The NFL trade deadline is upon us once again. In just a few days, the market will officially close and teams will no longer be buyers or sellers. For a contender like the Kansas City Chiefs, it means the window to improve the team via trade is only open for another short stretch—until October 31 at 3:00 p.m. C.T., to be specific.
With the annual trade deadline comes an annual swirl of rumors about which teams might vie for which players, and typically it's all smoke and mirrors about long-shot deals that have very little chance of actually taking place.
While the Chiefs have proven an ability to make a blockbuster deal or two since Brett Veach took over as general manager (e.g. Orlando Brown Jr., Frank Clark), the truth is that he'll likely stick to something smaller if the Chiefs are going to make any deal at all. Here's a look at six likely trade targets and what the Chiefs might see in each.
Kaiir Elam, CB, Buffalo Bills
Yes, yes, we know cornerback is not exactly a great need here. L'Jarius Sneed and Trent McDuffie are the pillars. Jaylen Watson and Joshua Williams are capable starters themselves. Nic Jones hardly gets any playing time as it is, and there's certainly no room (or real need) for anyone else. Plus everyone we've already listed is still on a rookie deal.
What's important to note is that the idea of trading for Kaiir Elam would not be about need for the Chiefs. It would be about opportunity.
It was only 18 months ago that the Chiefs traded up in the 2021 NFL Draft with the New England Patriots to grab the No. 21 overall selection. At the time, they had their eye on the cornerback position, and general manager Brett Veach himself said they moved up knowing one of their favorites would likely be there. When McDuffie was still there, they pulled the trigger.
No one can know for certain who that other cornerback was (or maybe there was even more than 1 other), but the safest bet is Kaiir Elam. Elam was the only highly-acclaimed cornerback left at that point, and the Buffalo Bills traded up to get him just two picks later. What's made this interesting is that the Bills looked shocked when the Chiefs leaped them and took McDuffie.
Here's the thing: Elam has been a complete bust in Buffalo. Last week he was a healthy scratch for veteran cornerback Josh Norman who was signed and inserted onto the active roster. After the game, head coach Sean McDermott threw Elam under the bus saying, "We feel like every decision we make is who can help us win." The unsaid part being that Elam will not help them do that.
For a first-round corner not even halfway through his second season, that's quite startling. However, it should be noted that Elam was always a raw prospect coming into the league who excelled as a press corner in man coverage at Florida. In Buffalo, he's done nothing but struggle in McDermott's zone demands. To this point, he's not playing when active and now he's inactive.
Back to the Chiefs. If they liked Elam as a first-round pick just a year-and-a-half ago, would it make sense to explore a trade? That feels like a realistic call to make.
Devin Bush, LB, Seattle Seahawks
This is all about a pre-emptive strike for a short-term fix.
Let's walk through this scenario: The Chiefs right now are in sole possession of first place in the AFC with a likely win ahead of them in Denver. If they can come away at 7-1 at the halfway point of the season, they're in control of their own destiny and likely feeling good about where they're at on both sides of the ball. On defense, especially, the team has really taken a major leap forward.
The downside, however, is that defensive captain Nick Bolton has just gone down for the next two months with a wrist injury, Just like that, the team lost their leader in the heart of a young unit and their best overall tackler. The good news is that they had the depth to withstand the loss among the base unit with Drue Tranquill slotting right into his role. The bad news is that they're susceptible to any more injuries.
If the Chiefs wanted to secure the position with a short-term fix to keep the momentum going, a trade for someone like Devin Bush could be on the table.
Bush is on the trade block from the Seattle Seahawks after he signed with the team this offseason on a one-year deal. At this point, Bush is getting zero playing time (only 57 defensive snaps all season) playing behind excellent vets like Bobby Wagner and former first-round pick Jordyn Wagner. Given the rumors in Seattle, it sounds like Bush could be had for a song.
Bush will never live up to the first-round billing given to him by the Pittsburgh Steelers as recently as 2019 (he was the No. 10 overall pick in that draft), but that doesn't mean he can't provide solid second-level help, especially in coverage. Together with Tranquill, Steve Spagnuolo would again have the sort of deception available to him to disguise player usage and keep the defense moving forward.
Marquise Brown, WR, Arizona Cardinals
This is admittedly a larger deal, which makes it among the more unlikely of this "likely" bunch. That said, it's a great match for a number of reasons if the Chiefs just wanted to solidify the wide receiver position right now for the next few years.
Hollywood Brown is a volume target at the NFL level with great deep speed just south of the league's best (e.g. he's no Tyreek but then again, who is?). Brown has put up solid stats while playing in an extremely run-heavy environment with the Baltimore Ravens and then for the carousel of mediocrity at quarterback while with the Arizona Cardinals.
Suffice it to say, no one can say with any absolute certainty what Brown's ceiling would be in a system like the Chiefs with Patrick Mahomes throwing him the ball, but it should have scouts salivating at the thought.
At this point, the Cardinals are headed straight for another early draft slot and who knows if they'll be led by Kyler Murray or a new quarterback this time next year. What makes the most sense here, then, is to deal a veteran like Brown for the sake of accumulating assets. However, the latest reports out of Arizona say that they're likely to keep Brown and use him as a playmaker to aid whoever is going to be their long-term QB.
This is a deal that would cost the Chiefs (likely a second-round pick) in multiple ways (because they'd have to pony up for an extension too). None of that should scare anyone from this deal. Brown is a safe bet who is still very young with a good track record on a team with no bad contracts. The Chiefs can afford this as the cap rises, and a deal will look even better if there's a moment when Travis Kelce starts to look his age.
Picture Rashee Rice breaking out next to Brown and Kelce working the deep and intermediate routes with others filling around them. It'd take a lot, but the fit makes a lot of sense.
Josey Jewell, LB, Denver Broncos
While the limelight of the trade block is squarely on the Denver Broncos these days, it feels like 99 percent of the attention is going to the team's wide receivers. Names like Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton are being mentioned in connection with multiple teams these days as various franchises look to bolster their offense.
Certainly the Chiefs would like to see a Jeudy or Sutton on the roster, but the cost is likely going to be too high and the fit and future uncertain. What makes the most sense for the Chiefs is to focus on the defensive side and make a call about Josey Jewell.
If we were talking about supplementing the roster for the loss of Nick Bolton before, Jewell is the perfect candidate. Jewell has been one of the league's better tacklers since Denver took him in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL Draft. He quickly became a coach's favorite in Mile High and ascended to a starting role as inside linebacker with a tremendous work ethic, intelligence, and instincts as a tackler.
If that sounds familiar, it is. Jewell is less gifted than Bolton athletically and he's not as well-rounded, but the Chiefs run defense wouldn't miss a beat. The real question is whether Denver would trade him to a division rival or not. If so, if the price is right, Jewell would be a stellar fit for a solid need.
DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Tennessee Titans
It seems like a long time ago at this point, but the Kansas City Chiefs were quite recently rumored to be interested in DeAndre Hopkins. As a free agent, Hopkins was available to every team and he ended up taking the bag to play for the Tennessee Titans, who'd offered him a two-year deal worth up to $26 million.
Remember that the Titans have already swapped veteran defensive back Kevin Byard to the Philadelphia Eagles for low-level draft assets. It's possible that was the beginning of the sell-off in Nashville (and if not, it should be). Things aren't getting any better there without stronger quarterback play and with Ryan Tannehill shelved, the Titans will only slip further in any race for the postseason.
That's what makes Hopkins a good trade candidate at this stage. If the Chiefs were interested only a few months ago, it'd be worthwhile to at least entertain a discussion of what it would cost the Chiefs to trade for him. It'd also be worth asking if Tennessee would have any ability to eat some of his salary.
So far he's proving his doubters wrong with 27 catches for 376 yards while catching terribly thrown passes in a limited offensive system. That's a 17-game pace for 1,065 receiving yards on the season—more than what a lot of fans thought he had left in the tank. Now in Week 8, it looks like the Titans might be ready to sell, and the Chiefs should at least call to see what this might take.
Zach Ertz, TE, Arizona Cardinals
If the Arizona Cardinals wanted to sell at least someone on their offense and if the price for a wide receiver is too steep for the Chiefs, then perhaps there's a bit of middle ground for all parties involved with a potential deal for longtime veteran Zach Ertz.
For the Chiefs, they've enjoyed some real offensive success in 12 and 13 personnel with Travis Kelce and Noah Gray as pass catchers in key situations. Blake Bell is limited as an offensive weapon and perhaps his value has dropped to the point where some considerations could be made in the form of a smaller upgrade for an offensive boost.
The real hurdle here is a three-year deal signed by Ertz with the Cardinals in 2022 for over $32 million (there's a reason Steve Keim was fired several months later). The Chiefs would undoubtedly need the Cards to eat a ton of salary here or for Ertz to renegotiate something. Either way, the finances hurt the "likely" nature of this trade.
That said, Ertz's athletic profile isn't what it used to be but he's a very intelligent player whose experience and hands make him a dangerous weapon even into his mid-thirties. Imagine Andy Reid deploying Ertz, Kelce, and Gray in red zone situations. There are so many intriguing offensive wrinkles that could enter the playbook with another reliable pass catcher like Ertz around. At the very least, it's worth a call.