The Kansas City Chiefs did enough to take down the Denver Broncos on Thursday Night Football by a final score of 19-8, but it wasn't super convincing. Patrick Mahomes completed 30 of 40 passes and totaled 306 passing yards, but only threw for one touchdown against the worst pass defense in the NFL. Nine of those 30 completions went to Travis Kelce, who accounted for 40.5% of Kansas City's receiving yards in the Chiefs' win.
Kansas City has to get more from their wide receivers. Rookie Rashee Rice has been the best in that room this season. Through six games, Rice leads the team's wide receivers receptions (21), targets (28), receiving yards (245), and touchdowns (2) despite being used as a part-time player so far this season.
To make matters worse, Justin Watson, who has the second-most receiving yards on the season among the Chiefs' wide receivers, suffered an elbow injury on Thursday. It looks like he will miss some time. The Chiefs need more firepower in their wide receiver room. Playing Rashee Rice more would be a nice start, but they need more than that. So much so that it might be time to look elsewhere and swing a potential trade. Who could the Chiefs realistically pursue?
Jerry Jeudy
Jerry Jeudy's career hasn't gotten off to the start either he or the Denver Broncos imagined when they selected him 15th overall in the 2020 NFL Draft, ahead of other receivers like Justin Jefferson, CeeDee Lamb, Tee Higgins, Brandon Aiyuk, and Michael Pittman. Now almost halfway through his fourth season, Jeudy has 2,517 yards for his career.
With a new regime in town in Denver, they're looking to make changes. When that happens, that means a tear down is almost a certainty. The Broncos have begun that process. They just traded Randy Gregory to the San Francisco 49ers for a late-round pick swap. Reports are already circulating that Jerry Jeudy could be next on the trade block.
Certainly, the Broncos would get more for Jeudy than they did for Randy Gregory, but the point stands. The Broncos are beginning to start over. The Chiefs need help at wide receiver. A trade seems beneficial for both sides.
Marquise Brown
Another receiver that has been involved in trade rumors has been Marquise ‘Hollywood' Brown. The Cardinals traded a first-round pick to land Brown a year ago. But, like in Denver, there has been a regime change in Arizona. The Cardinals being competitive has been a pleasant surprise so far this season, but the regime there now isn't exactly set on competing for a Super Bowl at the moment. They want to gather as many assets and draft picks as possible. With Hollywood Brown on an expiring contract, he's a logical spot to start to gathering more draft capital. Unsurprisingly, his name has been on the trade block as well.
The Cardinals want to accumulate more draft capital. The Chiefs want to win now and need help at wide receiver. A trade of Hollywood Brown would make a lot of sense for all parties.
Courtland Sutton
Jerry Jeudy is not the only wide receiver on the Broncos whose name has been on the trade block. Courtland Sutton's name has also been there. Reports have circulated that it wouldn't be a surprise if either or both were dealt before the trade deadline.
A trade for Sutton might be a bit easier to swing for the Chiefs than Jeudy. Jeudy is the better player, but the Chiefs could also get out from under Sutton's contract after this season as opposed to needing to pay Jeudy a hefty deal in 2024. Sutton is also older, which could limit his market compared to Jeudy's. But Sutton could help the Chiefs, as would Marquise Brown or Jerry Jeudy. It's up to the Chiefs to swing a deal and help out Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce.
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