Kansas City Chiefs almost made another trade with the Ravens

[DenverChief]

It was a bit of a shocker when the Kansas City Chiefs traded up with the Buffalo Bills in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft to select WR Xavier Worthy. What would have been even more shocking for Kansas City? If they had traded up with another AFC conference rival during the draft's second round.

If we're to believe Baltimore Ravens GM Eric DeCosta, that's a trade that almost happened in Round 2. DeCosta joined hosts Ryan Mink and Garrett Downing on the Ravens' "The Lounge" podcast to discuss the 2024 NFL draft and revealed that the Chiefs attempted to trade with them at pick No. 62.

Of course, the Chiefs traded up with the 49ers to pick No. 63 to select BYU OT Kingsley Suamataia. However, DeCosta believes Kansas City was targeting another prospect with that pick.

"The Chiefs called us and offered us to go back two spots, I think a fifth-round pick and maybe a seventh-round pick, I forget," DeCosta said. "I know a fifth was involved. Which for two spots, you'd think is pretty good, right? So we debated doing that. And then, when we called them back I said, 'Yeah, we'd probably do that.' We called them back and they said, 'No we're not interested.' So then we pick Roger (Rosengarten). We're sort of under the impression that both teams, the 49ers and the Chiefs both wanted Rosengarten. And so, when Rosengarten got picked, the Chiefs traded with San Francisco to get the next tackle which was (Kingsley) Suamataia. San Francisco, I would assume was happy then, since Rosengarten was picked, to go back and get a little bit extra."

DeCosta later clarified that he didn't know for certain the Chiefs and 49ers were interested in Rosengarten, but that sources had indicated that to them. He also said they'd have been quite displeased had the K.C. landed Rosengarten.

"You never know 100 percent, but we had some people tell us that this was the case. Both teams, the 49ers and the Chiefs, both wanted Rosengarten," DeCosta continued. "So when Rosengarten got picked, the Chiefs traded with San Francisco to get the next tackle. I would have been very angry had we traded for the Chiefs and they had taken Rosengarten. I would have been in a dark place."

We know that the Chiefs had been trying to move up and started making calls around the mid-point of Round 2. Chiefs assistant GM Mike Borgonzi said as much. He also said the team's target was Suamataia, who the team brought in for a top-30 visit. Rosengarten isn't a player that the team publically showed interest in, but even if they had, they'd never publically admit they had a different target.

“We probably started around (pick) 52, 53, 54," Borgonzi said during the 2024 NFL draft. "We were on the phone to try to get up to get (Kingsley Suamataia). He was the guy that we targeted, and I think Baltimore took a tackle there at 62 and then we just felt like, ‘You know, let’s just make a small move and get him.’”

Why would K.C. decline to trade up with Baltimore after being the first to inquire? Perhaps they liked the deal they had in place with the 49ers better and felt good about landing either Rosengarten or Suamataia. Maybe they found out through the grapevine that the Ravens liked Rosengarten and they preferred Suamataia. We know that the Chiefs felt the 49ers needed an offensive tackle, so Veach made what many viewed as a strange decision to move up one spot with San Francisco and swap some picks.

“So, we moved up one spot here from 64 to 63 to take Kingsley (Suamataia)," Veach said following Day 2. "He was a guy we targeted actually out of this tackle group in the second round. There was a run on tackles there – I think there were four taken before we picked – we just wanted to make sure we made a small move. San Francisco had a need at tackle and that was really the reason we traded up for him at that point."

We'll probably never truly know if the Chiefs were interested in Rosengarten, but they seem quite happy landing Suamataia at No. 63. The Ravens also seem quite happy with their guy. Maybe they'll both work out and there won't be any hindsight, but we know that's rarely how the draft works. One of these teams might end up kicking themselves down the line and we can only hope that it's not Kansas City.

https://atozsports.com/kansas-city/c...r-rosengarten/

[TLO]

**** you Baltimore