One of the more interesting elements of the draft is what goes on behind the scenes. Every year, plenty of discussions between franchises never see the light of day after late April's festivities.
One development related to the Kansas City Chiefs, however, is being explained with the 2024 NFL Draft squarely in the rearview mirror.
In a recent appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, Michael Lombardi of The Daily Coach dove into a first-round sequence centered around Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy. According to Lombardi, the Buffalo Bills were on the phone with more than just Kansas City and discussed swapping out the No. 28 overall pick with someone in their own division.
Lombardi reports that the New England Patriots were in on Worthy, although the Bills ultimately executed a trade with the Chiefs instead.
"They had an opportunity to take a deal from New England," Lombardi said. "New England was in high-speed pursuit of Worthy. They wanted Worthy badly. They were making calls to get that pick. Buffalo had them on the phone, and so was Kansas City. And I think if you're Brandon Beane, you have to sit there and say, 'Yeah, maybe Kansas City offered me a lot more but why would I give Worthy to them, who's a weapon [and] who could become the next Tyreek Hill for them?'"
Buffalo's decision was met with criticism on that fateful Thursday night. After all, Kansas City was viewed as their top competition in the AFC and had just sent them packing in the Divisional Round of the playoffs. Why would the Bills, attempting a retool-on-the-fly around quarterback Josh Allen, strike a deal with their biggest non-division rival? That retooling process may have been the exact reason.
The Bills sent pick Nos. 28, 133 and 248 to Kansas City in exchange for selections 32, 95 and 221. According to the DraftTek Rich Hill Trade Value Chart, the value of both teams' hauls added up to 227 points. As a result, the practicality was great and Buffalo then executed another trade after that. Beane set his team up well for a quality draft class, which started with the Chiefs swap.
Lombardi didn't go into the specifics of the Patriots' offer, although whatever it was clearly didn't move the Bills quite enough to agree.
"New England made a substantial offer to them and they took the Chiefs' offer," Lombardi said. "I don't know if the Chiefs' offer was substantially more than the Patriots. I would just see... at some point, you have to get away from the chart and do what's in the best interest of your team. You've got to get away from the chart. But this is fact; I'm not making this up. The Patriots wanted Worthy, that's a fact, and they tried to get him."
Entering the draft, New England had a solid assortment of picks to work with. Using the same aforementioned trade chart, sending their original No. 34, 103 and 137 picks to the Bills would've amounted to 226 points of total value. While clubs don't necessarily use the same charts, that hypothetical package rivals the Chiefs' in terms of raw calculations.
Nevertheless, it's all history now. Kansas City got its man, perhaps the fastest player in the entire draft class. A hamstring injury has limited Worthy thus far at OTAs, although offensive coordinator Matt Nagy is happy with his progress anyway. Buffalo and New England each added intriguing wideout talents in the draft as well, so there shouldn't be any regret from either side.
Lombardi's report, though, is yet another example of how many deals are entertained during draft season.
