The 4 Biggest Blockbuster Trades in Chiefs History

Here are the four most memorable and impactful trades in Chiefs history:

1-Patrick Mahomes, April 27, 2017

On Night 1 of the 2017 draft, the Chiefs moved up 17 spots in the first round, dealing Kansas City’s No. 27-overall selection plus a third-round choice and their 2018 first-round selection to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for the No. 10-overall choice – Mahomes . While Buffalo took some heat for passing on Mahomes, the Bills wound up with an All-Pro cornerback in Tre’Davious White. The Bills also packaged two of the selections in trades to draft tackle Dion Dawkins, linebacker Tremaine Edmunds and cornerback Siran Neal.

2-Joe Montana, April 20, 1993

Five days before the 1993 NFL draft, Carl Peterson and Marty Schottenheimer engineered a blockbuster trade that included the Chiefs’ first-round selection to acquire future Hall of Famer Joe Montana from San Francisco. Montana led Kansas City to an elusive AFC West title – its first in 22 years -- in his first season with the Chiefs. Kansas City wouldn’t win a divisional playoff game until it drafted Mahomes, returning to the AFC title contest in his first full season as a starter, 2018.

San Francisco in 1993 took Kansas City’s first-rounder (No. 18) and traded it again to move down and draft defensive tackle Dana Stubblefield at No. 26. The following season, the 49ers won a Super Bowl with Montana’s replacement, Steve Young.

3-Neil Smith, April 24, 1988

The Chiefs fired general manager Jim Schaaf and head coach Frank Gansz after a 4-11-1 season in 1988, but those two gave Kansas City a six-time Pro Bowler in that spring’s NFL draft. Kansas City moved up one spot – from No. 3 to No. 2 – and threw in their second-round choice, at the top of the second round, 29th overall, to land Smith. The defensive end posted 104½ sacks over his 13-year NFL career with Kansas City and Denver.

4-Trent Green, April 21, 2001

Moving on from the short-lived Gunther Cunningham-Elvis Grbac era, the Chiefs made a bold move to acquire a franchise quarterback on Day 1 of the 2001 draft. And after a knee injury sidelined Green all of 1999, he started just five games for the St. Louis Rams in 2000. Dick Vermeil loved him, though, and when Vermeil took the reins of the Chiefs in 2001, he quickly moved to acquire the quarterback, sending Kansas City’s first-round choice that year (12th overall, the Rams drafted DT Damione Lewis) to St. Louis. Green started every Chiefs game over the next five seasons, including a 13-3 Pro Bowl campaign in 2003. He also went to the Pro Bowl in 2005, when he guided the Chiefs to a 10-6 record.