I think we hit a point in the season where we all clearly felt that OL and LB were huge needs to be addressed in the off season.
This was probably before the 7 game winning streak, where both the OL and the defense in general has played much better.
So my question is, has this changed your priorities for the Chiefs this off season/draft?
My gut feeling now is that the Chiefs will have a lot more flexibility in the draft to just add quality players, rather than being too restricted by specific needs. [Reply]
Nope my priorities have not changed for next season. If you look at 2020 roster and contracts it gives you some perspective of needs and what KC needs to do.
Just looking at contracts, CB is a huge need, either re-signing some of our people or drafting them.
Draft Priority (of course actual draft results could vary according to the talent available in draft)
1 CB
2 LB
3 OL
4 S
5 CB [Reply]
3) QB – Patrick Mahomes $5.226 M, 5th year option
Matt Moore UFA Age 36
Chad Henne UFA Age 35
Kyle Shurmer PS – Sign to a futures contract. Priority: New contract for Patrick Mahomes. Need to re-sign backup QB from Henne or Moore.
4/5) RB –
Damien Williams $2.833M
Darwin Thompson $626K, $717K, $807K
Darrel Williams IR $665K
LeSean McCoy UFA Age 32
Anthony Sherman UFA
Spencer Ware UFA
Elijah McGuire PS – Sign to a futures contract.
Mike Weber PS – Sign to a futures contract Priority: Re-sign Anthony Sherman and Elijah McGuire. Extend Darrel Williams.
5) WR –
Tyreek Hill $17.650M, $15.695M, $20.5M
Sammy Watkins $21 M (Could save $14M by cutting)
Demarcus Robinson UFA
Mecole Hardman $1.135M, $1.362M, $1.589M
Byron Pringle $585K – Need to Extend
Gehrig Dieter PS
Jody Fortson PS
Felton Davis IR $512K, $602K
Marcus Kemp IR ERFA Re-sign if recovered from knee injury. Priority: New contract for Watkins or release. Either re-sign Robinson or draft WR. Dependent on what happens with Sammy Watkins and Demarcus Robinson, maybe sign Free Agent WR.
9) OL –
Eric Fisher $15.231M, $14.681M
Andrew Wylie ERFA
Austin Reiter $2.758M
Laurent Duevernay-Tardif $9M, $9.250M, $8.5M
Mitchell Schwartz $10.820M, $10.005M
Cam Erving $4.681M – cutting saves $3.250M
Stefen Wisniewski UFA
Nick Allegretti $622K, $713K, $803K
Jackson Barton $585K
Ryan Hunter $585K
Martinas Rankin $724K, $807K
Greg Senat $660K, $750K Priority: Need to improve interior line. Draft OL. re-sign Wisniewski and one FA from below list.
Free Agent Interior linemen
B.J Finney 28, 6-4, 318,Pittsburgh Steelers. Played at K-State
Connor McGovern 27, 6-4, 306,Denver Broncos. Played at Missouri
Brandon Scherff 28, 6-5, 315,Washington Redskins. Played at Iowa.
Ereck Flowers 26, 6-6, 330, Washington Redskins. Played at U of Miami (FL)
Andrus Peat 26, 6-7, 316, New Orleans Saints. Played at Stanford.
Evan Boehm 27, 6-3, 321, Miami Dolphins. Played at Missouri.
Graham Glasgow 28, 6-6, 310, Detroit Lions, Played at Michigan.
Max Garcia 28, 6-4, 309, Arizona Cardinals. Played at Florida.
3) TE –
Travis Kelce $10.468M, $9M
Blake Bell UFA
Deon Yelder ERFA
David Wells IR ERFA
John Lovett IR $510K, $675K
Nick Keizer PS Priority: Re-sign Blake Bell as your blocker and determine best 3rd TE with John Lovett, Deon Yelder, Nick Keizer, and David Wells.
DEFENSE
9) DL –
Frank Clark $22.7M, $24,2M, $24.7M, $26.2M
Chris Jones UFA
Derrick Nnadi $1.016M, $1.118M
Xavier Williams UFA
Khalen Saunders $888K, $989K, $1.072M
Tanoh Kpassagnon $1.374M
Mike Pennel UFA
Demone Harris $660K
Braxton Hoyett PS
Devaroe Lawrence PS
Tim Ward NFI $586K, $676K
Emmanuel Ogbah IR UFA
Alex Okafor IR $6.956M, $7.950M
Breeland Speaks IR $1.663M, $1.941M
Terrell Suggs FA (Void) Priority:Re-sign or Franchise Tag Chris Jones. Re-sign Mike Pennel and Emmanuel Ogbah.
6) LB –
Anthony Hitchens $12.724M, $10.724M, $12.724M
Darron Lee UFA
Damien Wilson $3.875M
Reggie Ragland UFA
Ben Niemann $662K
Dorian O’Daniel $892K, $985K
Emmanuel Smith PS
Darius Harris NFI $588K, $678K Priority: Need starting ILB. Re-sign Reggie Ragland. Draft LB. Sign Joe Schobert Cleveland Browns FA ILB
Free Agent ILB
Joe Schobert 26 Cleveland Browns, Wisconsin
4) S –
Tyrann Mathieu $16.333M, $19.733M
Armani Watts $827K, $918K
Jordan Lucas UFA
Daniel Sorensen $4.750M – cutting saves $3.750M
Juan Thornhill IR $1.048M, $1.258M, $1.469M Priority: Look at late round draft or low cost free agent.
6) CB –
Kendall Fuller UFA
Charvarius Ward $660K
Bashaud Breeland UFA
Morris Claiborne UFA
Rashad Fenton $633K, $723K, $813K
Alex Brown $585K
Chris Lammons PS
Keith Reaser IR RFA Priority:BIG NEED…extend Ward, re-sign Breeland, try to re-sign Fuller. Draft CB early.
SPECIAL TEAMS
P Dustin Colquitt $2M cutting saves $1.350M Age 37 22nd in Net/Avg
K Harrison Butker $3.195M, $3.940M, $4.2M, $4.4M, $3.84M
LS James Winchester $970K, $995K Priority: Need Draft or CFA to compete for punter position against Dustin Colquitt.
I agree, nothing has really changed much for me. Before the season started I believed we needed a CB or two more than anything, and I still feel the same way. Frankly I've been in the trade Jones camp for a while because I think the picks you gain really go along way in managing the cap and injecting young talent on the line and elsewhere. [Reply]
speaking draft/UDFA only:
I think you've gotta draft and develop corners constantly. They're a really expensive position to fill in free agency. So I'd draft one every year, and probably bring in a UDFA or two as well.
I think it's time to put some serious investment in the offensive line.
I'd still like to see an upgrade at MLB but know that Hitchens is playing credible football so it seems like a long-shot.
I'd still like to see an investment made at OT to get some young blood up to speed as Schwartz/Fisher start to decline and/or get more expensive but I know that we have some other, more pressing issues to address.
I'd still like to get a potential game-changer at TE2 w/ the ability to level up our 2 TE sets (which we run as much as anyone in the league) and complement/replace Kelce if need be but this just doesn't seem to be the right draft for it.
I'd still like to see a more physical X receiver brought in to replace Watkins so that Hardman can maintain his role as a dynamic presence and part-time Y but figure that they'll probably focus on developing Pringle/Kemp if possible.
I do think an immediate infusion of potential high-end talent on the IOL remains as critical as ever. Reiter has steadied himself into merely below average over the last several weeks with moments of genuinely good play. Wiz has made Wylie look as awful as we thought he was and may present a nice veteran stop-gap but is aging and should still be layered if possible. LDT needs to be cut.
Chris is right, DBs are expensive, have steep learning curves and high bust rates. If you can get one w/ a good value, get one. And in either event you should bring at least one in every season in the late rounds anyway. Thornhill's injury will set back his development given how late in the season it was and Mathieu is effectively on a 2-year deal anyway w/ an expensive team option for the 3rd. It might be a real good idea to find someone that can step in for Thornhill early in the season as he continues his recovery and then replace Mathieu in 2022/23.
A 4-3 team should ALWAYS be looking for the right DE or rotational depth. Like CB, we should be beating the bushes for one of these guys in pretty much every draft and if we have a shot at a value pick in the 1st, take him.
RB? Fuck man, I dunno. Williams looks like he doesn't suck again but I'll just never trust the guy. Again, wait for the value and if its there, take it.
So I'd say I've had a small change in my thoughts at RB and safety, maybe a little bit at IOL but not a ton.
Bottom line is that your view on the draft really shouldn't change a whole lot over the course of a year because needs shouldn't be addressed in the draft unless you've done something really wrong. The draft is for development and if you're lucky someone pops early (Thornhill). A strong 6 week run shouldn't change what we saw with this team over the previous 10. The roster hasn't changed, nor should the plan. [Reply]
It's just setup to really take guys at the back of the round that drop for certain reasons and not really worry about positions. Just keep stocking talent, fill holes with FA and go from there. [Reply]
Originally Posted by O.city:
It's just setup to really take guys at the back of the round that drop for certain reasons and not really worry about positions. Just keep stocking talent, fill holes with FA and go from there.
That's generally how I approach it anyway. The only time I might not was when I had a specific plan in mind for innovation.
That's why I was hard-up on Hockenson last year - I'd gotten focused on him specifically because I wanted to add an additional wrinkle by increasing the use of 12 personnel to help out the running game.
I might make a reach pick if it's not because of a need specifically, but rather because of an overarching impact the player could have across the board. I thought similarly with Nassir Adderley because I thought he could be the sort of dynamic complement to Mathieu that would make the secondary completely matchup proof - turns out that Thornhill gave the same thing WITHOUT a need to jump early. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut:
That's generally how I approach it anyway. The only time I might not was when I had a specific plan in mind for innovation.
That's why I was hard-up on Hockenson last year - I'd gotten focused on him specifically because I wanted to add an additional wrinkle by increasing the use of 12 personnel to help out the running game.
I might make a reach pick if it's not because of a need specifically, but rather because of an overarching impact the player could have across the board. I thought similarly with Nassir Adderley because I thought he could be the sort of dynamic complement to Mathieu that would make the secondary completely matchup proof - turns out that Thornhill gave the same thing WITHOUT a need to jump early.
You kind of touched on it the other day, but with my older age and with this regime, I just kinda let them do it and figure they know what they're doing.
Other than QB or RB there really isnt' a pick in the first round at 32 that will upset me. A guard? Cool. A LBer, whatever good job.
Just keep taking good players and figure the rest out later. [Reply]
I think this is an easy answer that we already have the answers to.
Veach tried to trade for Minkah Fitzpatrick despite having Honey Badger, Thornhill and Fuller. We know Spags likes to blitz and confuse. That means you need strong secondary players who are versatile enough to play everywhere, thus confusing QB’s with a variety of different coverages.
Fuller is likely going to get a nice payday that we should not pay, and Thornhill won’t be back u til around mid season IMO so his replacement is imperative.
IOL is the other issue. It says a lot that Rankin and now Wiz have started over Wylie. Hopefully we can bring Wiz back on the cheap, get Rankin back and add another piece or two to that unit. [Reply]
Nope. I still think TE2/OTF is a high-key low-key need. Not so much for the needed boost to offense, although Gronk/Hernandez domination would be badass.... but more for the insurance God forbid Kelce get hurt. And he's not getting younger.
MLB is a huge need. We have monsters inside on the DL, a monster on the edge in Clark, a monster in the backfield in Mathieu and an emerging Thornhill.... but the center of our defense could use a monster.
CB is still a big need but I think having a good coach and throwing moderate/decent veterans has been a good approach this year. Spags' influence is immeasurable. Factor in Fenton's unlikely performance, Reaser's potential return and Ward's increased confidence (plus his upcoming lasik surgery this offseason), and I don't think the house is on fire as it was earlier this season. Still need a "dude" though.
Interior OL can always get better. Have to protect the franchise.
RB of the future would be nice. I have faith in Veach to find this anywhere in the draft. Not sure Darwin is bright enough or big enough to be "the dude" down the line, but he'll hopefully progress in year 2. We saw what Mahomes can do when we have a terrifying RB in Hunt; I'd like to find the Edge James to his Peyton for the next 5-7 years.
***Also important to note that Free Agents will want to play with MVPat and it will put us in great position to win guys over even if we aren't the highest bidder.*** [Reply]
Originally Posted by duncan_idaho:
Nick Harris out of Washington looks like a great fit at C for this system. Big, strong, athletic, can move.
Might be available in the second...
All I really know about him is he had a really good game against Auburn last year. He does have really good size though for our system, you're probably right. It'd be really nice if we could get him in the second without having to trade up.
My question about him, is what is his injury history? I would love to find a durable guy to lock down that position for Mahomes for the foreseeable future. [Reply]