Why Eagles Traded With The Chiefs To Move Up Just One Spot

The last time the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs interacted was during Super Bowl LIX.

During the NFL’s next tentpole event — the 2025 NFL Draft — they did so again as trade partners in the first round.

Because the Eagles won Super Bowl LIX, they were slated to pick 32nd, and the Chiefs, the losers of that game, were 31st.

The Eagles traded their fifth-round pick (No. 164) in the 2025 NFL Draft to the Chiefs to move up just one spot to select linebacker Jihaad Campbell.

Why do that when the Chiefs were the only team ahead of them?

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“We made a small trade up just to ensure that we could get (Campbell),” Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said. “There were a lot of trades in the 20s. So we just wanted to make sure someone didn’t jump ahead of us.”

Indeed the Chiefs had been fielding some calls, which Chiefs general manager Brett Veach presumed was to get Maxwell Hairston before the Buffalo Bills snagged that speedy cornerback at 30.

“When you get to these picks late in the draft and they’re eyeing a particular player, they’re certainly worried about maybe getting jumped by another team. We’ve done trades like this before,” Veach said. “It made sense for us because obviously we were going to take Josh (Simmons) there at 31. So it was a win-win for them, and we got the guy we wanted there.”

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A ‘No-Brainer’ Trade For Kansas City Chiefs

The trade also made sense for the Eagles because they almost have too many draft picks to use.

With eight picks in this draft and a total of 20 over the next two years heading into the 2025 NFL Draft, Philadelphia had a plethora of resources. So Roseman called sacrificing a late-round pick to be certain that they could select Campbell, a top 10 player on their draft board, a “no-brainer.”

For the Chiefs it was even more of a no-brainer. They got a player they loved and received a fifth-round pick, which they didn’t previously have.

“That was a good pickup by Brett,” Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said. “(It) worked out well for Philly. They got the player they wanted. We got the player we wanted and we also got a nice pick added to the mix.”

The Chiefs were so interested in Simmons that they met with him at the NFL Combine, at their own team facility and had several virtual meetings with him, including one the day before the draft.

Reid said Simmons would’ve been been a top five or 10 pick if the 6-5, 310-pound Ohio State offensive tackle had not torn his patellar tendon last year. That injury caused him to slip to the last pick in the first round.

“He’s really a super athlete,” Reid said. “We were a little bit nervous whether he’d be there or not.”

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Chiefs Fill Major Hole At The Right Price

Offensive line — particularly the left tackle — was proven to be a critical need for the Chiefs after they faced the Eagles in the Super Bowl. In the 40-22 loss, the Eagles’ relentless pass rush sacked Mahomes six times and hit him five other times despite blitzing just a couple of times.

“(Patrick Mahomes is) the best player in the game,” Veach said. “We have to keep him in a groove and keep him clean. He’s our most valuable possession.”

Kansas City also got the added benefit of getting Simmons, the player it wanted, at a cheaper price. The cost won’t be a huge savings, but it’s savings nonetheless.

Last year the difference between Picks No. 31 and 32 was $181,222 or $45,306 a year.

After the San Francisco 49ers selected him 31st, wide receiver Ricky Pearsall signed a four-year, $12,538,398 contract with an average annual salary of $3,134,600.

After the Carolina Panthers selected him 32nd, wide receiver Xavier Legette signed a four-year, $12,357,176 contract with an annual salary of $3,089,294.

While the trade saved the Chiefs a little bit of money, it also once again demonstrates Roseman’s aggressive nature in the first round.

Since he regained decision-making power of the Eagles in December of 2015, they have made 11 trades involving first-round picks — more than any other NFL team. As part of those trades, they moved up in the first round six times while selecting in their original spot on just three occasions.

That aggressiveness also benefitted Kansas City, which netted an extra pick.

“(The) cherry on top was getting a fifth-round,” Veach said.