Chiefs on the Verge of Landmark Trade: Disgruntled Browns Defender Could Be the Key to Extending Kansas City’s Dynasty

Kansas City Chiefs players and coaches are gearing up to attempt to win their third consecutive Super Bowl on Sunday, but their front office always has an eye towards the future.

Huge news broke out of Cleveland on Monday as Browns defensive end Myles Garrett requested to be traded. It has been heavily speculated that it would eventually come down to this between the two sides, but as of now the Browns are maintaining that they will not trade Garrett.

However, we know that things often change quickly and dramatically in the NFL. Chiefs fans know this first hand after the team traded star wide receiver Tyreek Hill during the 2022 offseason. As unfathomable as that move once seemed, it turned out to be one of the best decisions in franchise history.

Two of the draft picks that Kansas City received for Hill were used to select cornerback Trent McDuffie and WR Rashee Rice, who both played crucial roles in the Chiefs winning back-to-back Super Bowls in 2022 and 2023. Parting with Hill also saved the team from having to give him a major contract, allowing K.C. to pay the likes of defensive tackle Chris Jones, center Creed Humphrey, and tight end Travis Kelce.

It’s very possible that the Browns change their tune on Garrett in the coming weeks, especially if they get a proposal they can’t refuse. Could the Chiefs be the team that makes that offer? The honest answer is probably not, but it isn’t exactly impossible. Regardless of the odds of it happening being low, you can bet that K.C. will do it’s due diligence on the possibility.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter laid out a good comparison on what a trade for Garrett could look like.

A case for the Chiefs to trade for Myles Garret

Likely having to surrender two first-round picks seems daunting initially, but don’t forget that K.C. will be picking at either No. 31 or 32 in this year’s draft. Those are essentially second-round picks, and often time the talent gap from the backend of the first round to the second round isn’t very significant.

If the Chiefs gave up a similar package that the Bears did for Mack in 2018, they would be left with one pick in the second, third, fourth, and seventh round. That’s definitely not a lot, but the Chiefs have a championship roster. If they made the picks that they do have count, they really wouldn’t miss having a first-round selection.

Garrett’s contract would come with salary cap hits of roughly $20 million in 2025 and 2026 before he hits free agency. Acquiring him could mean that K.C. will not retain its top free agent in safety Justin Reid. However, the Chiefs already have two good safeties in Bryan Cook and Jaden Hicks, and defensive backs Chamarri Conner and Nazeeh Johnson played the position in college.

DT Charles Omenihu is slated to become a free agent, but he could return for cheap after missing most of the season on injured reserve. A defensive line featuring Garrett, Omenihu, Jones, and George Karlaftis would be absolutely insane. It would ensure that the Chiefs’ defense remains one of the elite units in the league, led by a top tier pass rush.

A case against the Chiefs trading for Myles Garret

One of the biggest reasons the Chiefs are in the midst of a dynasty run is because they’ve built the majority of their roster through the draft. So many of their key pieces are still playing on their rookie contracts. Surrendering a ton of picks for just one player, no matter how good he is, would really handicap the Chiefs’ roster depth.

K.C. also has a number of important contributors who are due to get bigtime paydays, such as Reid, McDuffie, Karlaftis, linebacker Nick Bolton, running back Isiah Pacheco, and guard Trey Smith. The Chiefs already cannot afford to keep all of those guys as it is, but acquiring Garrett would put them in a position where they potentially only keep one of them.

Losing that many free agents would make it vital for the Chiefs to continue to draft well, but the problem with that is they wouldn’t have as many picks to work with after landing Garrett. Being handcuffed with little draft capital and no cap space for quality free agents would require all key starters to stay healthy, which as we saw this season is far from guaranteed.