Potential Titans Draft Trade Appears: Chiefs’ Trent McDuffie move opens up top-10 swap idea in the 2026 NFL Draft

The Chiefs and Rams just made the blockbuster trade of the offseason, giving the Chiefs a second 1st round pick. Could the Chiefs and Titans one-up that trade in the 1st Round of the Draft?

Easton Freeze — Tennessee Titans Beat Writer
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The Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams just shook up the entire NFL offseason with a blockbuster trade. CB Trent McDuffie is a Ram now, and all it cost them was… a 1st, 5th, 6th, and 2027 3rd. GM Les Snead was happy to pay that hefty price though, and now the Chiefs have a war chest of picks.

The second the Chiefs landed a second 1st round pick, Titans fans on social media couldn’t help themselves: “Is Kansas City gearing up to make a trade?”

So let’s examine the merits of a trade built around the 4th overall pick for the 9th and 29th overall picks:

Why a blockbuster Titans-Chiefs trade makes sense

From the Chiefs’ perspective…

  • This roster hasn’t had an offensive weapon like Jeremiyah Love since prime Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce. If the KC front office deems Love a truly elite offensive prospect, who can contribute in both the run and pass game, they could convince themselves to go get their guy.
  • Perhaps the trade-up would be for a dominant edge rusher, which is fundamentally a great cornerstone to rebuild a defense around. That side of the ball needs some real work, and Chris Jones isn’t going to be around forever. Maybe whoever is left from the grouping of Rueben Bain, David Bailey, and Arvell Reese is their guy.
  • We have a whole free agency cycle ahead of us, and the Chiefs are on the prowl for RB and EDGE help. The competition for those two positions is crowded, and if they miss out on their targets, a draft trade could be the move.
  • Mike Borgonzi is you guy! It’s always easier to strike a deal with a buddy!

From the Titans’ perspective…

  • This team has so many holes and needs valuable swings to fill them. This gives you two first round swings for the first time since 2017.
  • A trade would help fulfill the Borgonzi/Brinker front office’s stated goal of 12 top-100 picks in a three year span
  • What this draft class lacks in blue chip talent, it makes up for with intriguing depth. All the talk this year has been about how it’s a tough draft to have a top-5/top-10 pick due to the lack of blue chip talent at premium positions. This would give you a ticket to volume over value in a first round that’s set up that way already.
  • Who doesn’t like the idea of pulling off a lick against your old team? Mike Borgonzi could fleece the mighty Chiefs!

Why a blockbuster Titans-Chiefs trade doesn’t make sense

From the Chiefs’ perspective…

  • The whole point of this McDuffie trade is to get ammo to rebuild, if you ask me. That side of the ball needs real work, and one non-blue chip EDGE (or even the blue chip LB or S) is going to help you more than the value of two first round swings in this class. That’s the end of story as it pertains to the possibility of a trade up for EDGE as I see it: they just aren’t that caliber of prospects. So let’s pivot to the offensive player everybody on twitter seems to think they could target.
  • In the same way, this roster is not a Jeremiah Love (or Carnell Tate) away from being as solid as they should want to be. We all saw just how much Patrick Mahomes was propping up that side of the ball this past year. His efforts proved heroic the second we saw how bad they became once he went out.
  • Is Brett Veach really the kind of GM to trade up in the 1st for a devalued position like running back? The Chiefs are a conservative front office culture steeped in draft-and-develop fundamentals. Titans fans have experienced this first hand with Mike Borgonzi’s approach. I don’t think this fits their MO at all, especially if it’s for Love.
  • This FA pool is rich! At both EDGE and RB, there are options to be had. And we’ve already heard some reporting on the RB front, how apparently the Chiefs won’t be heavily interested in bidding for Kenneth Walker Jr. due to his price tag. Trading up to 4 for Love is a whole heck of a lot more expensive than that!
  • The last time the Chiefs took a first round running back, it was Clyde Edwards-Helaire. How did that go? Do we think they’re dying to give that another try, but with even greater stakes?
  • For historical context, no team this century has traded up in the top 10 for a RB. The last instance I can find was Ricky Williams in 1999.

From the Titans’ perspective…

  • Historically speaking, this trade requires more in the Titans’ favor. In this particular class I honestly wouldn’t mind the value of the swap straight up, but these front offices don’t take trades in the first round that make them look like pushovers.
  • Other than that, unless you’re just head-over-heels for a guy at 4… good idea for Tennessee!

The bottom line

When I tally up all the pros and cons here and consider their merits, I’m seeing a pretty lopsided result. Particularly when you consider the Chiefs’ perspective in this, I just don’t see this being a very realistic possibility at all. There’s a lot of time between now and that fateful Thursday night, and anything can happen, but I don’t see this being on the table right now. I’d be surprised to hear the Chiefs say yes.

Feel free to prove me wrong, Brett Veach. Bring on the fireworks.

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