NFL trade regrade: Xavier Worthy draft night deal no longer looks bad for the Bills

The Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills struck up a draft-night trade that infuriated those who aren't inclined to root for the NFL's latest juggernaut. Buffalo traded back, handing the No. 28 pick to Kansas City in exchange for the No. 32 pick and some other late-round swaps. Then, Buffalo moved back one more spot, from No. 32 to No. 33, in a separate trade with Carolina.

That left Texas Longhorns wideout Xavier Worthy, the fastest player in NFL Combine history, on the board for Kansas City. It sent the media into a frenzy, as Worthy's unmatched straight-line speed and open-field elusiveness was easy to compare to an infamous former Chief, Tyreek Hill.

Many lambasted the Bills for handing their foremost AFC rivals such a prime offensive weapon. Depth in the WR room was a weakness for the Chiefs last season — one of few holes in their pristine armor. To just give Patrick Mahomes the fastest WR on Earth was a bold, and some felt unwise, move.

The Bills landed a wide receiver of their own at No. 33, grabbing Florida State's Keon Coleman. Their profiles couldn't have been more different. Worthy is 5-foot-11 and 165 pounds. Coleman is 6-foot-4, 215 pounds. Diametrically opposed receivers for arguably the two best quarterbacks in all of football.

Many naturally expected the Chiefs to win the trade, as Worthy was the buzziest name pre-draft and there's a certain reputation boost inherent to joining the Kansas City offense. Through seven weeks of the NFL season, however, it feels like we may have undersold Buffalo's end of the bargain.

Did the Bills win their draft night trade with the Chiefs?

Keon Coleman has outperformed Xavier Worthy so far, point blank. There are other factors at play here — target share, strength of schedule, personnel, etc. — but Coleman sure looks the part of Buffalo's future at the position. Worthy in Kansas City, not so much.

The board is wide open for Worthy to dominate targets and lead a beat-up Chiefs offense. Both Hollywood Brown and Rashee Rice are hurt and Travis Kelce hasn't been himself. Mahomes is grasping at straws, trying to find dudes to throw to, but Worthy just has not been dependable.

He does have a couple rushing touchdowns, which bears mentioning, but Worthy's higher target share (15 catches through six games) comes with a lower completion percentage and less efficiency. For all the hubbub about Worthy's game-changing speed, he's averaging a solid 13.2 yards per catch. That pales in comparison, however, to Coleman's 20.4 yards per catch, which leaps off the page.

Worthy does not have the physicality to make contested catches or dominate in the red zone. Coleman is your more traditional big-play receiver, capable of muscling his way to 50-50 balls and touching the sky on contested catches. That's not to say Worthy's unbelievable speed doesn't have its own merit, but he could end up in more of a situational role compared to Coleman. Not every speedster is Tyreek Hill.

Both rookie wideouts are on track for long and productive careers, but the point here is simple. Buffalo clearly got its man.

It was fun to criticize the Bills for dealing with the devil and potentially helping a top rival, but when you're able to get your preferred prospect at a lower pick, it's bad business not to trade down. Coleman has the speed, size, and physicality to emerge as a special weapon in Buffalo's offense. He already has a strong connection to Josh Allen, and the stats will only get better from here.

Worthy and Coleman will be measured against each other for the rest of their careers, fair or not. This is the sort of trade that can shape the outcome of postseason battles. Kansas City and Buffalo are slated for many more classic duels in January.

Both teams are probably content with the outcome of this trade, but Buffalo ought to feel especially good about the early returns compared to the initial reactions when the deal went down.

Chiefs grade: B
Bills grade: A