Trade Rumors: Is Josh Gordon Worth A 1st Round Pick To The Kansas City Chiefs

Mandatory Credit: Ron Schwane-USA TODAY Sports

The Kansas City Chiefs need a deep, down field threat at wide receiver. Is the Cleveland Browns’ wide receiver Josh Gordon worth a first round pick in a trade for the Chiefs?

We all know the Chiefs are not a team that throws the ball down the field very often. Alex Smith has one of the lowest yards per pass average in the NFL at 6.8 yards (29th). One of the things the Chiefs have to decide on is if Alex Smith can even throw the ball down field with any kind of accuracy. He hasn’t yet in his first season as a Chief.

Donnie Avery is the only Chiefs’ receiver with an average per reception over 12 yards, at 16.3. Josh Gordon is averaging 16.7 yards a catch this year, up slightly from 16.1 last season as a rookie. This isn’t a significant increase over Avery’s average but Gordon seems to be a better talent overall.

The Browns quarterbacks are even lower than Smith when it comes to yards per attempt (6.0 combined), yet Gordon has maintained a high average. He isn’t a small receiver at 6’3, 225 pounds, but he has speed to go with that size. In the 5 games he has played this year, he is averaging 90 yards a game so he has play making ability. It would be a terrific, more consistent  option on the opposite side of Dwayne Bowe, who is more of a possession receiver.

The big question is about what Gordon might cost. According to Adam Schefter, the price is going to be high. Schefter tweeted this out on Tuesday:

If the Chiefs can get Josh Gordon for a first round draft pick and maybe a throw in, should they? He is only 22 years old and would be a cheap, excellent option at receiver for 2 and a half years. According to ESPN, his  rookie contract he signed in July of 2012 with Cleveland was for 4 years and $5.3 million, with $3.8 million guaranteed. He is certainly worth that money now.

Mandatory Credit: Ron Schwane-USA TODAY Sports

With any draft pick, it is always a crap shoot. Jonathan Baldwin was a first round pick and Marcus Cooper was a 7th round pick. Unless things go terribly, terribly wrong in the second half, the Chiefs most likely will draft in the bottom third of the league in the 2014 NFL Draft, at worst.

If the Chiefs can get an inexpensive player, with proven play making skills already on display, who is under contract through 2015, that is worth a late first round draft pick, and either a throw in player or a lower round pick as well.

The Chiefs need help on the outside, and a team can never have enough play makers on the field. Adding Gordon would certainly increase the weapons at Alex Smith’s disposal and it will be up to Smith and the coaching staff to figure out ways to get the ball into Gordon’s hands.

If Josh Gordon can be had, Chiefs general manager John Dorsey should be talking the Browns this whole weekend. He should be working the best possible deal to bring another play maker into the fold in Kansas City.

For me, it is a no-brainer. Gordon is young, talented, inexpensive, and plays a position of need for the Chiefs. Go get him. He is worth a first round draft pick, plus whatever throw in is required. His presence would immediately make the Chiefs’ offense better.