There is little question that the Kansas City Chiefs will have speed on the edges of the offense next year in the form of wide receivers Xavier Worthy and Rashee Rice, but neither player has yet shown the ability to be a true No. 1 option for Patrick Mahomes.
Tight end Travis Kelce, of course, has functioned in that role before. The 35-year-old made his 10th straight Pro Bowl last season and has already announced his intention to return to Kansas City for at least one more campaign.
That said, age and the rigors of a 12-year NFL career are liable to catch up to Kelce sooner than later. Beyond that, the often-injured Hollywood Brown is bound for free agency, as is DeAndre Hopkins. Kansas City’s primary concern this offseason is going to be its offensive line, but adding an elite-level pass catcher to the receiver room is probably also somewhere near the top of the list.
Enter DK Metcalf, who publicly requested a trade from the Seattle Seahawks on Wednesday, March 5.
Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report authored a trade proposal that would see Kansas City send Seattle its first-round pick in 2025 (No. 31 overall) along with a fifth-rounder in 2026 in exchange for Metcalf and his $18 million base salary in 2025.
“The Kansas City Chiefs won their fifth AFC Championship Game in six years in 2024. But outside of second-year pro Xavier Worthy, the team’s wide receiver corps is one big question mark,” Davenport wrote. “If [Chiefs GM Brett] Veach is willing to throw the 31st overall pick in the deal, the Chiefs could be onto something.”
Metcalf turns 28 years old next December and will be a free agent in 2026. He is a two-time Pro Bowler who has never tallied fewer than 900 receiving yards in any of his six NFL campaigns and has gone over 1,000 yards three different times. He has 48 career touchdown receptions on his resumé as well.
Kansas City would almost certainly look to extend Metcalf long-term were the team to trade a first-round pick for him, which would lock up a No. 1 wide receiver option for Mahomes through most (if not all) of the 2020s.
