Arrowheadlines: The Chiefs chose quantity over quality when trading Tyreek Hill for draft picks

The latest

How Chiefs built around Patrick Mahomes: Tyreek Hill trade, draft picks | Sports Illustrated

So when talks with Hill stalled last March, Veach and his team huddled with Reid and discussed what might’ve seemed unthinkable a couple of months earlier: trading Hill. And it wasn’t just trading Hill, but trading Hill with the idea of stocking picks, plural.

That’s why when the Jets offered the 10th pick straight up for Hill, the Chiefs balked and asked for a package based on volume (rather than quality) picks, to try to avoid being the team that got Troy Williamson for Randy Moss. (You can look up the Raiders-Vikings trade of 2005 for more on that.) It’s also why the Chiefs eventually settled on a package offered from the team Hill wanted to go to, the Dolphins. Miami would send the Chiefs the 29th pick, as well as a second-rounder, two fourth-rounders and a 2023 sixth-rounder, a package they took over a reworked Jets off fronted by New York’s two second-rounders.

Of course, that also meant Mahomes was losing his best receiver. But Mahomes was looped in and understood why.

“That’s where you kinda hit the crossroads—if you want to do that, you can, but it’s not gonna be easy,” Veach says. “It’s gonna have to involve a talent like Tyreek Hill, and so that’s what becomes tough, because it sounds good until you get to the moment where, All right, this is Tyreek Hill. This is what you said, but do you really want to trade arguably the league’s best receiver? That’s where when you have a plan, you gotta stick to it. You can’t let the emotional side kick in because you can have a plan in place.”

Super Bowl 2023: Ranking all of the Chiefs and Eagles starters ahead of Super Bowl LVII matchup in Arizona | CBS Sports

3 - Chris Jones

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS DT

He is a game-wrecker. He got two sacks against the Bengals and will be big against the good Eagles offensive line.

2023 Super Bowl Gatorade odds, predictions: Orange and yellow favored, but maybe blue should be? | The Athletic

You can bet on everything under the sun regarding the Super Bowl. Many of the prop bets aren’t even related to the on the field action, including the color of the Gatorade shower that gets dumped on the winning coach. You can bet on that, and we have the odds for this year’s game.

We talked to a former Gatorade executive, who told us — under the promise of anonymity — that the Gatorade used in the winning bath is selected by… Gatorade. And it’s “intentionally randomized” to keep people guessing. In fact, there are up to “three coolers with different flavors” lined up for the players to grab and dump on their coach.

“Nobody can actually tell you what flavor it’ll be,” the former executive says. “The best guess they could give you is the two or three options.”

Super Bowl of mirrors shows us how NFL has and hasn’t changed | FOX Sports

Andy Reid vs. the ghost of Andy Reid and Nick Sirianni vs. the ghost of Nick Sirianni

What’s that saying? The more things change, the more Andy Reid stays the same? If you’re a traditionalist, there’s one thing you’ll like about this year’s Super Bowl. Which is that, no matter how hard organizations try — or don’t try — to bring in new coaches, the carousel still spins round and round.

I’m just glad Reid is one of the last two still riding it. No other NFL coach brings as much glory or love to Hawaiian shirts and cheeseburgers. But not only is Reid facing the team he coached for 14 years, it’s one currently coached by someone who briefly worked for Reid in Kansas City.

All-Andy Reid Team: Chiefs DT Chris Jones, Hall of Fame safety Brian Dawkins lead defense | NFL.com

S - Eric Berry

Kansas City Chiefs

Played for Reid: 2013-18 (Chiefs)

Berry was one of the NFL’s most inspiring stories of this millennium. Diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma late in 2014, Berry returned for the 2015 season to earn Comeback Player of the Year honors, as well as a Pro Bowl bid and first-team All-Pro designation. The No. 5 overall draft pick in 2010, three years before Reid’s arrival, Berry was one of the league’s top safeties when healthy and a cornerstone of the Chiefs’ defense for a majority of the decade, totaling five Pro Bowls and three first-team All-Pros.

Best 2023 NFL Draft Fits for Senior Bowl, Shrine Bowl Standouts | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors | Bleacher Report

S Trey Dean III, Florida

Best Fits: Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots, Las Vegas Raiders

Versatility is a key trait in the modern-day safety, and Trey Dean III utilized the Shrine Bowl stage to showcase his to NFL teams.

The 6’2”, 211-pound safety played a nearly equal distribution of snaps as a deep player and box safety with some time in the slot as well at Florida, per PFF.

At the Shrine Bowl, he showed off the ability to play in those alignments at the next level too. He had the combination of athleticism and strength to stick with tight ends in coverage and work through their body to disrupt bigger-bodied players who may have leverage.

In the game, he did a great job of playing as a deep safety and even netted a tip-drill interception that helped him take home defensive MVP honors.

Ideally, Dean will go to a team that utilizes some three-safety sets that could get him on the field early in his career. With his ability to play in the box, deep or in the slot he could be the third option who comes in and plays wherever the formation dictates.

Teams like the Kansas City Chiefs (fourth), New England Patriots (first) and Las Vegas Raiders (sixth) were fairly heavy in their usage of dime looks that included three safeties, per The 33rd Team.

Each of them could be looking to add a young safety to their ranks based on potential retirements and/or free agents

Around the NFL

Sean Payton - Russell Wilson’s QB coach won’t be in facility | ESPN

Sean Payton’s formal introduction as Denver Broncos coach Monday touched on the importance of keeping an open mind on players, a promise of discipline, an eye for details and a focused pursuit of winning that “is not for everybody.’’

And perhaps nothing punctuated all of it more than Payton’s steadfast belief in the improvement quarterback Russell Wilson can make and how Payton expects Wilson, as well as the rest of the Broncos, to make that improvement.

Asked if Wilson could continue to have a personal quarterback coach — Jake Heaps — as well as other support personnel to work with the quarterback in the building, Payton was clear on where he stood.

“I’m not too familiar with that,’’ Payton said when asked about Wilson having Heaps in the building with access this past season. “That’s foreign to me — that’s not going to take place. I’m unfamiliar with it. Our staff will be here, our players will be here and that will be it.’’

A.J. Green retiring after 12 years in NFL with Bengals, Cardinals | NFL.com

The 12-year veteran of the NFL announced his retirement Monday via an Instagram post.

“I’ve never been a man of many words, so I’ll keep this short,” Green wrote. “Thank you. Thank you to all who have supported, encouraged, and inspired me throughout my career. Special thank you to the University of Georgia, Cincinnati Bengals, and Arizona Cardinals for the opportunity to pursue my dreams. I’ve stayed true to the game and it owes me nothing. Be blessed.. Love y’all! The next chapter begins...”

Green’s career began with great fanfare and expectation as the fourth-overall pick of the 2011 draft, taken two selections ahead of Alabama standout Julio Jones in a star-studded class. Green quickly proved himself worthy of the choice, breaking 1,000 receiving yards as a rookie and launching a streak of five consecutive 1,000-yard seasons (and six in seven campaigns) in Cincinnati, good enough to earn him seven straight trips to the Pro Bowl and two second-team All-Pro selections (2012 and 2013).

In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride

Chiefs Eagles Super Bowl LVII: owner Clark Hunt says this game is different than LIV

“There’s something about a long journey that makes the destination really special,” said Hunt. “But this year, we have the perspective of the last couple of years when we had a chance and we let it slip out of our hands. I think that’s really one of the motivating factors — not only this week, but throughout the season for Patrick, Andy, and the squad.”

Hunt is proud that his team has reached the championship game for the third time in four seasons.

“Attaining consistent success in the NFL is one of the most difficult things to do,” he noted, “because the league rules are engineered to make that really challenging — whether it’s the salary cap or drafting lower. If you are one of the winning teams, it’s definitely very hard to do.

“But I think it really starts with the culture. You’ve got to have the right culture in your building and your leaders are the ones that make that happen. For us, that starts — of course — with Andy Reid, but it also includes Brett Veach and Mark Donovan. Those three guys are really on the same page. And then in the locker room, it includes Patrick Mahomes, Chris Jones and some of the other team leaders who’ve been with us for a few years.”

A tweet to make you think

Follow Arrowhead Pride on Social Media

• Facebook Page: Click here to like our page
• AP Instagram: Follow @ArrowheadPride
• AP Twitter: Follow @ArrowheadPride
• AP Staff on Twitter: see complete list
• 610 Sports Twitter: Follow @610SportsKC