KC Chiefs changed their draft, team and prospects by trading for Orlando Brown
The Chiefs already have Patrick Mahomes, so they don’t need to expect any favors from anyone else in football, but here we are and they got one anyway.
From an AFC rival, no less.
The Chiefs went from not employing a left tackle to employing a Pro Bowl-caliber left tackle, and they did it without overpaying.
Orlando Brown wanted out of Baltimore to become a full-time left tackle. Kansas City always made sense as a destination, but the thinking from many was that the Ravens would require a premium in order to fill the Super Bowl favorite Chiefs’ only glaring weakness.
The Ravens did not receive a premium.
The Chiefs gave the Ravens their No. 31 overall pick in the first round of next week’s NFL Draft, plus their third- (No. 94) and fourth-round picks (136) and a 2022 fifth-round pick in exchange for Brown, the No. 58 overall pick in the second round, and a 2022 sixth-round pick.
Brown — a literal giant, at 6-foot-8 and 345 pounds — is owed $3.4 million in the last year of his rookie contract. If Brown would’ve left the Ravens after this season in free agency, Baltimore would have received a third-round compensation pick.
The Chiefs get him a year early for draft pick capital roughly equivalent to a mid-second round pick.
Brown comes relatively cheap this season, but will command a big contract soon — perhaps through an extension this summer. That’s less than ideal, but workable considering the Chiefs have ways of creating space, the salary cap is going up next year, and any money spent protecting Mahomes is smart money spent.
Brown played 683 snaps at left tackle in 2020, and 335 at right tackle. His Pro Football Focus grade of 77.8 ranked 25th overall among tackles. For comparison’s sake, Eric Fisher (five years older) ranked 16th with an 80.1 grade.
Brown is not as good as Trent Williams, who is generally accepted as the sport’s best left tackle and whom the Chiefs aggressively pursued in free agency. The solution isn’t perfect but this deal was a no-brainer for the Chiefs. Offensive line was clearly their biggest weakness going into the offseason, particularly with right tackle Mitchell Schwartz’s back injury and left tackle Eric Fisher’s Achilles injury.
The Chiefs could have pursued free agency. Alejandro Villanueva and Russell Okung remain available, and each would’ve been cheaper than what Brown will command. But both are significantly older than Brown, not regarded as highly, and each carry a specific red flag — the Steelers are loyal to a fault, and Okung has played just 13 games the last two seasons.
The Chiefs should have high standards for the man literally protecting Mahomes’ back, so they’ll see Brown’s next contract as an investment in the league’s best player.
The Chiefs are rewarded for their patience after the Williams deal didn’t happen, because Brown is now the best left tackle to change teams this offseason.
There is an old football saying that teams are built through the draft and holes are filled through free agency. Without the Brown trade, the Chiefs would have been vulnerable to reaching for a left tackle — taking a third-round value in the first, for instance, when Brown is way better than anyone they could have drafted.
Now the Chiefs can draft with a clear mind, even if it’s without a first-round pick. One serendipitous break — the depth of receivers in this year’s draft class aligns with one of the Chiefs’ biggest needs.
The point is, the Chiefs don’t have to feel pressed into drafting a particular position. The line is already improved significantly. Brown has made two Pro Bowls. Joe Thuney, signed in free agency last month, is generally regarded as one of the league’s best interior offensive linemen.
The Chiefs also signed three-time Pro Bowler Kyle Long and three-year starter Austin Blythe to play inside, and will welcome back guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif. They have long been excited about the potential of Lucas Niang, the third-round pick from last year who opted out of the 2020 season.
The Chiefs will miss Fisher and especially Schwartz, but collectively the offensive line will be younger, more physical, and even cheaper (at least until Brown’s new contract). If Niang is what the Chiefs hope, the line could be the best Mahomes has played behind.
The last time we saw the Chiefs play, we saw their Super Bowl wrecked because they could not block the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, particularly on the edges.
The Chiefs have made sure that won’t happen again, at least not without another run of buzzard’s luck with injuries. Speaking of injuries, it’s worth keeping in mind that Fisher could return this year depending on his rehab and market.
The Chiefs are not a perfect team. They could use a No. 2 receiver, another edge rusher, a linebacker and more. But perfect teams don’t exist, and at some point the weaknesses are covered enough to let the strengths shine.
The Chiefs passed that threshold with this trade.
This story was originally published April 23, 2021 at 4:09 PM.