Laddie Morse
K.C. still has targets: supreme being, TE Travis Kelce, 4th round wonder, TE Jared Wiley, 3-time Super Bowl Champion, WR Justin Watson, fastest man in the NFL and rookie sensation, WR Xavier Worthy, 4.33 WR/KR Mecole Hardman and versatile WR JuJu Smith-Schuster. The point is, while the Chiefs may make a move to bring in another standout WR, someone who would likely take Rashee Rice’s place, the Chiefs do have a number of other targets available on their current roster.
Now that we have heard about the year long absence of the Kansas City Chiefs #1 WR Rashee Rice, we should be able to narrow the choices of who will be that wideout that K.C. brings in to replace him. A number of names have emerged, so let’s take a look.
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WR Amari Cooper
Amari Copper is currently with the Cleveland Browns. He was taken with the 4th overall pick of the 2015 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders but was traded to the Dallas Cowboys in October of 2018 and was traded for the 27th overall pick which turned out to be Safety Johnathan Abram. Cooper was then traded to the Browns for a 5th round pick (and the swap of 6th rounders) in March of 2022. On Christmas even last year, Cooper had a career-high 265 receiving yards against the Houston Texans. 265 receiving yards is more yards than WR Skyy Moore had in either of his first two seasons with the Chiefs. Sorry if I hurt some feelings there, but it’s true. Check it out.
Cooper’s salary this year is a $1.21M base, plus a guaranteed of $18.79M signing bonus. The Browns are 1-and-4 this year and their next four games (before the NFL Trade Deadline) are with the: Eagles, Bengals, Ravens and Chargers. If there is a good reason to move on from a player they may feel saddled with, it’s Amari Cooper. Cooper is averaging 41.6 YPG and he’s not living up to his salary… so far.
The sound of Cooooooooop in Arrowhead would be awesome. Could Cooper be the answer for K.C.? Yes, but he’d have to be a quick study and the Browns would have to take some of the responsibility for his salary. Here’s a long TD Cooper scored when he was with the Cowboys (0:49):
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WR Treylon Burks
The two names — Treylon Burks and DeAndre Hopkins — come from the same team, the Tennessee Titans. The Titans are 1-and-3 right now and their next three games — before the trade deadline — are with their division rival, 2-3 Colts, the 3-2, Bills, and the 3-1, Lions. They actually have a game with the 1-4, Patriots before the Trade Deadline too, but if they lose to the Colts, it’s likely lights out for them… meaning… they should probably pack it in for this season and think about their future. Which makes them a team who would be willing to trade away assets, to gain future draft picks.
The Titans HC, says he’s sticking with his second year QB, Will Levis, even though (after Levis was injured early in that game) it was the veteran QB Mason Rudolph who led them to their only victory — over the Dolphins — last weekend. The immediate future does not look good for them.
Treylon Burks was drafted in the 2022 NFL Draft in the first round, but hasn’t lived up to expectations. Sounds like a Brett Veach favorite kind of guy to me. Over the last two+ season he’s had these receiving yards: 444 in his rookie year, 221 in his second season and only 24 yards this year.
Burks was drafted with the 18th overall pick because the Titans had received that pick from the Philadelphia Eagles in a trade for A.J. Brown. Burks is 6-foot-2 and weighs in at 225 lbs.. He’s 24 years old and would likely get a 3rd round pick in return, in a possible trade.
Here’s Treylon Burks in his rookie year going up to get a ball over the top. HIs value may be fighting for 50/50 balls with him using his height (0:12).
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Here another catch Burks made over Jaire Alexander fighting for the ball downfield during his rookie year (0:18).
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WR DeAndre Hopkins
The Titans will likely be trading away one of their wideouts, either Treylon Burks or DeAndre Hopkins. Since Hopkins is now 32 years old, my guess is they’ll want to maximize the return on his investment, since they probably think they can turn Treylon Burks career around, just like they’re trying to do with QB Will Levis.
Hopkins to K.C. has been a long lived hope for Kingdom fans over the past decade. Hopkins was drafted in 2013 and that’s a long, long time ago when you’re playing in the NFL. Hopkins was the 27th overall pick of the Houston Texans and that was the same year Andy Reid took LT Eric Fisher #1 overall. Fisher has been out of the league for two years now so you can see the longevity of Hopkins career. Here’s Adam Schefter on the Pat McAfee Show talking about DeAndre Hopkins — as well as others — being tradable at the NFL trade deadline (0:28):
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WR Diontae Johnson
Diontae Johnson was a 3rd round pick for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2019 NFL draft. Earlier this year, in March, the Carolina Panthers traded for Johnson, but his rookie deal runs out after this season. His deal this season is for $7M with a $3M roster bonus. Manageable numbers for Brett Veach. Johnson has had a productive career with 4,625 yards receiving so far, in 5+ seasons. He’s had 262 yards receiving this season with the Panthers and has averaged 11.2 YPR for his career. Johnson is 5-foot-10, and weighs 183 and ran a 4.53 40 yard dash.
His trade value is likely a 4th round pick or lower, and Brett Veach would do well to take a close look at the possibility of retaining his services and for him to replace Rashee Rice. Although, I don’t think he’d be a perfect fit, he’d offer enough.
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Here’s some info on Diontae Johnson from last year:
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WR Adam Thielen
Adam Thielen plays for the Carolina Panthers who are currently 1-and-4 and play in the NFC South. Thielen was a UDFA with the Vikings back in 2013 and is 34 years old. He stands 6-foot-2 and weighs in at 195 lbs.. Thielen grew up in Minnesota so if anything, I think he goes to the Vikings who are the only other team that has a perfect record right now. That, and the fact that he is 34 years old means he’s likely out of the race to become the next Chiefs WR.
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WR Davante Adams
One of the other names that keeps appearing is the possible trade between the Raiders and the Chiefs for their standout wideout, Davante Adams. The Las Vegas Raiders — no matter where they make their home — are the most hated foe the Chiefs have and it means the likelihood of them trading with the Chiefs is next to nothing. It seems much more likely that the Raiders would trade Adams to the Saints. After all, Adams signed with the Raiders originally because buddy QB Derek Carr was there. Now though, with Carr playing for the Saints — and he’s injured — it open the door for other teams who may have resources that the Saints don’t, or can’t match.
It’s clear that Adams wants to play for a team that can contend. That pretty much leaves the Chiefs on the table as one of the only teams who can do that. The Texans, Lions and Commanders are the only 1-loss teams in the NFL right now, but I doubt Adams will choose one of them.
Yes, Marcus Allen made the move to K.C. in 1993, but he only rushed for 764 yards in his first season with the team. Let’s not forget how special Marcus Allen was and he played for the Chiefs, and he did that because of a personal dispute he had with Raiders’ owner Al Davis. The ProFootballHallofFame.com has this to say about Allen:
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“Considered one of the game’s best goal line and
short-yardage runners, Marcus began his pro career
as the NFL Rookie of the Year and ended as the
game’s all-time rushing touchdown leader.”
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Is Davante Adams another Raiders-Chiefs divisional crossover player? I seriously doubt it.
Also, I found something late, from Brian Baldinger, that I want to share…
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Mahomes is a Fact of Life
(0:57)
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What WR wouldn’t want to play with the game’s best QB?
What do you think?
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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
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