Arrowheadlines: Chiefs could potentially be buyers at the trade deadline

Chiefs headlines for Friday, October 3

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2025 NFL trade deadline: Buyers, sellers and top players who could be moved | CBS Sports

Which teams are likely buyers and sellers?

Potential buyers

Indianapolis Colts: No team enjoyed a more magical start to the 2025 season than Indianapolis, with Daniel Jones flaunting a new level of composure under center. The AFC South might still be theirs for the taking.

Kansas City Chiefs: Things were ugly out of the gate as Patrick Mahomes overcompensated for a lack of healthy, reliable weapons. But fresh off

a decisive AFC win, they look primed to storm back into relevance.

2025 NFL Week 5 Expert Picks | Bleacher Report

Knox: Chiefs (-3.5)

Through one month, the Jaguars have exceeded expectations, while the Chiefs have fallen short of them, considerably. This could be a game that pulls both teams closer to reality.

Kansas City is finally starting to find an offensive groove and having a healthy Xavier Worthy certainly helps. Jacksonville’s 15th-ranked defense has benefited from a league-high 13 takeaways—a turnover rate that doesn’t feel sustainable.

2025 NFL quarter-season awards: MVP, top rookies, coaches – ESPN

Most Valuable Player

In the end, third place came down to the two quarterbacks who went up against each other last week. Fourth place went to Patrick Mahomes, who is quietly third in the NFL in QBR after what had been a slow start for his offense. The Chiefs have had their struggles, but outside of Mahomes missing a deep ball or two to Tyquan Thornton, it hasn’t been because of their star quarterback, who has taken on more work as a runner out of sheer necessity this season. Mahomes is seventh in EPA per dropback by the Next Gen Stats model, just behind our third-place finisher …

3. Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore Ravens

NFL quarter-season superlatives and early lessons as teams find their identities | The Athletic

Best run-down — LT Josh Simmons, Kansas City Chiefs

Eagles defensive back Andrew Mukuba was off to the races after picking off a deflected pass from Patrick Mahomes to Travis Kelce at the goal line. But left tackle Josh Simmons — the 6-foot-5, 310-pound rookie — rumbled upfield, outrunning smaller skill position players and knocking Mukuba out of bounds at the 41-yard line to prevent a breakaway touchdown.

NFL QB rankings, Week 5: Patrick Mahomes, Dak Prescott shake up top 5; who sank 12 spots? | NFL.com

2 – Patrick Mahomes

Kansas City Chiefs · Year 9

2025 stats: 4 games | 61.3 pct | 939 pass yds | 6.6 ypa | 7 pass TDs | 1 INT | 130 rush yds | 2 rush TDs | 2 fumbles

Which NFL Teams Are True Contenders—and Which Are Just Pretenders? | The Ringer

Kansas City Chiefs (2-2, Super Bowl Odds: +1000)

I think that all of our collective complaining finally got the Chiefs to push the ball downfield in the passing game. Don’t ever let someone tell you that internet nagging doesn’t lead to anything. Even if the football-watching public won’t get credit for it, Patrick Mahomes’s average depth of target is over 8 yards for the first time since 2020. That was back before Tyreek Hill was traded and defenses started spamming two-high shells against Kansas City. Unfortunately, that higher aDOT hasn’t really fixed the Chiefs’ offensive problems. Mahomes’s EPA and yards-per-dropback averages are identical to what he had last year, and his dropback success rate is down significantly. Even if the 37-20 win over Baltimore was a step in the right direction, the overall results suggest that the offense still has plenty of room for growth. The Ravens defense was also severely shorthanded in that game, so I’d like to see the Chiefs find the same success against the surprisingly good Jaguars defense on Monday night before we confirm that they’re all the way back—or even close to it.

Jaguars’ Travon Walker has wrist surgery, could play vs. Chiefs | ESPN

“He will be listed as day-to-day,” coach Liam Coen said Thursday morning.

Walker was injured during the second quarter of the Jaguars’ 26-21 victory over San Francisco on Sunday. He walked to the sideline holding his wrist and did not return to the game.

Walker, the No. 1 overall pick in 2022, is second on the team with two sacks and has 12 tackles and one pass breakup. Walker has missed only two games in his career, both coming his rookie season.

Around the NFL

Niners pull out the win in back-and-forth game against Rams | ESPN

There was no George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk, Ricky Pearsall or Jauan Jennings available. They didn’t have starting quarterback Brock Purdy, either. On paper, everything about Thursday night screamed Rams in a runaway.

Everything, that is, except the scoreboard. The Niners came up with their gutsiest performance of the first five weeks, beating the Rams 26-23 and staking their claim to first place in the NFC West at 4-1 and 3-0 in the division.

As in their three other wins, the Niners had multiple surprise heroes. This time, it was rookie defensive tackle Alfred Collins forcing and recovering a fumble at his own goal line in regulation, with a lot of quarterback Mac Jones and receiver Kendrick Bourne and kicker Eddy Piñeiro mixed in. And then the Niners’ defense got the stop it needed on fourth-and-1 in overtime to put it away.

In the process, coach Kyle Shanahan’s team provided plenty of evidence that this is a group made of the right stuff. With a few extra days to rest, the Niners’ slate doesn’t get any easier from here as they travel to Tampa Bay in Week 6.

In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride

Chiefs Roster: 3 biggest questions in Week 5 game against Jaguars

1. How do the Chiefs’ tackles hold up against the Jaguars’ defensive ends?

The biggest strength of Jacksonville’s defense is its defensive ends. Josh Hines-Allen has been playing like a superstar this season. While he’s registered only half a sack, that undersells his impact. According to Pro Football Focus, Hines-Allen already has eight quarterback hits and 23 total pressures over four games. He has recorded at least five pressures in each of those games.

Hines-Allen is a multi-faceted pass rusher who is hard to stop. Long and powerful, he can collapse the pocket. But he also has enough bend and explosiveness to turn the corner. Ever since college, he’s been an efficient pass rusher with a variety of moves.

Travon Walker is on the other side. He hurt his wrist a week ago, so his status for this game is unclear. But while 2022’s No. 1 overall pick isn’t nearly as refined as Hines-Allen, he nonetheless continues to progress. His combination of strength and explosiveness gives him a nasty power game; he can crush the pocket against almost any tackle. He is not as disruptive as Hines-Allen, but he still recorded six pressures in Weeks 2 and 3.

If Walker doesn’t play, Hines-Allen will still be enough of a force to challenge the Kansas City tackles. What makes this matchup intriguing is that the Chiefs have not faced many power rushers yet this season. The Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants and Baltimore Ravens all feature bendy edge rushers who prefer to win around the arc — a style more favorable to both Josh Simmons and Jawaan Taylor. Khalil Mack is the best power rusher they have faced so far. Kansas City’s tackles did well against him — but Hines-Allen is a better player who is now in his prime.

So Monday’s game will be a huge test for Simmons and Taylor. How well can their anchors hold up? Will they be able to give quarterback Patrick Mahomes space within the pocket? If both tackles are caved in by the edge rushers, it will be difficult for Mahomes to step up and maneuver. I am particularly interested to see how Simmons’ strength looks against one of the league’s strongest pass rushers.