The Chiefs have dropped two straight, falling to the Seahawks and Broncos, and that skid has only sharpened the pressure around a team trying to keep pace in the AFC West. Kansas City can still chase the division, but the roster holes are starting to show, and the biggest one sits at wide receiver.
Rashee Rice has been banged up. Xavier Worthy has not delivered the kind of production Kansas City needs.
Tyquan Thornton is done for the year. That leaves Patrick Mahomes without enough reliable help on the outside, and it’s why ESPN’s Ben Solak sees the Chiefs as a team that would swing big if the right receiver became available.
In Solak’s view, that player could be Cowboys Pro Bowl wideout George Pickens.
"If Pickens and Dallas have no long-term future, why wait for the compensatory draft pick in 2028? Why go through all of the necessary rigamarole to preserve that comp pick when they can get a guaranteed third-round pick in a trade now -- and likely more! The Chiefs would do it," Solak writes.
The idea is simple enough: if Kansas City is going to make a move before the 2026 NFL trade deadline, it needs to be one that meaningfully changes the offense. A depth addition like Hollywood Brown from the Philadelphia Eagles would help, but Pickens would be a different level of swing entirely. Josh Downs of the Indianapolis Colts has also surfaced as a possible target, yet Solak believes the Chiefs would jump at the chance to land Pickens if Dallas ever opened the door.
That kind of push would also fit the moment Kansas City is in. With Travis Kelce, Chris Jones, and Andy Reid all getting older, Solak argues there’s a case for going all-in for the 2026 season.
And if the Chiefs are looking for the one move that would matter most, this is it. Pickens would immediately become the top wideout on the roster and give the offense another high-end playmaker to pair with the rest of the receiving group.
The Cowboys, though, are a different story. A trade does not look likely, especially with Dallas still in the mix for the NFC East in a division that remains weak. Still, if Pickens ever does become available, Solak’s read is that Kansas City would be ready to come in aggressively - likely with more than a third-round pick on the table.
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