A year ago today Kansas City Chiefs GM Brett Veach made a decision that would shape the near and distant future of the franchise.
In a bold and stunning move, Veach sent star WR Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins in a trade for a haul of draft picks in both 2022 and 2023. Hill was such a big part of the Chiefs’ offense to that point that the move was unimaginable. In four of his six seasons in Kansas City, Hill recorded over 1,000 yards receiving. In five of those six seasons, he had seven or more touchdown receptions. His speed was game-breaking and his presence alone caused teams to alter their game-planning.
At the time of the trade, it was so hard for many to see Veach’s vision. No one knew how he was going to use that draft capital to help recreate the defense and more. That was the first lesson learned from the trade — we only get to see fractions of the plan play out at a given time. It’s not complete until one team is hoisting the Lombardi Trophy at the season’s end.
As much as others would have you believe there weren’t detractors and doubters of this team, the media talking heads came out of the woodwork to rip the move. Many believed that Patrick Mahomes wouldn’t be as good without Hill, while others felt the inverse would be true.
That would be the next lesson that we learned over the course of a season. As good as they were together, both players were great in spite of each other. Mahomes would go on to have his second career MVP season and win his second Super Bowl title. Hill would go on to reach career-high marks in receptions (119) and receiving yardage (1,710).
Mahomes didn’t need Hill and Hill didn’t need Mahomes.
As the Chiefs go through another off-season — specifically one where they’ve seen departures of some wide receivers — it’s important to remember how the past year played out. We’re only seeing a fraction of the plan in progress and the results remain to be seen. Only a few are privy to the big picture and the rest of us are simply along for the ride.
