The Chiefs Can Trade for Jonathan Taylor, but That Doesn’t Mean They Should

Over the previous a number of years, it is powerful to be too essential of the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs’ roster administration. Even when some strikes appeared like a chance—shifting Tyreek Hill springs to thoughts—the AFC West membership hasn’t missed a beat. The likes of Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce occupy a very good chunk of the wage cap, but they’ve confirmed that they’ll elevate these round them and hold a very good factor rolling.

There’s one alternative, although, that appears like fairly the blunder in hindsight.

Through the 2020 NFL draft, KC snapped up Clyde Edwards-Helaire on the finish of the primary spherical. The transfer appeared savvy on the time, but the LSU product by no means actually discovered his toes on the skilled degree. Including insult to harm was the truth that Jonathan Taylor joined the Indianapolis Colts 9 picks later.

But now, years later, Taylor is reportedly accessible for a commerce, and the Chiefs can deliver him to Arrowhead.

That does not imply they need to, although.

Jonathan Taylor an attention-grabbing commerce goal for Chiefs

With Andy Reid working the present and Patrick Mahomes underneath middle, the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs have assembled an offense that will be at house in a recreation of Madden. The unit has develop into much less reliant on home-run performs, but each snap has a reputable likelihood of manufacturing a landing.

Via that lens, it is tempting to think about Jonathan Taylor lining up in Kansas Metropolis’s backfield. When wholesome, the working again is able to breaking off breaking the sport vast open; his presence would theoretically pressure groups to pack the field, giving Mahomes and his receivers extra room to work.

There would even be a component of righting a previous unsuitable.

After KC received the Tremendous Bowl title in early 2020, the membership used its first-round choice to accumulate Clyde Edwards-Helaire. That transfer regarded good on the time—the LSU product was comfy carrying the ball and catching passes, making him a really perfect match for Andy Reid’s offense—but issues did not actually click on.

In that very same timeframe, Taylor surged. Even with an injury-shortened 2022 marketing campaign, the Colts’ working again has overshadowed Edwards-Helaire’s output.

Whereas it is powerful to check totally different gamers in numerous programs, the draft board makes it powerful to keep away from delving into hypotheticals. Plug Taylor into an explosive Chiefs offense, and the numbers might look even higher.

Can the Chiefs afford to commerce for Taylor?

Whereas fixing a mistake is tempting—who does not like getting a do-over?—that does not imply that it is the proper plan of action. That might be mentioned for the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs chasing Jonathan Taylor.

The first and most evident hurdle to a possible commerce is the monetary actuality at play. Spotrac lists Kansas Metropolis as being roughly $500,000 over the Prime-51 wage cap, which might make absorbing Taylor’s contract a problem. There could be house for an extension, but that raises questions on allocation of cash. At what level do you merely have an excessive amount of cash allotted to the offense?

The Chiefs do have one thing of a magic bullet within the type of Patrick Mahomes’ contract, which has already been restructured, but that does not present a clean verify. Even when the membership can manufacture a bit extra spending cash, there are extra apparent locations to spend it than buying Taylor.

Chris Jones has been holding out for a brand new contract, creating an enormous gap within the defensive unit. Whereas it is attainable the membership has a quantity in thoughts and will not pay the deal with something over that quantity, it could appear logical to make use of any accessible money to retain the providers of an elite expertise who has already confirmed himself in KC.

Jonathan Taylor is simply too good to be definitely worth the Chiefs’ cash

Past that, let’s contemplate staff match.

The Chiefs have discovered success with a various assault primarily based round Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. Working backs actually have a job, but you should not count on Andy Reid to name for 50 hand-offs per recreation. Touches do come from carries, but there are additionally loads of shovel passes, screens, and receiving routes that run out of the backfield.

Taylor is extremely gifted, but he isn’t an ideal match for that template. The working again is explosive and throws issues again to the one-cut gamers of previous. He is additionally a workhorse out of the backfield, averaging 17.6 carries per recreation throughout his profession. He can catch the ball (2.42 receptions per recreation within the professionals) but is not too reliant on that a part of his recreation.

May he use these abilities in Kansas Metropolis? In fact, but it could look like a less-than-ideal match for each events. Taylor would lose touches and having him run gadget performs would waste his abilities; he is additionally a succesful move blocker, but do you actually need your large commerce acquisition to be tucked into the backfield chipping the defensive finish?

Mahomes would even be handing the ball off greater than he in any other case would, limiting his skill to have an effect on the sport. Making an attempt to have your cake and eat it too can lead to everybody going hungry.

In the end, all of it comes right down to asset administration. An NFL staff, particularly one which’s chasing Tremendous Bowl titles, cannot afford to pay a working again tens of millions of {dollars} merely to supply a change of tempo and chew up the clock on the finish of victories. And that is the place the Chiefs discover themselves. Even when they’ll afford a Jonathan Taylor commerce—which is not a forgone conclusion—it could appear to recommend a stylistic mismatch. Constructing a pass-blocking offensive line, for instance, does not mesh with working the ball 35 occasions per recreation.

To that finish, Taylor is actually too good for the Chiefs to realistically contemplate. It is a game-breaking participant, who (theoretically) instructions a giant wage to develop into the focus of the offense. Kansas Metropolis must pay retail worth, but might solely reap a portion of the on-field rewards.

And whereas we started this piece by positing that drafting Clyde Edwards-Helaire was a mistake, there’s a silver lining to that actuality. If something, his struggles, mixed with the Chiefs’ success, could possibly be considered as proof that Kansas Metropolis does not want a star working again.