As the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills are set to renew their rivalry in a clash between the AFC's best Sunday, both teams started the annual showdown with a famous trade in 2017. The Chiefs traded up in the first round in the 2017 draft with the Bills and selected Patrick Mahomes, forever changing the franchise and a city for the next decade.
Kansas City, which originally had the No. 27 overall pick in that 2017 draft, traded three picks to Buffalo to move up to No. 10 and select Mahomes. Since Mahomes became the Chiefs starter in 2018, Kansas City leads the league in points per game (30.4), yards per game (402.6) and yards per play (6.28) -- also having the best record in the NFL with a 54-16 mark.
The Chiefs have reached the conference championship game and won the AFC West in all four seasons Mahomes has been the starting quarterback. Kansas City hasn't won fewer than 12 games in a season under Mahomes, reaching the Super Bowl twice and winning Super Bowl LIV in the 2019 season. Mahomes leads the NFL in passing yards (20,105), passing touchdowns (166), touchdown to interception differential (+128) -- all while having the highest passer rating in league history at 106.6.
So what did the Bills get with the Chiefs' picks? Here's a look at the trade and the players who transpired from the deal:
2017 Chiefs-Bills trade
| What the Chiefs received | What the Bills received |
|---|---|
No. 10 pick (Patrick Mahomes) | No. 27 pick, 2017 third-round pick (No. 91 overall), 2018 first-round pick |
The trade doesn't seem like equal value for Mahomes, but Bills general manager Brandon Beane did some excellent maneuvering to build a Super Bowl-caliber roster with those picks. Buffalo selected Tre'Davious White with that No. 27 overall pick in 2017, and White has become one of the elite cornerbacks in the game with two Pro Bowl and All-Pro selections in his five seasons. Opposing quarterbacks have a career passer rating of just 46.2 targeting White, who has 16 interceptions to just nine touchdowns allowed.
The Bills then got creative with the other two picks:
- 2017 third-round pick (No. 91 overall): Buffalo packaged the pick in a draft trade with the Los Angeles Rams. The Bills traded their 2017 second-round pick (No. 44 overall) and 2017 third-round pick (No. 91 overall) in exchange for the Rams' 2017 second-round pick (No. 37 overall, wide receiver Zay Jones) and a 2017 fifth-round pick (No. 149 overall).
- 2017 fifth-round pick (No. 149 overall): The Bills packaged that pick with a 2017 third-round pick (No. 75 overall) and a 2017 fifth-round pick (No. 156 overall) to the Atlanta Falcons in exchange for a 2017 second-round pick (No. 63 overall). Buffalo selected offensive tackle Dion Dawkins with the No. 63 pick.
- 2018 first-round pick (No. 22 overall): The Bills moved up in the draft, parting ways with the 2018 first-round pick and a 2018 third-round pick (No. 65 overall) to the Baltimore Ravens for a 2018 first-round pick (No. 16 overall) and a 2018 fifth-round pick (No. 154 overall). The Bills selected linebacker Tremaine Edmunds with the pick.
- 2018 fifth-round pick (No. 154 overall): The Bills used this selection on cornerback Siran Neal.
Ultimately, here are the full results of the trade:
| What the Chiefs received | What the Bills received |
|---|---|
Patrick Mahomes (QB) | Tre'Davious White (CB), Tremaine Edmunds (LB), Dion Dawkins (T), Zay Jones (WR), Siran Neal (CB) |
The Bills got an All-Pro cornerback, a two-time Pro Bowl linebacker, a Pro Bowl left tackle and a solid reserve defensive back as a result of the Mahomes deal. Jones is also still in the league and is on his third team, yet is a starting wide receiver.
Buffalo was also able to draft its franchise quarterback in Josh Allen in 2018, but the core players of a dominant defense and a good left tackle came as a result of the trade down with Kansas City.
While Kansas City got Mahomes, the deal ended up working out for both the Chiefs and Bills -- a product of two good general managers finding ways to make their rosters better.
