Have to get one in here before the Super Bowl just so that I can say that the Chiefs WIN the Super Bowl and will be picking 32nd in the draft!
On with it...
Chiefs franchise tag Chris Jones then trade to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for their 1st round pick, #14 overall, in 2020 and a conditional 2021 3rd round pick. Jones is a generational talent and brings so much to the table for KC, but his price tag will be exceptionally high. He'll bring much more in return than a guy like Watkins, and the basis here is that it really comes down to keeping Jones or Watkins. The writing seems on the wall early on as the Chiefs have already been shopping college DTs.
Chiefs extend Sammy Watkins for 2 years $21.0m including $6.0m signing bonus and converting $12.0m of his 2020 salary to signing bonus creating cap hits of $15.0m, $13.0m and $14.0m in 2020-2022 which frees up $6.0m of cap space in 2020. If the Chiefs retain Jones, it's a foregone conclusion that Watkins is gone. There's just no way to realistically keep both of them and fill out this roster.
Chiefs cut OL Cameron Erving and P Dustin Colquitt freeing up $4.60m in cap space
Chiefs have $30.8m in projected cap space
ERFA tender WR Marcus Kemp, OL Andrew Wylie, and TE Deon Yelder
Re-sign to veteran minimum deals S Jordan Lucas, FB Anthony Sherman, OG Stefen Wisniewski, TE Blake Bell, DT Mike Pennel, LB Reggie Ragland
Re-sign Emmanuel Ogbah to 3-year, $18.0m including $6.0 signing bonus (sim A. Okafor)
Re-sign Bashaud Breeland to 3-year, $27.0m deal including $3.0 signing bonus, $3.5m fully guaranteed salary in 2020, and $3.0m roster bonuses in 2020 and 2021 (sim P. Amukamara)
Pick up 5th-year option on Patrick Mahomes then work out a 4-year extension creating new money of $179.1m with $99.6 in new guarantees. The total deal becomes 6 years, $182.4m with $100.3m guaranteed.
Sign FA CB Mackensie Alexander to 1-year $2.00m deal fully guaranteed (sim M. Claiborne, B. Breeland)
Sign FA LB Nick Kwiatkoski to 3-year $9.0m deal including $3.0m signing bonus (sim C. Jones)
Approximate cap before draft $8.3m
Draft:
1 (f/TB) -
DT Javon Kinlaw, South Carolina (6'6" 310)
Drafting Kinlaw here sure seems like a lateral move after shipping away Chris Jones, but you're basically getting a carbon copy of Jones for 5 years on a rookie deal which is going to become increasingly important for the Chiefs going into the Mahomes deal. Kinlaw is extremely quick off the ball and very disruptive. Whether or not he can live up to the lofty status of Jones will remain to be seen, but he should have an immediate impact on Sundays as a gap-penetrating 3-tech.
1 -
RB J.K. Dobbins, Ohio State (5'10" 217)
If you asked me one player that could make the absolute biggest impact for KC in 2020, it'd be Dobbins. He's quick, fast, thick, balanced, picks up blitzes, and is an outstanding receiver out of the backfield. Point is, he's everything you want in an NFL running back and I saw no other back in college football play with as much passion as this kid. Dobbins brings everything to the table that KC lost when they cut Kareem Hunt and would do much to take constant pressure off of Patrick Mahomes.
2 (f/SF) -
CB Troy Pride, Jr., Notre Dame (6'0" 190)
Pride is a hell of a corner, to be honest, but what really attracts me most is his speed and quickness to stick with any route. He's not going to wow you as a ballhawk or tackler but he's not bad at either and he's as sound as it gets playing his man. There's a lot of receiver talent in this draft and a guy like Ruggs could end up in Denver, so it'll be important to have a guy like Pride that can keep pace.
3 -
OC Matt Hennessy, Temple (6'4" 295)
Hennessy reminds me a ton of a young Jason Kelce with his movement skills and ability to stone opponents in pass protection. His mental processing and overall intelligence are second to none in this draft. I think Reid is really going to like this kid a ton. My only concern is his 2019 concussion, and it's been as big a reason as any I've kept him out of mocks to date, but if it checks out as a non-recurring issue for him then I'm not as worried. This is a guy I think has the opportunity to be one of the best in the game.
4 -
FS K'Von Wallace, Clemson (5'11" 205)
Very much a Honey Badger type of player in that he does so many things solidly on the field from coverage to tackling to ball awareness. Probably the most consistent player in Clemson's back end. He doesn't have elite size or speed but he gets it done and plays with emotion.
5 -
WR Van Jefferson, Florida (6'2" 197)
I really wanted to sneak Texas A&M's Quartney Davis into this mock somewhere but he's going earlier than the 5th round. That said, I'm still really high on Van Jefferson and his ability to run routes and separate. He's a draft, use, and dispose of type receiver because he'll be a 24-year-old rookie. That said, his routes, hands, and overall athleticism fit well with what KC likes from their 4th receiver.
QB: P. Mahomes, K. Shurmur
RB:
J. Dobbins, Dam. Williams, Dar. Williams, D. Thompson
FB:
A. Sherman
WR: T. Hill, S. Watkins, M. Hardman, B. Pringle,
V. Jefferson,
M. Kemp, F. Davis
TE: T. Kelce,
B. Bell, D. Yelder
OL: E. Fisher, M. Rankin,
M. Hennessy, L. Duvernay-Tardif, M. Schwartz,
S. Wisniewski, A. Reiter,
A. Wylie, N. Allegretti, J. Barton
DE: F. Clark,
E. Ogbah, A. Okafor, T. Kpassagnon, D. Harris
DT: D. Nnadi,
J. Kinlaw, K. Saunders,
M. Pennel, B. Speaks
LB: D. Wilson,
N. Kwiatkoski, A. Hitchens,
R. Ragland, B. Niemann
CB:
B. Breeland, C. Ward,
T. Pride,
M. Alexander, R. Fenton, A. Brown
S: T. Mathieu, J. Thornhill, D. Sorensen,
K. Wallace,
J. Lucas, A. Watts
ST: H. Butker,
Some UDFA Punter, J. Winchester.
[Reply]