It turns out the New York Jets shipped former first-round linebacker Darron Lee to the Kansas City Chiefs for a sixth-round pick.
Lee had looked like an obvious Bengals trade target for a while. He’s young, a former first-round player, an Ohio State product and has his best football in front of him at the team’s worst position, which they didn’t address until the third round.
But the Bengals apparently didn’t think much of the idea and the Chiefs got the deal done.
Perhaps the funniest part of the situation is the move only costing the Chiefs a 2020 sixth-round pick. As Bengals fans might recall, the team had five of those entering the draft and after a trade during the process had even more. They ended up only taking three sixth-round picks, at least.
Still, fans can’t know what went on behind the scenes. But a sixth for a young linebacker with one year left on his deal was a move a contending team like Kansas City was willing to make. At that cost, it’s a no-brainer.
Looking at it another way, the lack of an additional post-draft move could be a sign of confidence from the coaching staff for the current crop of players there.
