A Chiefs-Browns trade to ensure Patrick Mahomes can lead the way to a three-peat
By John Buhler
It won't be easy, but nothing ever is. No?! Woohoo! Let's see if we can do the impossible here on the first day of June, baby! No team in the Super Bowl era has ever three-peated, but if any team has a fantastic chance at doing it, then why not the Kansas City Chiefs? Although they aren't my favorite to do so, Kansas City is undeniably on the shortlist of teams who could realistically get to New Orleans.
One area where the Chiefs need to get better is actually on offense. Losing one weapon after another to trade, NFL free agency or a myriad of other reasons has Patrick Mahomes having to make chicken salad out of chicken mess far more often than any bona-fide superstar ever should. That is why if the Chiefs want do it, they could try to trade for Jack Conklin of the Cleveland Browns. A deal is possible.
Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report labeled this trade shocking for a reason, so I did my very best here.
Because Conklin carries $15 million in APY and is still under contract with the Browns for the next few seasons, Cleveland will want quite the draft haul in return for the veteran right tackle. The four picks I have going Cleveland's way get us to about even with only an $84,000 discrepancy in favor of the Browns in terms of APY. Of course, Cleveland is also a playoff-caliber team in the Chiefs' conference.
Let's discuss if this is a deal either party should want to entertain at this point into the NFL offseason.
How Kansas City Chiefs can trade for Cleveland Browns OT Jack Conklin
Outside of the second-round pick in 2026, the Chiefs probably wouldn't have much of a problem in parting ways with those draft selections. This is a team in the midst of its Super Bowl window. Not to say they are going to win the next several in a row like a John Wooden UCLA Bruins hoops team, but for as long as Mahomes is the quarterback and Andy Reid is the head coach, they will have a chance.
To me, I would be very apprehensive in trading a savvy veteran offensive lineman like Conklin to the Chiefs if I were Cleveland. Yes, the Browns could get quite the haul for him, but none of that will help them win more games this season. They already made a massive investment in Deshaun Watson at quarterback. Even though he has done nothing in a Browns uniform, you have to give him a chance.
For that reason, I cannot fathom a reason why the Browns should move on from Conklin other than his high price tag and more potential injury concerns down the line. If the Browns want to win their first division title of this century, then they will need guys like Conklin to help keep Watson upright. Mahomes may need better protection than what he has now, but I don't see it coming from Cleveland.
The dollars and cents make sense here, but Kansas City is not the right trade partner for the Browns.