Why the Chiefs Traded for Joshua Uche

The Chiefs came into the regular season with enough flexibility with cap space that they could make moves if needed. In fact, I felt coming into the season that this team might have had that in mind when they set out to start the year: ride some things out in the early portion of the season and make any necessary adjustments from there.

The beginning the season couldn’t have gone any better for the Chiefs. They’re undefeated and hold at least a two game lead on every team in the AFC for the one seed. The only downside has been the losses of key players like Rashee Rice, Hollywood Brown, Isiah Pacheco, and Jaylen Watson.

Last week, GM Brett Veach took a big step in fixing the wide receiver room with the addition of DeAndre Hopkins. This week, he turned his attention to the defense.

While Watson was a massive loss for the secondary and the defense as a whole, the Chiefs have not yet made any kind of splash at that cornerback position. Instead, they helped the secondary by helping out their pass rush.

On Monday, the Chiefs traded a 2026 6th round pick to the New England Patriots for EDGE Joshua Uche. In doing so, they prioritized some traits they haven’t always focused on when building their roster.