The 5-0 Kansas City Chiefs look like the best team in football, but they could improve their roster with a Diontae Johnson or Adam Thielen trade. The Chiefs entered the offseason with a glaring need at wide receiver and invested in free agent Marquise Brown and first-round pick Xavier Worthy. Combined with second-year pro Rashee Rice, these two gave Patrick Mahomes three reliable weapons set of hands to complement star tight end Travis Kelce. On paper, these four formed one of the deepest groups of pass-catching talent in the league.
Unfortunately for the Chiefs, games are not played on paper. Brown suffered a season-ending injury during the preseason, while Rice likely suffered the same fate during Kansas City’s Week 4 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. Worthy is explosive and can score at any moment, but he’s not ready for a workhorse role. With this in mind, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated believes the team could trade for either Diontae Johnson or Adam Thielen.
Breer: Chiefs Could Trade For Diontae Johnson, Adam Thielen
This isn’t a surprise, as Diontae Johnson is one of the biggest names on the trade market. Originally acquired from the Pittsburgh Steelers, Johnson was supposed to be the WR1 for struggling second-year quarterback Bryce Young. That plan lasted all of two weeks, as Young failed to improve despite the added talents at wide receiver and offensive line. Journeyman quarterback Andy Dalton took over in Week 3 and made Carolina’s passing attack competent. For a minute there, it looked like the Panthers could compete in a weak division with Dalton leading the charge.
Unfortunately, these dreams soon came to a crashing halt. Following their upset win over the Las Vegas Raiders, Dalton and company couldn’t keep up with the high-flying Cincinnati Bengals passing attack in Week 4 before getting blown out in Week 5 to the Chicago Bears and old friend D.J. Moore. Dalton isn’t the long-term answer under center, and he’s not good enough to compensate for this atrocious defense in the short term. With that in mind, it makes all the sense in the world to trade Diontae Johnson or Adam Thielen.
Potential Return
It goes without saying that Diontae Johnson will generate a larger return in a trade. Now playing in his age-28 season, the wide receiver has the talent to be a legitimate WR1 in the right offense. While nobody will confuse him with Justin Jefferson, the former third-round pick showed signs of life under Dalton, recording a combined 18 receptions for 228 yards and two touchdowns in three games with Dalton. Dalton is arguably the best quarterback Johnson has ever played with, so imagine what he could do with Patrick Mahomes. Seeing as he’s in the final year of his deal, the Panthers probably won’t get more than a fourth-round pick for services, but that’s better than nothing.
Adam Thielen, meanwhile, probably won’t have much of a trade market. The former undrafted free agent is still dependable when healthy, but he’s currently on the injured reserve with a hamstring injury. Hamstring injuries are notoriously fickle, especially for 34-year-old wide receivers. Diontae Johnson will be Kansas City’s first choice, but if they lose out on him, they could trade a conditional late-round pick for Thielen as a consolation prize.
Main Photo: Bob Donnan – USA Today Sports
