The Kansas City Chiefs are sending All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for 4 draft picks.
Kansas City will receive a 1st rounder (29th overall), a 2026 5th & 6th rounder and a 2027 3rd round draft pick. McDuffie is entering the final season of his rookie deal and is expected to begin negotiations on a long term deal with the Rams immediately.
Cornerback was one of LA’s top needs heading into the offseason as the club has four pending free agents at the position. By securing McDuffie, the team can now get creative in their approach to free agency and the upcoming NFL Draft.
The 25 year old grew up in Southern California and previously played for Rams passing game coordinator/DB coach Jimmy Lake while at the University of Washington in 2019. That should make for a smooth transition into the Rams defensive scheme, while also serving as a “homecoming” of sorts for the talented corner.
McDuffie has shown he’s equally as skilled in coverage as he is a blitzer, leading him to earn 1st team All-Pro honours in 2023, and 2nd team All-Pro honours in 2024. A two-time Super Bowl champion, the 5’11” DB was limited to just 13 games last season due to injury, but still managed to record 7 passes defended, 63 tackles, a sack, a pick, and a forced fumble.
Per NFL Next Gen Stats, McDuffie allowed just 6.0 yards per target in coverage over the last two seasons, which is the third best among defensive backs who have been targeted at least 150 times.
By moving on from McDuffie, the Chiefs will clear $13.6M in guaranteed money off their books in 2026 while also accumulating valuable draft capital as they look to bounce back from a disappointing 2025 campaign. It also continues a recent trend of the team opting to move on from cornerbacks who are due a significant pay raise, following 2024’s decision to trade L’Jarius Sneed to the Tennessee Titans.
For LA, they now get a plug and play corner for Chris Shula to deploy, who also fits with the team’s “win now” window to compete. Best of all, because of last season’s trade with Atlanta, the club still has a first rounder and will select another impact player 13th overall a few weeks from today.
By shoring up their secondary, the Rams can now address another position of need, such as safety or along their offensive line. The NFL’s free agency period begins on March 9th at 12pm ET (negotiation window) before opening officially on March 11th, while the NFL Draft kicks off on April 23rd.
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