Getty Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach at the 2023 NFL Combine.
Brace yourselves, this Kansas City Chiefs proposition is a wild one — but it could make sense for KC if general manager Brett Veach decides to be uber aggressive at the wide receiver position in the NFL Draft.
The blockbuster trade proposal, courtesy of Sports Illustrated NFL analyst Mark Van Sickle, involves three first-round picks and the Houston Texans. Here is the offer Van Sickle came up with, “using the NFL Mock Draft Database:”
- Chiefs get 2023 No. 12 overall pick (1st).
- Texans get 2023 No. 31 overall pick (1st), 2024 1st round pick, 2023 No. 249 overall pick (7th), 2023 No. 250 overall pick (7th).
So, to recap: A future first and two sevenths to move up from No. 31 to No. 12 on draft night — which would be pretty even according to the NFL Trade Value Chart (Texans value: 1200 points, Chiefs value: minimum of 1202 if they were to win the Super Bowl again). A move like that would surely get the crowd going in Kansas City.
In this scenario, the Chiefs would then use the Texans No. 12 overall selection on Ohio State pass-catcher Jaxon Smith-Njigba, a player most experts believe is the clear No. 1 wide receiver in the draft this April.
Is Jaxon Smith-Njigba Worth 2 First-Round Picks & More?
It’s fair to wonder if Smith-Njigba is worth such a hefty price. After all, Patrick Mahomes II has already proven that he has the ability to elevate those around him, so why spend so much on a wide receiver prospect when you have a quarterback like that?
Here was the reasoning from Van Sickle, who voiced: “The Chiefs decided to trade up to get the consensus top WR in this year’s NFL Draft. There’s a chance that general manager Brett Veach sees an opportunity to move up for a player who can make an immediate impact and with the draft being in Kansas City, and this would be the splash move that would make heads spin. Smith-Njigba can do it all, playing from the slot, outside or being used on end-arounds. His playmaking ability was on display the most during the 2021 season as injuries limited him in 2022. He’s only 21 years old and the sky’s the limit for him at the next level — especially if he has a quarterback like Mahomes throwing him the ball.”
If Veach and the Chiefs truly see the former Buckeye as the only dominant force at WR this year, this theory becomes more plausible. On that note, some analysts have argued that Smith-Njigba is the only deserving first-round talent at the position in 2023, so it’s not totally farfetched that the Kansas City GM would share in this opinion.
It’s also a need area, considering the franchise just lost JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman in free agency one offseason after trading superstar Tyreek Hill — but how far is Veach willing to go to eliminate this need and make his MVP signal-caller happy?
That remains to be seen but as of now, Veach has never committed assets like this to the WR position during the Mahomes era. Quite frankly, it’s hard to see him bucking that trend with a deal like this in 2023.
Chiefs GM Brett Veach Shoots Down Idea of Massive Trade Jump in NFL Draft
During his pre-draft press conference on April 20, Veach laid out his plan when it comes to trading up in the NFL Draft, and it didn’t sound like a huge jump was on the agenda this April. Here’s what he had to say:
“We’ll have a list of guys that we’ll feel like we want to be aggressive on. If it works out number-wise, I think we’ll sit there at 31 and we’ll have a few guys. And if they’re there and we think it’s in range, reasonable, where we’re not giving up a ton — I can’t see us trading up too high in the draft or anything like that. If there’s a guy that we really like and we’re in that range, we’ll sit here the next few days and determine what range is comfortable for us. We’ll sit there and potentially make that move. We’ll be content with staying there [too]. I’m sure there will be a good player at 31.”
Veach also noted that the Chiefs will “be open to moving back if guys that we had in mind are gone.” He added that “these things change so quickly and fluidly, but I don’t think we’d be opposed to being aggressive if the player warranted it.”
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