Chiefs-Falcons Trade Grades: Kansas City Offloads Veteran Tackle to Atlanta

The Chiefs and Falcons executed a trade on Thursday afternoon ahead of the NFL’s de facto summer break, sending tackle Wanya Morris and a 2027 seventh-round pick from Kansas City to Atlanta for a ’27 sixth-round pick.

Morris, 25, was selected by the Chiefs in the third round of the 2023 draft, but has started only 16 games over three seasons—including just one in ’25—prompting him and the team to explore trade options as he “would like the chance to play more.” He’ll now have the opportunity to do so in his home state, as Morris grew up in Grayson, Ga.

Trade: The Kansas City Chiefs are dealing OT Wanya Morris to the Atlanta Falcons, per sources.

Morris, who started 16 games for Chiefs, gives Atlanta much-needed tackle help. pic.twitter.com/OSgOJuQKG5
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) June 11, 2026

According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, “multiple teams” were interested in Morris’s services when the Chiefs and his agents began exploring trade options in recent days. He’ll now head to the Falcons and compete for a spot along their offensive line.

With that, let’s grade the trade.

Chiefs

Despite enduring a less-than-ideal season in 2025, the Chiefs are pretty much set along their offensive line for ’26. Here's a look at their presumed starting five heading into training camp:

LT: Josh Simmons
LG: Kingsley Suamataia
C: Creed Humphrey
RG: Trey Smith
RT: Jaylon Moore

Kansas City will now be relying heavily on Simmons, a second-year pro out of Ohio State, to hold down the fort on the left side of their line. After starting the first five games of the 2025 season, the former first-round pick missed Weeks 6 through 9 for personal reasons before suffering a season-ending dislocated and fractured wrist in early December. Simmons now looks unrecognizable heading into 2026 (in a good way), sitting at around 285-290 pounds and hoping to get back up to 300 before the season starts.

“I’m not in the training room, I can actually get on the field,” Simmons, who was rehabbing a knee injury at this time last year, said this week when asked about the biggest difference heading into his second season. “[Can] get in the film room and kind of just pick at that more than just being in the training room. Working on [getting bigger, faster, stronger], etc.”

It’s a high-risk move for Kansas City to offload a reliable depth piece and only receive a pick-swap in return. But, if Simmons and Moore can stay healthy on the offense’s bookends, then it’s one they won't have to second-guess.

Grade: B+

Falcons

The Falcons are rolling with a double-lefty quarterback room in 2026, and whether Michael Penix Jr. or Tua Tagovailoa ultimately wins the starting job, it'll be the right side of Atlanta's offensive line—not left—acting as the offense's blind side protection.

Veteran Jake Matthews will continue to be the team’s stalwart left tackle heading into his 13th NFL season, but a competition will now likely commence on the right. Oddly enough, the Falcons signed former Kansas City offensive lineman Jawaan Taylor to a one-year, $5 million deal this offseason—presumably to be their starting right tackle after Kaleb McGary announced his retirement. He’ll now have to fend off his former teammate in Morris for the job.

Outside of the two former Chiefs, Atlanta has just Michael Jerrell and Storm Norton as right tackles on their current roster—the latter of which was placed on the reserve/PUP list on Thursday with a lingering ankle injury.

Needless to say, moving back just one round—and a late one, at that—to add much-needed depth and competition to a position room that desperately needs it is a no-brainer for the Falcons, making them the winner of this deal.

Grade: A-

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