Kansas City Chiefs to Pursue Trade for Versatile WR Dontayvion Wicks Amid Injuries
The Kansas City Chiefs can spin plates better than anyone, but Week 1 made it look like Patrick Mahomes may be running out of hands.
Wide receiver Rashee Rice is serving a six-game suspension, and Kansas City lost speedy wideout Xavier Worthy indefinitely to a shoulder injury in the team’s season-opening loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Travis Kelce is still a threat, but he’s definitely past his prime.
If general manager Brett Veach doesn’t want to fall too far behind early in the season, he may want to add another playmaker for Mahomes to work with. Enter Dontayvion Wicks of the Green Bay Packers.
For the Packers, there’s a case to move him. Their room is stacked with Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed and first-rounder Matthew Golden. Wicks may be the odd man out even though Watson is currently on IR.
Wicks Has Shown Potential Over His 2+ NFL Seasons
Drafted by Green Bay in the fifth round of 2023, Wicks wasted no time proving he belonged, catching 39 passes for 581 yards and four touchdowns as a rookie. That 14.9 yards per catch ranked among the best YPCs for a rookie that year, and nearly half of his grabs went for 16 yards or more, according to Packers team stats.
By Year 2, Wicks showed he wasn’t a one-hit wonder, once again finishing with 39 catches for 415 yards and five touchdowns. Across two seasons and change, he’s at 80 receptions, 1,026 yards and nine scores—production that looks even a tad better when you consider he’s been fighting for snaps in a crowded Packers WRs room.
What makes the 24-year-old Wicks appealing is his ability to separate without needing top-end speed. He’s the guy who baits a corner into thinking the route is over, then slants inside for a first down or sneaks behind the coverage for six. He’s had some issues with drops, but that’s something he can improve.
Wicks is not a boom-or-bust deep threat, but he’s the type of versatile target Mahomes thrives with when the pocket gets messy and the play breaks down. That’s why Veach should be interested.
Why the Kansas City Chiefs Should Pursue a Trade for Packers WR Dontayvion Wicks
Veach wouldn’t need to overpay, as Wicks is still on his rookie contract through 2026, so his value is in cost-control as much as production. Green Bay, meanwhile, might like to add a little extra draft capital after the Micah Parsons trade.
Here’s a trade proposal we think might work for both K.C. and Green Bay:
- Kansas City would send a 2026 fourth-round pick to Green Bay in exchange for Wicks, with the pick escalating to a third if he logs 60% of offensive snaps and tops 650 yards or 8 TDs in 2025. To sweeten it, the Packers could toss back a conditional 2027 sixth if the escalator triggers.
Kansas City doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel here—they just need one more spoke to perhaps make the ride a tad more smooth. Wicks is young, cheap, relatively productive and likely itching for more snaps.
For Mahomes, it’d be one less plate to spin and one more target he can trust.
Packers Star Xavier McKinney Unfazed by Controversial Taunting Flag Against Lions
Early in the second quarter of Sunday’s showdown with the Lions in Green Bay, Packers star safety Xavier McKinney did something so many players in the history of the league have done before him. He blocked an opponent to the ground, and subsequently stood over him.
The opponent was Kalif Raymond, and neither he nor McKinney was involved in the play, which saw Kiesean Nixon push lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs out of bounds. But as Raymond got up to engage in a minor confrontation with McKinney, something odd happened. A flag came in and McKinney was whistled for a 15-yard penalty on a pretty innocuous play.
The play was was unusual to say the least, and met with much disdain by fans on social media. but it is part of the new “respect for opponents” emphasis the league has enacted this season. It didn’t hurt the Packers in their 27-13 drubbing of the Lions, but it could have.
Xavier McKinney ‘Probably’ Did Taunt
McKinney admitted after the game that he did stand over Raymond, and did not seem too concerned about it. The Lions ended up with a field goal on the drive.
“I probably did,” McKinney said when asked about standing over Raymond. “But hey, it is what it is. I had to set the tone not just for our team but for our defense of how we want to play. I’ll take the flag, I’ll live with it, it’s all right.”
LaFleur was livid with the officiating crew when the play unfolded. After the game, he was being diplomatic but clearly disagreed with the call. When he was first asked what he saw on the play, he shot back at a reporter, “What did you see?”
But he went on: “Worst case scenario, they should’ve been offsetting (penalties). But they saw it differently.”
Packers Known They Must Keep Composure
Still, the league has made plain its attempts to clean up unsportsmanlike behavior on the field, and even sent a memo to each team to hammer home the point last month. LaFleur said his team is aware of the point of emphasis.
“We’ll definitely address that again. We can’t do that,” LaFleur said. ‘We’ve got to be better than that. Football is an emotional game, and I understand. I love these guys getting excited about playing. There’s a lot of stuff that goes on on the field, but you’ve got to keep your composure and your poise, especially when you’re playing a really good football team.”
McKinney added: “Going forward, I’m going to toe the line. If I get a flag, I’ll learn from it, but I’m going to toe that line. Obviously, I’m a smart player so I understand when I can and can’t do it, but this type of game, I had to set the tone and that’s just what it was. And we’ll live with it.”
