The Chiefs' decision to add Frank Clark didn't just bolster their defense, it also made Kansas City the new favorites to win Super Bowl LIV.
In a blockbuster deal between the Chiefs and the Seahawks that went down on Tuesday, Seattle sent Clark to Kansas City in exchange for a first-round pick in 2019 (No. 29 overall) and a second-round pick in 2020 (the later of the Chiefs' two picks). The teams will also swap third-round picks in 2019.
According to Stephen Oh over at SportsLine, the addition of Clark improves the Chiefs' chances of winning the Super Bowl by 3.2 percent. Before the deal, the Chiefs had the fourth-best odds of winning the Super Bowl. However, with Clark now on the team, the Chiefs are now being given an 18.8 percent chance to win the Lombardi Trophy, which is the highest number in the NFL (the Saints, Patriots and Rams all rank just behind the Chiefs).
You can see more about the ramifications of the trade for the draft here, as well as check out who Ryan Wilson and Chris Trapasso are slotting into No. 29 with the Seahawks in their mock draft updates.
The trade for Clark basically completed a defensive overhaul for the Chiefs that has gone on this entire offseason. Over the past six weeks, the Chiefs have cut or traded multiple key defensive players, including Justin Houston, Dee Ford and Eric Berry.
After dumping those veterans, the Chiefs went wild in free agency by adding Tyrann Mathieu, cornerback Bashaud Breeland, linebacker Damien Wilson and defensive end Alex Okafor. The team also added Browns defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah in a trade with Cleveland.
On the Seahawks' end, their postseason chances took a big hit after Tuesday's trade. Before the deal went down, SportsLine was giving the Seahawks a 60.5 percent chance of making the playoffs in 2019. However, those chances are now down to just 51.6 percent following the trade, which basically makes it a coin flip. The Seahawks' chances of winning the Super Bowl dropped from 4.8 percent with Clark to 3.1 percent after trading him.
Losing Clark might not help the Seahawks much this year, but they did get a first-round pick out of the deal, which should definitely help them build for the future. Thanks to the Clark deal, the Seahawks now have two first-round picks in the 2019 NFL Draft: 21st overall and 29th overall.
