The NFL draft always bring up some trade rumors and this year they have been very frequent and some names that could be on the trading block for the draft include Brandon Flowers, Jake Locker, Eric Berry, LaMichael James, Stevie Johnson, Kirk Cousins and Morris Claiborne and some of those players could move for picks over the next few days and now Johnson has been traded to the 49ers.
The Chiefs could be motivated to make a trade with the way they had to give up picks for Alex Smith last season and that could enable them to get some selections in a deep draft, with both Berry and Flowers coming up according to NFL.com. James has been on the block for a while. Jake Locker could come up after the Titans did not pick up his option for a fifth year and with a ton of teams needing a QB and questions about the ones in the draft, it could be an option.
The NFL trade rumor mill always starts to spin around draft time and an unexpected name has come up in 2014, as one local writer thinks that the Chiefs should look into trading Eric Berry and teams like the Chicago Bears, San Francisco 49ers, Washington Redskins and Minnesota Vikings all could be options for a deal with Kansas City ahead of the draft in May.
Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star was the one to write the article and he posits that the Chiefs could get solid value for Berry and that it would be a wise move to trade him because of his cost now and in the future. According to the article, Mellinger writes that the Chiefs have too much money on Berry's contract on the salary cap over the next two seasons and that while he is a great player, the cap relief and the draft picks that he could net outweighs the value of Berry as a player, especially with a deep draft this year.
James has played in just 14 games in his career with the 49ers and has rushed for just 184 yards, but he has great speed and tons of talent and clearly needs a chance of scenery. Last season he returned 23 punts for 251 yards and had a long of 40-yards and that makes him a versatile option if one of the teams wants to trade for him.
Another reason the Chiefs could look to make a move is the fact that they have just six draft picks this season and they do not have a second round pick after giving that up in the Alex Smith deal. The draft in 2014 is considered a deep class and that could be one reason why GM John Dorsey and Andy Reid look for a deal, as Berry has value and could net the team a significant draft pick. The team received no compensatory picks this year and that leaves them in a tough spot heading into next season, as the Chiefs have some major holes to fill despite making the playoffs last year in the first season under Reid.
The 49ers have moved up in the draft with Jim Harbaugh multiple times and they did it last season for Eric Reid and they did it with Colin Kaepernick as well and this season looks like another prime time to do it. The Niners want Mike Evans, Sammy Watkins or Johnny Manziel and while those players are very out of reach, the team could look to pull off a big move up to take one of them. The Niners need more depth at wide receiver and Evans or Watkins could be an amazing complement to Anquan Boldin, who is getting older, and Michael Crabtree, who is still just a year removed from Achilles surgery.
The Chiefs already lost Branden Albert to the Miami Dolphins after drafting and developing him as their left tackle and in the future they also have to deal with Dwayne Bowe, Alex Smith and linebacker Justin Houston, as the latter two are coming into the final years of their deal. Berry comes in after being a Pro Bowl player and he is still very young, as he is 25 and won't turn 26 until December and that could make a number of teams interested in pulling off a deal.
Teams do not usually make moves like this and the Chiefs likely won't do it, but it is an interesting proposition when breaking down things on the money side for Kansas City. The article writes that the team will have to start paying for players like Smith and Houston over the next couple years like they did with Bowe and despite winning 11 games last season, they have a number of areas where they need to improve and moving Berry can help that by adding draft picks.
The Bears could be an option for a deal, as they have draft picks and safety is a major hole and weakness for the team heading into this season. The Bears ranked near the bottom in the NFL in passing yards allowed last season and Major Wright and Chris Conte were big parts of that and adding Berry could be huge for the defense. The Niners lost Donte Whitner to a deal with the Browns this offseason and since they have 11 draft picks, they easily could be in the mix as well.