Kansas City Chiefs: Six defensive trade targets, Part Two

Darron Lee, Inside Linebacker

Chiefs linebacker Anthony Hitchens struggled in his first year in Kansas City. Signed in free agency last offseason to a five-year, $45 million dollar contract, Hitchens rated out as below average, according to Pro Football Focus. Back in October, Seth Keysor over at The Athletic (subscription required, and recommended) wrote that the linebacker was not a solution whatsoever.

Still, with that deal on the books, it would be difficult to completely move on from Hitchens. To replace him, at least in the starting lineup, it would require a linebacker still on a rookie deal.

Enter New York Jets inside linebacker Darron Lee.

Lee, taken 20th overall in the 2016 NFL Draft out of Ohio State, is entering the fourth and final year of his rookie contract. To date, the Jets have not picked up his fifth-year option. They have until May 3rd to make that decision. In 2019, Lee is scheduled to have a cap hit of just over $3.1 million. The former Buckeye graded out as above-average, hovering on good, according to PFF.

Simply put, the younger Lee would be a cheaper improvement over Hitchens, who would still remain on the roster in case Lee misses time, as he did in 2018 for violating the league’s substance abuse policy.

Would the Jets move on from him? Probably. New York signed several prominent free agents this offseason, one of them being former Baltimore Raven inside linebacker C.J. Mosley. Lee, then, appears expendable.

Recently, CBS predicted a Lee trade on draft day–but to the Philadelphia Eagles. In that scenario, Lee and pick number 68, a third-rounder, would head to Philly for the Eagles to move up 11 spots to 57, which is a second-rounder.

If the Chiefs could swing a similar deal involving one of their two late second-round picks, that would be quite the move by general manager Brett Veach.