Where do the Raiders rank in the AFC West after the Tyreek Hill trade?
By Jason Willis
Where do the Raiders rank in the AFC West after the Tyreek Hill trade?
3. Kansas City Chiefs
It is truly hard to overstate just how important Tyreek Hill is to the Chiefs offense. While Patrick Mahomes is one of the most talented quarterbacks of all time and Travis Kelce is the league’s best tight end, the offense runs as well as it does because of Hill.
A threat anytime he is on the field, he forces the defense to cover the entire field due to his blazing speed while also being dominant in the quick game and after the catch. He and Mahomes formed the most terrifying duo in the NFL but, after Kansas City traded Hill to Miami, it is gone.
The question now becomes: How do the Chiefs replace Hill? Well, they can’t. While other receivers might have great speed, they do not have the all-around skillset of Hill. So, while the Chiefs have a speedster like Mecole Hardman, asking him to play the part of Tyreek Hill is not fair or plausible. JuJu Smith-Schuster is here as well but he represents an entirely different skillset than Hill.
Unfortunately for Kansas City, Hill is not the only loss they have suffered so far in the 2022 off-season. They first lost starting cornerback Charvarius Ward to the 49ers. A big blow to their secondary, they may be losing safety Tyrann Mathieu as well.
The face of their defense, Mathieu will be hard to replace. They did add a safety in Justin Reid but will still need help on the back end.
Regardless of all their losses, the Chiefs still have Mahomes, Kelce, and Andy Reid. After playing in four straight AFC Championship games, Kansas City can never be counted out with those three on the field. If they win the division it would not be a surprise but life after Hill will be very different indeed.