The Kansas City Chiefs are no strangers to adversity, but the first two weeks of the 2025 season have exposed cracks in their offensive identity. Andy Reid’s stubborn reliance on the passing game—once a luxury with peak Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill—now feels more like a liability. This wide receiver corps is injury-ridden, unreliable, and inconsistent, while Kelce no longer carries the offense the way he once did. Patrick Mahomes remains the best quarterback in football, but even he can’t lead an effective offense when his weapons consistently fail him.
If the Chiefs want to stay afloat in the short term and position themselves for another postseason run, their game plan must change. That means leaning on the run more heavily and seriously exploring trade options that can give Mahomes the reliable playmakers he desperately needs.
Whether it’s a dynamic young back like De’Von Achane or a blockbuster reunion with Tyreek Hill, Brett Veach and Andy Reid must take decisive action before this season slips away.
Change the Gameplan
Andy Reid needs to game plan with what he has, not what he wishes he had. The first two weeks have been a harsh reminder that Reid’s loyalty to the passing game can work against him. Some slack can be given for the opener—losing Xavier Worthy early certainly didn’t help—but the Eagles game highlighted a long-standing flaw: Reid will dial up 50 passes no matter who’s out there attempting to catch them.
That approach worked when Kansas City had peak Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill. Back then, they could survive injuries to players like Sammy Watkins or Jerick McKinnon because the stars alone could carry the offense. Those days are gone. Kelce isn’t the same player, and the rest of this receiving group is anything but dependable. Worthy’s torn labrum means he won’t be fully healthy at any point this season, Rashee Rice keeps making off-field mistakes, and Hollywood Brown hasn’t put together a full season in years.
Even though the running back room is generally viewed as a bottom-10 unit in the league, the decision to throw the ball 30-plus times a game—when Kansas City’s starting wide receivers are currently the worst in the league—is shortsighted at best and naive at worst. Allowing rookie running back Brashard Smith (and hopefully someone new) to get more carries should take some of the pressure off Patrick Mahomes and the depleted wide receiver corps until those receivers get healthy or return from suspension.
In short: run the ball with the highest-upside player more frequently until the wideouts return to the lineup.
Trade For De’Von Achane
The shortcomings of Kansas City’s running back room have been dissected endlessly, and for good reason. Through two weeks, Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt have managed just 94 yards on 28 carries (a miserable 3.35 yards per attempt). That’s abysmal even by Andy Reid’s limited zone-run standards.
Normally, when the passing game sputters, teams can fall back on the ground game to steady things. Unfortunately for Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs’ backfield has only added to the pressure created by an unreliable receiving corps. If this offense is going to stabilize—and raise its postseason ceiling—Kansas City needs an outside addition. Enter dynamic running back De’Von Achane.
Yes, trading within the AFC is uncommon, especially with a team like Miami. But a perfect storm is brewing that could put Achane in play. The Dolphins are floundering: Tua Tagovailoa’s combination of injuries and inconsistent play has stalled the offense, while the locker room has soured on Mike McDaniel, culminating in a players-only meeting—usually the death knell for a coach’s tenure.
With a leadership change likely, veterans and extension-eligible players often become trade chips. Add to that Achane’s dip in production (not his talent, but the result of a battered offensive line), and his situation looks more unstable than his skill set suggests.
Achane’s skill set would be a natural fit in Kansas City’s offense. His vision and burst make him a perfect match for Andy Reid’s outside- and inside-zone concepts, while his ability to catch passes out of the backfield adds another dimension this team has been sorely lacking. Explosiveness from the running back position has been missing ever since Jamaal Charles left town, and Achane’s speed immediately changes how defenses must respect both the run and the pass. Pairing his home-run ability with Patrick Mahomes’ recent transition to a more methodical passing attack would force defenses to play more honestly and open up space for everyone else.
Beyond the scheme fit, Achane also brings postseason value. His big-play potential could be the difference between grinding through defensive slugfests and putting points on the board when it matters most, and—most importantly—helping to relieve pressure on Mahomes when the game is on the line.
All told, the Chiefs might be able to pry away a playmaker like Achane for as little as a fourth-round pick. For Kansas City, that’s not just a bargain—it’s a potential season-changer.
Trade for Tyreek Hill
As previously mentioned, Kansas City’s wide receiver room is one of the least reliable units in the league. Xavier Worthy won’t be fully healthy this season, Rashee Rice is either sidelined by injury or entangled in off-field drama, Travis Kelce is past his prime, and Marquise Brown hasn’t been healthy for an entire season in half a decade. If the Chiefs want to return their offense to championship form, there’s really only one option left: bring Tyreek Hill back to Kansas City.
The rationale for Miami moving Hill is similar to the case for De’Von Achane, but the Dolphins may be even more motivated to part ways with their star wideout. While off-field controversy has always surrounded Hill, the fact remains that he has missed just one game since 2021 (due to injury, not suspension). His production has dipped over the past two seasons—largely a reflection of Miami’s sputtering offense rather than his ability—and that decline could provide additional incentive for the Dolphins to reset.
From a financial standpoint, Hill carries a $10.4 million cap hit this season. That figure doesn’t fit Kansas City’s $2.8 million in cap space, but it could be managed through a combination of contract restructures, trimming depth pieces, or even adding trade compensation for Miami to absorb part of the cost.
Reuniting Hill with Mahomes wouldn’t magically recreate the 2018 offense that averaged 34 points per game, but it would restore something the Chiefs have lacked since his departure: a trustworthy weapon outside of Travis Kelce. Even with a slight statistical decline, Hill remains one of the NFL’s most explosive players. His unmatched speed, quick-twitch separation, and yards-after-catch ability are proven assets in Andy Reid’s scheme, and his chemistry with Mahomes has already proven to be lethal.
Unlike Achane, the compensation required to bring Hill to Kansas City would be higher. Based on recent trades for comparable wide receivers, a fourth-round pick would likely be the starting point, with added compensation required if Miami were to shoulder part of the cap hit. But given what he brings to the table, the price would be more than worth it. As an organization, what would the Chiefs rather have on the roster: Tyreek Hill or another third-round pick like Wanya Morris or Ashton Gillotte?
Conclusion
The Chiefs’ margin for error is smaller than ever. No longer can Reid count on overwhelming talent at the skill positions to bail out predictable game plans. The current roster construction simply won’t cut it—especially not with a fading Kelce, an injured Worthy, and a receiving corps full of question marks. The only path forward is change: trust a young back like Brashard Smith with more carries, swing a deal for a home-run hitter like Achane, or go all in on a reunion with Hill.
Kansas City still has the best quarterback in the game and a championship-caliber defense. But if the offense doesn’t evolve, the window risks narrowing faster than anyone expected. This season doesn’t need to be remembered as the year the dynasty unraveled. It can be remembered as the year the Chiefs adapted, reloaded, and reminded the league why they’re still the team to beat.
