Free agent WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling will visit with Kansas City Chiefs

Wednesday morning has brought a fresh new batch of craziness across the NFL. The big story today is that Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill is exploring a trade as a result of his desire for a new contract from the team. Hill is entering the final year of his deal and reportedly wants a new contract more on par with the deal that Davante Adams signed with the Las Vegas Raiders after last week’s trade.

With Hill headed out of town — likely to either Miami or the New York Jets — Kansas City is turning their attention to a free agent deep threat to try to replace at least one facet of Hill’s game. Their new target is Marquez Valdes-Scantling, the former Green Bay Packers draft pick and a four-NFL year veteran. According to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero, MVS is heading to Kansas City for an upcoming formal free agent visit with the Chiefs this week.

The market for a player like MVS is unclear at present. However, the Packers are reportedly still expressing interest in re-signing him after Adams’ departure last Thursday. Green Bay is not involved in discussions about trading for Hill, according to Pro Football Talk.

In 2020, Valdes-Scantling led qualifying NFL receivers in yards per catch, recording a 20.9-yard average with 33 catches for 690 yards. That was over two yards more than the second-place player, Nelson Agholor of the Raiders. MVS also posted six touchdowns that season and finished fifth in the NFL in yards per target.

Hill has been a stellar and more consistent deep-ball target than MVS throughout their careers, however, as Hill has made the Pro Bowl in every one of his six NFL seasons and has two first-team All-Pro nods as a wideout (plus another as a return man). Most notably, Hill’s catch rate is consistently in the mid-to-high 60% range, while MVS has never exceeded 53% in a season and has battled drops through much of his career.

MVS is now one of the top wide receivers still on the market, joining names like Julio Jones and Will Fuller. Still, the Packers appear to remain in the running to retain Valdes-Scantling, though that may depend heavily on what happens with his visit in Kansas City.