Chiefs' Updated 2022 NFL Draft Picks After Tyreek Hill Trade

The wide receiver position just shot to the top of the list of priorities for the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2022 NFL draft. Luckily for them, they'll have plenty of capital to address the matter.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Kansas City is trading Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins for five draft picks, including a first- and second-rounder this year.

General manager Brett Veach and head coach Andy Reid will now have 12 selections at their disposal in April:

• Round 1: No. 29 
• Round 1: No. 30 
• Round 2: No. 50 
• Round 2: No. 62 
• Round 3: No. 94 
• Round 3: No. 103 
• Round 4: No. 121 
• Round 4: No. 135 
• Round 7: No. 233 
  
• Round 7: No. 243 
• Round 7: No. 251 
• Round 7: No. 259

In retrospect, the Chiefs' decision to select Clyde Edwards-Helaire with the 32nd overall pick in 2020 is looking a little more regrettable.

The last time Kansas City selected a receiver in the first round was Jonathan Baldwin in 2011. Perhaps Baldwin's lackluster career—he only spent two years with the team—explains why the front office hasn't used a first-rounder on a wideout since then.

Hill was a fifth-round pick in 2016, albeit largely for reasons off the field. Mecole Hardman yielded nice value in the second round as well, though the Chiefs missed out on DK Metcalf that year.

Especially now that Veach has two first-rounders at his disposal, he may not be able to afford to wait until the second or third day to get some help for Patrick Mahomes. The addition of JuJu Smith-Schuster only goes so far toward replacing Hill.

This is a good draft class for teams in need of a pass-catcher. Nine of the top 40 players on Bleacher Report's big board are receivers. The Chiefs could get Jameson Williams, Jahan Dotson or Garrett Wilson near the end of the first round and then add somebody like David Bell, Skyy Moore, John Metchie III or Christian Watson later on.

Looking at the bigger picture, the Hill trade also gives Veach and Reid more of an opportunity to rebuild the roster around young, cost-controlled talent.

Mahomes' 10-year, $450 million is already aging reasonably well for Kansas City considering he's not even the highest-paid quarterback anymore. Still, that deal means the front office can't reflexively pay everyone else market-level extensions.

The MMQB's Albert Breer reported the Chiefs "balked" when Hill requested to collect more money annually than Davante Adams, who got $140 million over five years from the Las Vegas Raiders.

Spreading that money elsewhere and turning Hill into draft capital might be a better long-term outcome for the two-time Super Bowl champions.