Why the Kansas City Chiefs should trade for DK Metcalf

The wide receiver position has dominated headlines for the Kansas City Chiefs during the 2024 offseason.

Wideout was seen as the clear weakness of Kansas City's Super Bowl-winning roster last season. Consequently, wide receiver was the position where they made their biggest free agent signing with Marquise "Hollywood" Brown. They also invested their top draft pick on wide receiver Xavier Worthy. Unfortunately, the biggest off-the-field storyline this offseason has been the legal troubles of wide receiver Rashee Rice.

Despite all of that, I don't believe the Chiefs should be done at wide receiver before training camp kicks off is Saint Joseph, Missouri in a couple of months. Part of that is because of the question marks surrounding Rashee Rice's legal issues and a possible looming suspension. Another part is because I believe the Chiefs are still lacking a starting outside X receiver.

Yes, Xavier Worthy and Marquise Brown have both played a lot of snaps on the outside, but a receiver that lines up outside and a true X receiver are not the same thing. Both Brown and Worthy are best served lining up off the line of scrimmage (even on the outside) where they can better utilize their speed to get a free release without a defender getting their hands on them. While Marquez Valdes-Scantling never materialized as a reliable pass catcher, he did fill that role (and a ton of snaps) lining up on the line of scrimmage and taking on the physical demands that come with that.

Even if Rashee Rice plays most of this season, he did his best work out of the slot last year and if both Worthy and Brown are better off working in space, the Chiefs could use a physical outside receiver. That is why I am here to argue that the Chiefs should make a huge splash in the coming weeks and trade their 2025 1st round pick to the Seattle Seahawks for DK Metcalf.

The Kansas City Chiefs may have already reshaped their wide receiver room this offseason, but that shouldn't stop them from trading for DK Metcalf.

Metcalf is exactly the type of receiver that the Chiefs have been lacking during Patrick Mahomes' tenure as quarterback of the Chiefs. The closest they ever came to having a true physical X receiver on the outside was the handful of games where Sammy Watkins was healthy and effective. Even then, he wasn't the physical presence that Metcalf is.

If the future of the Chiefs receiving core was Metcalf at the X and Worthy as a movable chess piece that could move all over, they would already be set at the position. If they end up getting to keep Rice in that mix as well, it would be an almost unstoppable trio.

For those that may not be familiar with Metcalf, he's a hulking 6'4", 236 lb. specimen who ran a 4.33 second time in the 40-yard dash at the NFL combine. The Chiefs infamously passed on Metcalf in favor of drafting Mecole Hardman and Brett Veach even mentioned in an interview recently that he regrets passing on Metcalf in the 2019 draft. In his first five years in the league, Metcalf has averaged 74 receptions, 1,066 yards, and 8.6 touchdowns per season. He is still just 26 years old.

So why would the Seahawks even consider trading one of their best players? Simple, they're in a bad place with the salary cap and Metcalf has a huge contract. Spotrac has the Seahawks currently sitting at NEGATIVE $255,309 cap dollars. The NFLPA's report has them with about $2.2 million in space. Either way, the Seahawks are right up against the cap and that's not good for a team that's not considered a serious Super Bowl contender that has a new head coach that is trying to makeover the team.

What's worse for Seattle is that with the players they currently have under contract they are already over $17 million over the cap for 2025. So you have a team with a new head coach and salary cap problems. Meanwhile, Metcalf carries a $24.5 million cap hit this year and a $29.5 million hit next year. Plus, they brought back Tyler Lockett this offseason and drafted Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the first round last year, so the cupboard wouldn't be completely bare if they did trade him.

At this point, some of you might be thinking "If Seattle was going to trade Metcalf this offseason they would have done it before the draft so they could get a pick/picks to use for this year." However, Metcalf's contract actually makes trading him AFTER June 1st much more beneficial for them. If Metcalf was traded before June 1st the Seahawks would clear just $9.5 million in cap space, but after June 1st that number jumps to $17 million. Moving Metcalf also clears $22 million in cap space for 2025 where they are in even worse shape.

We have seen Brett Veach go to the extreme to fix a roster problem before. When the offensive line fell apart during the Chiefs first attempt to win back-to-back Super Bowls he dumped massive resources into completely remaking the line and it worked. Yes, Hollywood Brown is a nice one-year quick fix and Xavier Worthy is a promising long-term option, but with Rashee Rice in hot water and no good options on the roster to play true X receiver snaps, Veach should swing for the fences and correct his mistake of passing on Metcalf the first time around.

If the Chiefs were to arm Mahomes and Andy Reid with Travis Kelce, DK Metcalf, Hollywood Brown, and Xavier Worthy next season, the rest of the NFL would be terrified, even if Rashee Rice misses double-digit games to a suspension. The Chiefs' defense would be able to take a slight step back from their elite play last season and K.C. would still be far and away the favorite to win the Super Bowl.

The Chiefs have a chance to make NFL history and complete the first ever "three-peat" and they should pull out all the stops to make that happen. Yes, a first-round pick is a steep price to pay, but Metcalf is still young enough that he would absolutely be worth it. With Worthy and Rice on rookie contracts and Brown a one-year rental, they can afford to pay Metcalf for a few years. I think this move makes all the sense in the world and I hope Brett Veach makes it happen.