totaling 59 receptions for 640 yards and two touchdowns.

While Moore doesn't offer the physical size of a Burks or Mingo, he does offer more tackle-breaking upside than Hyatt does. While there haven't been any major incidents, there is a bit of a perception that Moore might be a bit difficult to work with. He's been a little more productive than Kadarius Toney, but it's not the worst comparison when trying to come up with a comp for Moore in the NFL. He's also in the last year of his contract and would only have about a $3 million cap hit for KC.

The Best of the Rest

If the Chiefs don't want to break the bank and go for a big name, but want a little more reliability than the reclamation projects, these three options could be cheap adds for the Chiefs who would still offer a boost to the wide receiver room.

Darius Slayton - 6'1" - 198 lbs - 27 years old - New York Giants

If the Chiefs want to trade for a New York Giants receiver who is a proven deep threat that could come in and help right away, Darius Slayton would be a much more reliable option than Jalin Hyatt. The 27-year-old Slayton had 770 yards receiving last season (400 more than Hyatt) and has been a consistent deep threat throughout his career.

Slayton is on a one year deal with the Giants (who are 1-3) and may not be in their long term plans. He would be owed around $6 million if the Chiefs aquired him, so they might have to do a little cap dollar shuffling to make it work. It's also possible that the Giants might be willing to eat a little of his salary if they got a draft pick out of the deal.

Demarcus Robinson - 6'1" - 202 lbs - 30 years old - Los Angeles Rams

The Chiefs are all about bringing back former players who already know their system, so Demarcus Robinson might be someone they would strongly consider. While Robinson had an up-and-down stay in Kansas City with some frustrating drops, he's carved out a nice role for himself as a 3rd/4th receiver for the Rams. He had 371 yards receiving and 4 touchdowns last season.

Robinson is 30 and on a one-year deal. The Rams are off to a 1-3 start and have enough injuries mounting up that they might be willing to sell off someone like Robinson for a future pick. The biggest thing stopping this might be that the Rams have injuries to both Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua, so they may not feel like they can trade away a receiver, even if they are ready to start dealing some veteran players on expiring contracts. Robinson would have around a $2.5 million cap hit if KC brought him back.

K.J. Osborn - 6'0" - 200 lbs - 27 years old - New England Patriots

The New England Patriots brought in K.J. Osborn to be a veteran option for their young receiving room, but he only has 5 receptions and 31 yards through four games. With DeMario Douglas and Ja'Lynn Polk ahead of him at wide receiver and tight end Hunter Henry acting as the top veteran target option, Osborn might be expendable.

Osborn was a solid third receiver for a couple of years in Minnesota before coming to New England. Just last season he had 48 receptions for 540 yards and 3 touchdowns. He's on a one year deal that would only have around a $2 million dollar cap hit if KC traded for him. While he wouldn't be anything like Rashee Rice, he would be a more reliable route runner and pass catcher than some of the guys that KC currently has healthy at wide receiver.

So there you have it Chiefs fans. Those are 10 wide receiver trade targets that the Chiefs could consider to help fill the huge void left by the Rashee Rice injury. Do you like any of these options? How realistic do you think some of these moves are? Is there anyone that didn't make the list that you think they should consider? I'd love to read your thoughts in the comments below.