Chiefs may need Trent McDuffie-like trade-up in 2024 NFL draft to snag a wide receiver in first round

“Obviously (Derek) Stingley (Jr. to Houston) and (Ahmad) ‘Sauce’ (Gardner to New York Jets) went high and we had a grouping of corners there,” Chiefs GM Brett Veach told reporters following the first round of the 2022 NFL draft. “Knowing some of the team needs that were directly in front of us – and then I believe Buffalo then did take a corner shortly after and I think they traded up a spot, too. We knew that was coming and we had called teams, I believe the pick before and the pick after the New England trade, just to put ourselves in the position. With the way the board was falling, knowing that we’re picking really late in the draft, the odds of a guy like McDuffie being at 21, let alone 29 were very low. We just felt like it was the right time to make a move.”

The Chiefs could find themselves in a similar situation in 2024, with Buffalo sitting at pick No. 28. The trade to send Diggs to Houston gives the Bills an extra 2025 second-round pick, ammo they could use to trade up in the first round. The Chiefs also have some ammo of their own from the L'Jarius Sneed trade that they could use to execute a trade if the Beane and the Bills stay put.

If the board falls in a way that a trade-up is necessitated, Veach might have no choice but to pull the trigger. Otherwise, a coveted prospect could land in the laps of their biggest rivals. It might make all of the difference, too. Compare Trent McDuffie to Kaiir Elam and it's quite staggering how opposite those picks turned out. 

Yes, this is a deep wide receiver class, but finding the right player in a deep class is sometimes more difficult than it may seem.