NFL trade suggestion has Chiefs going after wrong tight end

The NFL trade deadline is just around the corner on Oct. 31, which means that plenty of hypotheticals are being floated. That includes hypotheticals about the reigning Super Bowl champions, and what they can do to reinforce their chances at a repeat. Kansas City Chiefs GM Brett Veach never passes up an opportunity to make […]

Charles Goldman — NFL Managing Editor

Oct 16, 2023 1:45 PM EDT

Kansas City Chiefs GM Brett Veach never passes up an opportunity to make a trade that could help his team, but he's also very methodical. Some years he's made trades to acquire players on a short-term deal (Melvin Ingram), and other times he's made trades with both the short-term and the future in mind (Kadarius Toney).

Will he make a trade ahead of the upcoming deadline? ESPN's Bill Barnwell recently came up with 15 hypothetical trades, two of which involve the Chiefs. One of those trades has the team going after a veteran tight end.

Barnwell thinks the Chiefs should add a veteran tight end

Barnwell feels like a trade with the Arizona Cardinals to acquire veteran TE Zach Ertz is exactly what the Chiefs need. He says that Ertz is basically exclusively a pass-catching tight end. The 32-year-old is now averaging over seven yards per reception with four receptions over 10 yards this season through Week 6.

Saying that Ertz is insurance against Travis Kelce getting injured would be foolish, but Ertz would at least give the Chiefs some semblance of a veteran tight end with a feel for finding soft spots in coverage in the case Kelce misses time. The Chiefs dramatically upped their usage of tight ends last season after trading away Tyreek Hill, and the season-ending injury suffered by Jody Fortson in August has probably limited their ability to get to 12 personnel or 13 personnel more often. Ertz is still a big body who can block and serve as a target off play-action in the red zone.

Of course, the Chiefs don't want to pay $6.3 million in prorated salary to bring on a backup plan at tight end, so the Cardinals would need to pay down virtually all of Ertz's salary as a bonus to get this deal done. In the end, he would get a chance to go try to win one more Super Bowl, the Cardinals would save a small amount of money and get a draft pick, McBride would get a chance to play as the top tight end for Arizona and the Chiefs would land a pass-catcher who can mix into their rotation over the remainder of the season.

Paying $6.3 million in prorated salary for a player who would be no better than a No. 2 option at his position, and one-dimensional at that, seems like a bad move. Not to mention, Kansas City doesn't currently have the cap space to facilitate a move like that. As Barnwell says, the Cardinals would need to make some consolations on the salary, which means the Chiefs will need to give up more in terms of trade capital.

As for the schematic fit, Kansas City hasn't been as successful at 13 personnel this year with Noah Gray and Blake Bell, however, they're been quite successful in the 12 personnel usage. Just check out the difference in EPA/play stats from this season to last.

Falcons TE Kyle Pitts is the better trade target

If the Chiefs intend to make a trade for a tight end, which is a questionable decision in and of itself when they're lacking consistency at wide receiver, they've got better options than a veteran rental such as Ertz. There has been some speculation that the Falcons could trade TE Kyle Pitts after a disappointing start to the 2023 NFL season. It's becoming increasingly clear that Atlanta is a quarterback away from competing and a Pitts trade could help them secure that player in the 2024 NFL draft.

As a rookie in 2021, the former No. 4 pick earned a Pro Bowl selection after recording 68 catches for 1,026 yards. He's since struggled to produce after an injury-riddled 2022 campaign. So far this season, he's recording 22 receptions for 251 yards and a touchdown. The box score might not show it, but he's been dominant at creating separation and getting open this season, be it against cornerbacks, safeties, or linebackers. He just needs a quarterback who can consistently get him the football.

There's also the prospect of developing Pitts into a long-term option to back up and eventually replace the 34-year-old Travis Kelce, who claims he's playing until the wheels fall off. Pitts has this year and next year remaining on his rookie contract, and the potential for an acquiring team to pick up his fifth-year option. That certainly feels like the better path forward than trading for a player like Ertz, who is closer to the end of his career than he is to the height of it.