Handing out McDuffie trade grades
By: Jake Rajala
There is no secret: the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams made a blockbuster trade. The Chiefs sent their premier cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Rams for a second round pick in 2026, their 2026 fifth and sixth round pick, and a 2027 third round pick. It’s clear the Rams are loading up for another crack at winning the Super Bowl. I don’t love this move by the Chiefs. They face two superb quarterbacks in their division in Bo Nix and Justin Herbert.
Chiefs: C+
The Kansas City Chiefs had a stud by the name of Trent McDuffie. Well, they shipped him off in return for a first round pick in 2026, a fifth and six round pick in 2026, and then a third round pick in 2027. This isn’t the first elite player that they have moved on from. Of course, I’m talking about Tyreek Hill and even Tyrann Mathieu going from Key pieces on the Chiefs table to dominating elsewhere. Not only did the Chiefs trade away a talented CB, but they shipped off a young CB (as he was 25 years old). I would like to see the Chiefs bring in Marshon Lattimore or Tre’Davious White. Sure, they are both old, but they still have some gas left in the tank. Then they could use their draft pick on a position like TE (to replace Travis Kelce, who will most likely retire in 2026 or 2027)
The Chiefs could also flip their mid round pick in 2027 for a veteran CB, as well. The Chiefs still have quality depth at CB, with figures like Nohl Williams (third round pick in 2025) and Jaylen Watson (2022 seventh round pick). The Chiefs clearly feel comfortable with finding CBs in the mid-rounds or late-rounds, who can start.
Los Angeles Rams: B+
The Rams came away with a stud
Trent McDuffie was one of the best CBs in the game. Legend has it that he shut down Ja’Marr Chase once. Well, he shut down a lot of people. He was ranked as the 12th best CB by PFF. He was first team All-Pro in 2023 and second team AP in 2024. He could shine in coverage (as he had 13 pass deflections in 2024, but he also could make magic happen around the line of scrimmage. He unleashed six tackles for loss in 2024. It’s not a guarantee that McDuffie will return to being an All-Pro with the Rams. They tried the Jalen Ramsey experiment and it didn’t exactly work out. He was a slightly above average CB, but they were hoping he would be a cream of the crop CB.
The Rams showed that they are aggressive and creative. They don’t care if it’s the early of March. They want to burn the mid-night oil to find their right guys. They also know they play in a division with the defending Super Bowl Champions (Seattle Seahawks) The best WR in the game plays for the Hawks, who is Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The Hawks just happen to be the second best scoring team in the league, as well.
Darious Williams is pegged to be the starting CB across from McDuffie. Williams is a middle of the pack CB. He reeled in a 68.8. PFF grade last season. That placed him 30th among 114 corners. Cobie Durant is a stout CB3. He unleashed several pass deflections, three interceptions, and 30 solo tackles. He had a PFF grade of 66.7.
I mentioned there was Lattimore and White are available. However, there aren’t many quality CBs available, especially early in their careers. It’s wise to reel in a talented CB via a trade.
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