Explaining Tyreek Hill trade, potential impact on Chiefs GM Brett Veach’s legacy

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs didn’t immediately get better Wednesday by trading All-Pro wide receiver Tyreek Hill to Miami, but the future might be brighter — really.

Hill led the Chiefs with 111 receptions, a franchise record, and 1,239 receiving yards. He and tight end Travis Kelce had a team-high nine touchdowns.

Hill accounted for nearly one-quarter of all Chiefs receptions and more than 25% of the team’s passing yards in 2021, so his absence leaves a massive hole in terms of offensive production to fill.

"It's hard to put into words what Tyreek has meant to Chiefs Kingdom over the last six years," General Manager Brett Veach said in a statement from the team announcing the trade. "He's a special player, one of the best in franchise history. He's been a large part of our success, including our Super Bowl championship run. This decision was incredibly difficult, but we felt it was a necessary move in the best interest of the team, and also for Tyreek. We wish him the best as he continues his career."

Kansas City will be hard-pressed to replace Hill’s combination of elite speed and downfield ball-tracking skills, but the organization may be better off in the long run without a $30-million salary-cap charge for an aging receiver on the books and the five draft picks the Dolphins coughed up as compensation for Hill.

“4th & 1” podcast analyst Nick Jacobs and host Tod Palmer delve into various aspects of the Hill trade, why it was inevitable after Davante Adams signed his new deal in Las Vegas, and what the deal signals for the Chiefs’ future.

Hill, who was owed nearly $22 million in the final year of his contract for 2022, signed a four-year extension worth $120 million with the Dolphins after the trade.

It makes Hill the highest-paid receiver in NFL history, topping Adams’ deal signed earlier this month with Las Vegas, but proved to be a price the Chiefs deemed too steep.

Through the lens of last season, it makes sense.

For the first time in Patrick Mahomes’ career, Kansas City’s offense bogged down for long stretches last season.

The Chiefs scored at least 26 points in every game during Mahomes’ rookie season and at least 23 points in 15 of 16 games in 2019 en route to the first Super Bowl title in 50 years.

The trend continued in 2020 in games started by Mahomes, who led the offense to at least 22 points in 14 of 15 starts.

Overall, the Mahomes-led Kansas City offense scored at least 22 points in 48 of his first 50 career starts through the opening month of the 2021 season.

The Chiefs scored fewer than 22 points in five of the final 13 games last season, a signal that the offense needed to evolve to continue to flourish.

Opposing defenses generally stuck with a two-deep safety look, which limited Hill’s value in the deep-passing game and forced Mahomes to patiently check down to matriculate the ball down the field.

Teams often rolled coverage to Hill’s side and double-teamed Hill or Kelce. The rest of the offense struggled at times to compensate for such tactics.

Paying Hill $30 million per season almost certainly would have limited the Chiefs’ ability to evolve in the ways necessary to combat that by adding more talent up and down the depth chart to force defenses to play Mahomes and company more honestly and respect the entire field.

"I am happy for Tyreek, he has grown as a man and player here in Kansas City," Chiefs coach Andy Reid said in a statement. "Myself, my staff and our organization appreciate all he did for our team. This move will also benefit the Chiefs, we now have cap space and additional draft picks to grow as a football team. I wish him well as he moves forward."

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Now, with two picks in each of the first four rounds of the 2022 NFL Draft, Veach has the draft capital to address multiple positions — defensive end and tackle, cornerback, safety, perhaps depth on the offensive line and at running back, while also replenishing the receiver spot.

If Veach makes the most of the Chiefs’ eight picks in the top 135 — Nos. 29 and 30 in the first round, Nos. 50 and 62 in the second round, Nos. 93 and 104 in the third round, and Nos. 121 and 135 in the fourth round — the franchise’s championship window gets flung open another four to five years.

If Veach flubs the picks, especially if Hill continues to produce in Miami, it will tarnish his legacy after overseeing the restoration of the Chiefs’ Lombardi Trophy-winning glory.

While the rest of the AFC West spent wildly, loading up on big-money contracts for veteran players in an effort to end Kansas City’s record six-year reign atop the division, the Chiefs went in a different direction — and appeared poised to get younger, cheaper and deeper than last season in the quest to get back to the Super Bowl.

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Want more insight about the Kansas City Chiefs? The “4th & 1” podcast is the twice-weekly, Chiefs-centric podcast from KSHB 41 News, the official broadcast “Home of the Chiefs.” Analyst Nick Jacobs and host Tod Palmer analyze and breakdown the Chiefs’ opponent and performance for pre- and post-game episodes — available on iTunes, Spotify, Omny or your preferred podcast platform — each week during the season.