The unofficial second half of the 2026-27 NFL campaign is here, which coincides with the passing of the annual trade deadline. Several teams capitalized on opportunities to add to their respective rosters, with the Kansas City Chiefs being among the group of perceived winners.

By acquiring wide receiver Josh Downs from the Indianapolis Colts, Kansas City improved the route-running quality of its skill players while also maintaining some flexibility for the future. Whether the move can raise the upside of the offense or is worth the cost is another argument, but there's no denying that at least trying to get better was a good call in a vacuum.

In this post-deadline world, where do the Chiefs stand on an individual front? Let's dive into who should benefit from the move, as well as whose roles might be changed in negative ways.

Chiefs winners after the 2026 NFL trade deadline

The following players should benefit from the Downs trade by way of either increased production, decreased pressure, or both.

Josh Downs

What better way to start than with the man himself? It feels like forever ago that the Colts' offense was viewed as football's best, but the reality is that was only a calendar year ago. Through 10 weeks of play in the 2025 campaign, per RBSDM, Indianapolis led the sport in EPA per play on that end (0.183) and was second to only the Los Angeles Rams in success rate.

Everyone knows what a horrific collapse Indianapolis had down the stretch, partially due to getting exposed but also because quarterback Daniel Jones tore his Achilles tendon. Despite Jones' return for the 2026-27 season, things still haven't gone even close to smoothly for head coach Shane Steichen's crew.

It's safe to say that going from catching passes from Jones to Patrick Mahomes could have a positive effect on the fourth-year wideout's prospects.

Josh Downs went from Daniel Jones to Patrick Mahomes - here is how they stack up in catchable aimed pass attempts in 2026 🎯

Catchable pass rate (rank of 29 QBs):

0-9 yds: Jones 83% (24th) → Mahomes 91% (2nd)
10-19: 59% (26th) → 68% (12th)
20+: 21% (29th) → 45% (17th) pic.twitter.com/acJg1HA8ai

— Zain Dhanani (@DhananiZain) November 11, 2026

Patrick Mahomes

Speaking of which, having another reliable pass catcher figures to come to Mahomes' aid as well. It's a two-way street.

Coming into the season, Kansas City was banking on several things to happen at the receiver spot. Not only did Xavier Worthy need to look more like he did as a rookie — or perhaps even better — but Rashee Rice was supposed to return to his pre-injury form and Tyquan Thornton was expected to take a step forward. It's safe to say that plan, which was on thin ice to begin with, hasn't worked.

If anything, Worthy has regressed and now has a bum hamstring. Rice sustained a hamstring injury of his own in Week 4 and isn't remotely as productive on a volume basis as he was last year. Thornton, who was actually living up to the hype, is done for most or all of this season with a dislocated ankle. Enter Downs, who now might be the best separator and technician Mahomes has had in years at the receiver position.

WR percentile separation & YPRR vs man coverage pic.twitter.com/NWbBKMMNRi

— Jrfortgang (@throwthedamball) November 6, 2026

No. 15 has still managed to turn in a good season, throwing for 14 touchdowns and four interceptions, but his life's been much more difficult than is needed. This move should assist him on all downs and make the offense hum more efficiently as a result.

Travis Kelce

On a per-target basis, tight end Travis Kelce's been more effective in 2026 than he has in several years. He's producing a career-high 14.6 yards per reception and 10.0 yards per target, paired with an average of 10.0 yards after catch per reception. Kansas City isn't force-feeding him volume, instead allowing him to pick his spots while playing 4% fewer snaps than he was last season.

Had Kelce been at or near his peak involvement, he'd be a bit more of a loser than a winner with Downs coming to the Chiefs. Because his catches cut deeper this campaign, though, it's hard to not see him either maintaining his current output or reaching new heights in what could be the final stretch of his first-ballot Hall of Fame career.

Chiefs losers after the 2026 NFL trade deadline

The jury is out in the "losers" category, as the welcoming of Downs to the lineup likely changes some things moving forward.

Rashee Rice

After a slow start while recovering from offseason knee surgery, Rice went off for seven receptions and 88 yards in Week 3. Since returning from injury in Week 8, he's averaged six receptions and 51 yards across two games while also scoring a touchdown. Whatever momentum he had from a stat-sheet-stuffing standpoint may be slowing down with another peer to compete with, however.

Josh Downs averages 0.23 EPA/target this season, per @SumerSports

Rashee Rice entered today with the highest EPA/target among Chiefs WRs at 0.15

— Shawn Syed (@SyedSchemes) November 10, 2026

Adding to the SumerSports data, Rice is 29th out of 111 wideouts with at least 100 routes at a 2.0 yards per route run mark. Downs is way down at 76th at 1.14, but that number is pretty deceiving given the injuries to the Colts' receiver unit and how inept the offense has been. If Downs gets the looks from Mahomes many are expecting, it means Rice's ceiling is capped.

There's also the element of these two thriving in similar areas of the field. According to Pro Football Focus, 46.7% of Rice's targets are coming within 0-9 yards of the line of scrimmage. That threshold is 61.5% for Downs.

Cyrus Allen

After combining for 19 offensive snaps in his first five games, rookie fifth-rounder Cyrus Allen's figures were 16, 31 and 19 over his next three outings. Week 9 marked a regression for the former Cincinnati standout, unfortunately, as he fumbled on a kickoff return and also went without a catch on offense. Worthy's injury didn't see him get unleashed, either, so his stock was already down.

It's virtually impossible for a true breakout to happen as long as the trio of Rice, Downs and Worthy is healthy and available. Allen can still perhaps make a couple plays a game as a supporting piece, although that isn't the rest-of-season path some wanted him to take. Chalk that up to a classic tug-of-war between expectations and reality.

Nikko Remigio

This one is unfortunate, but it's sometimes simply a numbers game when it comes to roster math. The Chiefs needed to make room for a better player, which meant special teams ace Nikko Remigio got the boot by way of being waived on Wednesday morning.

Remigio has several years of teams experience, on top of a thorough understanding of the offensive system, but it became clear when Rice was out in both 2025 and 2026 that he was never going to find an expanded role. Downs having his name added to the depth chart essentially signaled the complete extinguishment of those hopes for the former undrafted free agent.

Side note: Downs was spotted warming up with the punt team in Wednesday's practice. I'm still hard-pressed to believe he'll take many of Remigio's old reps, especially with this being more of a standard procedure during the week than anything else.

I struggled with where to put Worthy. While it seems likely that his overall workload and involvement in the offense will decline with Downs in the fold, it could take some pressure off him and make him a more impactful player overall. We'll wait and see.