Here’s Next Blockbuster Trade Chiefs Should Pull Off

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Call it another left-handed completion from Patrick Mahomes.

Brett Veach got excellent grades for the Trent McDuffie trade on Wednesday. Most thought he’d get simply another first-round selection for the All-Pro cornerback. Instead, Veach got that plus another three Rams picks, all for one player.

mahomes veac — Jul 26, 2024; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) throws a pass as general manager Brett Veach watches in the background during training camp at Missouri Western State University. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Now, there’s only one thing Veach could do that would transform Wednesday’s A grade into an F: Use that capital to move up in the first round.

Consider that of his 18 draft-weekend trades (deals made from Thursday-Saturday of draft weekend), Veach has moved up for a player 14 times. He’s moved back on just four occasions, and none of those four were significant. One of them was an anti-climactic deal at the end of the first round last season to move back one spot and take Josh Simmons at No. 32.

lov — Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Jeremiyah Love (4) scores a touchdown while being chased by Indiana Hoosiers defensive back D'Angelo Ponds (5) and Indiana Hoosiers defensive back Jamari Sharpe (22) during the first half of a game between the Indiana Hoosiers and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in first round of the College Football Playoff on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in South Bend. | Christine Tannous/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Reason 1: Unenviable draft position

The Chiefs are not in an ideal spot at No. 9. Veach said at the combine he’d much rather be picking at 4 or 5. He also said that some of this draft’s top players are at non-premium positions, such as running back, linebacker and safety. But there’s a reason why players at premium positions tend to get drafted first.

“The problem with those guys,” Veach said Feb. 24, referring to premium-position players such as edge rushers, “is they're hard to find, and they don't really become available in free agency. Some of those other positions, they're good players; you'll probably eventually get a chance to get some of those positions. So, that's kind of the things you have to wait for, kind of go through and weigh out all the options.”

gibbs, laport — Sep 7, 2023; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (26) runs the ball as tight end Sam LaPorta (87) during the second half against the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

Reason 2: Detroit's 2023 grand slam

One of those options lives vicariously through Mahomes. The quarterback has completed each of his two career left-handed passes – to Tyreek Hill at Denver on Oct. 1, 2018, and to Jerick McKinnon at Las Vegas on Nov. 14, 2021. In other words, Veach should consider something against his grain: Trading back in the first round.

That’s what the Detroit Lions did three years ago. The Lions entered that draft with the sixth-overall selection, a pick Brad Holmes dealt to Arizona. The Lions not only got the player they wanted at 6 – waiting six more choices to land Jahmyr Gibbs – but they also picked up an additional second-rounder. Holmes snagged tight end Sam LaPorta with that choice.

The Lions’ first four selections in 2023 were Gibbs (No. 12), linebacker Jack Campbell (No. 18), LaPorta (No. 34) and safety Brian Branch (No. 45). In only three seasons since that Night 1 trade, each of those four players have earned Pro Bowl honors (Gibbs has three of them), and the Lions are tied with the Bills and Eagles (each 36-15, .706) for the NFL’s best record over that period – including a season-opening upset of the Super Bowl-champion Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium in 2023.

Reason 3: Teams without first-round selections

That Lions precedent is what should drive Veach toward his next big trade. Here’s another reason to do it. Baltimore, Jacksonville, Atlanta, Green Bay and Indianapolis as of Sunday do not hold first-round selections.

In addition to Kansas City (Nos. 9 and 29), three other teams have multiple first-round choices – after the Raiders dealt Maxx Crosby to Baltimore on Friday night: Las Vegas (Nos. 1, 14), the Jets (2, 16), Cleveland (6, 24) and Dallas (12, 20).

parson — Green Bay Packers defensive end Micah Parsons (1) celebrates after sacking Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) on Sunday, November 23, 2025, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. The Packers won the game, 23-6. Tork Mason/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin | Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images