One trade the Kansas City Chiefs need to make before the NFL Draft
Logistics of a trade
As far as logistics are concerned, Lockett has four years remaining on the $69 million contract he signed at the beginning of the season and carries a cap hit of just $10.05 million in 2022, via Spotrac. Which is something that the Kansas City Chiefs could easily afford considering they freed up over $15 million of cap space with the Tyreek Hill trade.
Plus, if Seattle trades Lockett before the June 1st deadline, he would carry just a $15.1 million dead cap hit next season, and the Seahawks would be off the hook by 2023. The issue is that if the Kansas City Chiefs were to try and acquire Tyler Lockett, the Seahawks would likely demand a good haul.
Being that Lockett is in the prime of his career, and Seattle seems to be in the market for more draft capital to fuel their rebuild. I expect the Chiefs would need to be willing to part with (at least) one of their two first-round draft picks, and one of their second or third-round draft picks in 2022 as well.
Yes, it’s a lot, but landing the former First-Team All-Pro receiver would be enough to keep the Kansas City Chiefs in certifiable contention for years to come. Which should be their primary concern with the team still within their pivotal championship window.
Brandin Cooks is another viable trade candidate, and arguably an even better fit to replace Hill, but he would also cost a lot more as the Chiefs would likely need to restructure a completely new deal with him. Whereas Lockett is under contract till 2025.
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Regardless of whether or not they trade for another receiver, the Kansas City Chiefs will still be one of the better teams in the NFL. Although, with teams across the league continuously improving, the Chiefs might need to go all-in to reclaim their AFC throne, and Tyler Lockett could give them the best chance to do so.