The Chiefs and Giants are having stellar seasons in the AFC and NFC, respectively, and both might just have helped themselves significantly with an interesting deal before the 2022 NFL trade deadline.
As an already emotional/heartbreaking trade deadline week wound down to Halloween weekend on Thursday, The Score’s Jordan Schultz reported that the Chiefs would trade a 2023 third-round pick and a 2023 sixth-round pick for the Giants’ former underachieving 2021 first-round receiver Kadarius Toney (note: that third-round pick isn’t conditional).
It’s a fascinating and, frankly, a surprising move that might shake up the AFC race this year for Kansas City and help the Giants in the long-term in the NFC over the next few seasons. From the draft capital ramifications to the football, let’s break down the key details and notes about this move that could mutually elevate the Chiefs and Giants.
The details
Chiefs get: WR Kadarius Toney
Giants get: 2023 third-round pick, 2023 sixth-round pick
Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs didn’t need to add another weapon. The NFL’s highest-scoring offense, the No. 1 offense in Football Outsiders’ DVOA efficiency metric, and the second-best offense by yardage has been getting along more than well with a new “spread-the-wealth” mandate.
But it’ll never hurt to potentially give Patrick Mahomes — the last person defensive coordinators want to see with an overloaded arsenal — even more firepower. That’s where Toney comes in.
On a football level, I do like the potential of this deal. The former Florida Gator in Toney was a dynamic, big-play machine coming out of college. He was a first-round pick in 2020 for a good reason — the man simply creates magic when he has the ball in his hands. If anyone can unlock that part of his game again, the best person/coach for the job would be Andy Reid, and the best quarterback in the game with Mahomes. Factor in an attack where he’ll be more part of an overall assortment, especially behind Travis Kelce in the pecking order, and this is a perfect on-field situation for both the Chiefs and Toney.
That said, it’s a little curious to me that Kansas City decided to throw in a third-rounder for a player with five career starts, 12 appearances, and consistent health issues thus far in his NFL career. The Chiefs had the luxury of doing what they please with that third, as it’s a compensatory pick (and again, it’s NOT conditional) they got after the Bears hired their former executive Ryan Poles to be Chicago’s GM. But I just wonder, for a team that’s “all-in,” so to speak, whether they could’ve gotten a better, more proven player at another major position of need (like, say, a pass rusher). I mean, weren’t they in on the Odell Beckham Jr. sweepstakes? Is that still happening? Probably not anymore.
This is a flier of a move from an organization feeling itself a bit much and screams some bad process in decision-making. At least, if Toney doesn’t work out, the Chiefs know how to rebound from mistakes when they get too overconfident, unlike most other teams.
Grade: B-
New York Giants
What a masterstroke from rookie Giants GM Joe Schoen. There’s no other way to put it.
You never got the sense that Schoen and his coaching staff, led by Buffalo buddy Brian Daboll, had a future in mind for Toney in New York. The 6-1 Giants themselves have won on the strength of a running game buoyed by Saquon Barkley and timely playmaking from other receivers (Darius Slayton, hello!) this year. Toney, meanwhile, has once again struggled to stay healthy and win over this regime. And I get it!
Honestly, I had no idea that Toney would even garner such high value given how little he’s played and how little he’s produced in his career to this point (41 receptions, 420 yards, zero touchdowns). If the Giants had gotten just that sixth-round pick, I still would’ve considered this trade a huge win for them. To salvage a mid-Day 2 draft pick out of a somewhat disappointing player — what should be a quality starter/long-term contributor if Schoen drafts well — is fleecing. Grand larceny.
And it’s clear that, for now, everything Schoen and Daboll touch turns to gold. But in a good way, not the Midas way.
Grade: A+
