On Thursday the New York Giants traded their talented but troubled wide receiver Kadarius Toney to the Kansas City Chiefs for a third-round conditional pick accrued from the Chicago Bears hiring former Chiefs executive Ryan Poles as their general manager.
So, in actuality the Chiefs landed a dynamic playmaker with a pick they didn’t expect to have. Since his arrival after being the 20th overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft, Toney and the Giants didn’t see eye to eye very often. Toney was picked by former Giants general manager Dave Gettleman, and he played his rookie season under lame duck coach Joe Judge.
With Gettleman and Judge out of the picture for 2022, and new GM Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll running things in New York, Toney’s situation didn’t improve. He was in trade rumors all summer, and on Thursday they came to fruition. Daboll, who’s led the G-Men to a surprising 6-1 record, had this to say about moving on from the former Florida Gators star.
“We just thought it was for the best of the team. Wish Kadarius well.”
https://twitter.com/0fficialc2n/status/1585694028074450956?s=46&t=L2vWplzsizApPdsAARmYag
Considering the wide receiver position hasn’t been a strength for the Giants, Toney must’ve really fell out of favor for them to move such a potentially dynamic playmaker so easily.
Toney Says He’s Been Healthy Despite Team’s Claim He Wasn’t
For weeks the Giants have listed Toney on the injury report with a nagging hamstring injury. But following his subsequent trade, Toney quickly tweeted that he’s healthy and he even insinuated he’s been ready to play for a while.
“That joke would’ve been funny if I was actually hurt still Lol …. Irrelevant people don’t get updates.”
Toney’s Skill Set Fits With Kansas City Chiefs
During his brief 24-game NFL career, KT has only played in 12 games. In those games he’s accumulated 41 grabs for 420 yards, including his 10-reception and 189-yard day in Week 5 of last season versus the Cowboys.
So for the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes it’s a matter of the rich getting richer.
Kadarius Toney put the moves on Trevon Diggs 👀
pic.twitter.com/akh70NWrY3— PFF (@PFF) October 10, 2021
The trade to the Chiefs could unlock the dynamic player we saw that day or the one who lit up SEC defenses weekly while at Florida. In four years in college, Toney had 120 receptions for 1,590 yards and 12 touchdowns. Toney also toted the rock for another 580 yards and five more touchdowns as a dual threat. He and Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts became a duo that no one could matchup with.
The Chiefs are expected to use Toney in that manner in hopes that he will provide some real home run ability the offense has been lacking after trading Tyreek Hill this past offseason.
Kadarius Toney is so shifty. Put the ball in his hands. pic.twitter.com/ZE5cjk4Pi2
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 10, 2021
Chiefs Offense Is Still Dynamic: Toney Brings More Juice
The 5-2 Chiefs currently lead the league in scoring at 31.9 points per game. They’re second in total yards with 403 per game. Mahomes is second in the league in passing yards per game at 296. Toney joins a lethal, versatile group of pass catchers, but his skill set is unlike anyone else’s. And if there’s anyone capable of getting the most out of Toney, it’s the trio of Andy Reid, Eric Bieniemy and Mahomes.
