From Tom Marshall (@aredzonauk):
Tom, sure, in a vacuum, they’d love to have Hill on their team.
Remember, the genesis of this was in 2022 when the receiver market exploded—with the Las Vegas Raiders’ trade for Davante Adams touching a shift in economics at the position. The Chiefs had already opened talks with Hill’s camp on a deal at that point, but the price tag motivated Kansas City to reconsider its options, which eventually led to the trade with the Miami Dolphins.
The Chiefs got first-, second- and fourth-round picks in 2022, and fourth- and sixth-round picks in ’23 as part of the deal—picks used to get Trent McDuffie, Skyy Moore, Joshua Williams, Chamarri Conner and Keondre Coburn. McDuffie, now an All-Pro corner, has been a big hit. Moore was a second-round miss, or has been to this point. Williams and Conner have been valuable depth pieces in the secondary. Coburn, a defensive tackle, is gone.
Then, there’s the financial flexibility moving Hill gave them. The reality is they chose Hill’s draft classmate, Chris Jones, over their dynamo of a receiver—a move you make if you have a generational quarterback and another high-end skill guy, Travis Kelce, as a focal point. Jones is as rare a talent as Hill is and got the kind of third contract Hill wanted. And from there, the Chiefs gained room to do deals with younger players. One is Creed Humphrey. Others (McDuffie, George Karlaftis, Nick Bolton, etc.) could be coming.
So, yes, the Chiefs miss Hill. But when you’re at the Chiefs’ level, and have the level of quarterback they do, you can’t just keep everyone.
