Kansas City Chiefs Acquire Kadarius Toney In Savvy, Low-Risk Financial Move

Brett Veach has struck again.

The uber-aggressive general manager of the Kansas City Chiefs landed another high-profile, mid-season acquisition — like he has done previously with Pro Bowlers Josh Gordon, Melvin Ingram and Terrell Suggs.

On Thursday the Chiefs acquired wide receiver Kadarius Toney for a conditional third-round pick and sixth-round pick. Toney is not a Pro Bowler — far from it — but the first-round pick from 2021 (20th overall) does have plenty of talent.

It’s a low-risk, high-ceiling move for the Chiefs. The third-round pick the Chiefs traded to the New York Giants was something of a luxury since it was a compensatory pick for when the Chicago Bears hired their personnel executive and minority candidate Ryan Poles to be their general manager.

Plus, he won’t cost the Chiefs much. He is signed through 2024, and his salary and cap hit for the next three years are $784,000 in 2022, $1.907 million in 2023 and $2.531 million in 2024.

It’s noteworthy that the Giants were so willing to part with an affordable option when the team is so bereft of wide receivers.

But despite Toney’s talent, he had fallen into head coach Brian Daboll’s doghouse. He’s only played in 35 offensive snaps the entire season and has just two catches for 23 yards. Toney missed time in the spring and summer with a knee injury, and questions surfaced about his work ethic and how well he knew the plays.

He didn’t exactly ingratiate himself with the previous regime either. Because of Covid-19 issues and an oblique injury, Toney only played in 10 games as a rookie, recording 39 catches for 420 yards and no touchdowns.

His best performance occurred in Week Five against the Dallas Cowboys. He had 10 catches for 189 receiving yards to break Odell Beckham Jr.’s single-game receiving record for a Giants rookie.

But he also showed why he frustrated the coaching staff after getting ejected for throwing a punch at Cowboys safety Damontae Kazee during the loss.

If the 23-year-old Toney shows that he has matured and resembles the player he was at Florida, he could further enhance a Chiefs offense, which already ranks second in yards per game and first in points.

After being used more as a gadget player his first three years at Florida, he had a spectacular 2020, accumulating 1,145 total yards and 11 touchdowns.

Toney, who ran the 40 in 4.39 seconds at the 2021 NFL Combine, has been compared to Percy Harvin, another volatile but versatile Florida receiver.

During his embattled tenure as Jacksonville Jaguars head coach, Harvin’s former college coach, Urban Meyer, even expressed his disappointment that Toney was chosen prior to the Jaguars’ selection. (The Jaguars ended up drafting Travis Etienne 25th overall.)

“You watch him play,” Meyer said. “ He’s a human-highlight reel.”

Toney also returned seven kickoffs for 155 yards and 11 punt returns for 139 yards during his senior year.

That latter skill could help the Chiefs. Current punt returner, rookie Skyy Moore, fumbled for the second time this season on Sunday.

The acquisition of Toney also could be a move for the future.

JuJu Smith-Schuster is on a one-year, $3.76 million contract, and the price to re-sign him will surely rise since he has 34 catches for 494 yards through seven games. Used in a versatile role like Toney could be, Mecole Hardman had three combined running/receiving touchdowns last week and is also a free agent at season’s end.