Mock 11/26/21 - ChiefsPlanet

I think the last one I released was at the 1/3 point, so here's one at about the 2/3 point in the season. Enjoy, and hope you all had a great Thanksgiving.

Offseason Moves:

Release: LB A. Hitchens, ER F. Clark

Let Walk: SS T. Mathieu, DT J. Reed, OL L. Duvernay-Tardif, OL M. Remmers, SS D. Sorensen, QB C. Henne, LB B. Niemann, OL K. Long, TE B. Bell, WR D. Robinson, ER A. Okafor, RB J. McKinnon, WR M. Kemp, LB D. O'Daniel, SS A. Watts

Minimal/ERFA Re-Sign: QB S. Buechele, FB M. Burton, TE J. Fortson, LB D. Harris, CB D. Baker, CB C. Lammons, OT P. Tega-Wanogho, RB D. Gore, OG A. Wylie, WR B. Pringle, CB M. Hughes, RB D. Williams, WR D. Fountain, OL A. Blythe

Re-Sign:
DT D. Nnadi - 1 y 3.5 m
DE M. Ingram - 1 y 4.0 m
CB C. Ward - 4 y 41.5 m w/ 23.5 m guaranteed

Franchise Tag: LT O. Brown Jr. - 16.7 m guaranteed.

Extension: WR T. Hill - 4 y 101.0 m with 56.5 m guaranteed + convert 2022 roster bonus to signining bonus.

Restructure: QB P. Mahomes - Convert roster bonus to signing bonus

Sign:
WR J. Smith-Schuster (PIT) - 3 y 51.0 m w/ 27.0 m guaranteed
DE D. Barnett (PHI) - 3 y 25.0 m w/ 11.0 m guaranteed
LB N. Morrow (LV) - 2 y 10.0 m w/ 6.5 m guaranteed
SS J. Whitehead (TB) - 3 y 34.0 m w/ 20.0 m guaranteed
NB M. Stewart (CLE) - 1 y 1.5 m w/ 500k guaranteed
OL G. Christian (HOU) - 1 y 1.5 m

Thoughts on FA: JuJu nearly signed here last year and thought going back to PIT was his best plan. That plan failed and signs point to him leaving this time around. I think KC will revisit that offer and there is no doubt they need to gain a playmaker opposite Hill. There are other options in FA but JuJu is a known target. Sticking with offense, Christian is merely my choice of replacement for Remmers and he's actually played a little LT.

The rest of it really goes towards helping the defense out and that's getting a bit more juice in the pass rush in Barnett, adding a coverage WILL that can actually play in the NFL, and replacing Mathieu with a similar player in Whitehead (albeit a bit more physical in the run game, not as polished in the pass game). I know Whitehead has his days with missed tackles but it'll help keep his price down with hopes he cleans it up more. Looking at the averages for strong safeties, it's not overly significant anyhow. Stewart is a solid nickel and backup guy.

Draft:
1. ER Sam Williams, Ole Miss (6'3" 256)
2. WR Wan'Dale Robinson, Kentucky (5'10" 185)
3. LB Joshua Ross, Michigan (6'0" 225)
4. DT Travis Jones, UConn (6'4" 330)
7. RB Greg Bell, San Diego State (6'0' 200)
7 (f/NE). WR Danny Gray, Southern Methodist (5'11" 190)
7 (f/ MIN). SS Delarrin Turner-Yell, Oklahoma (5'10" 190)
7 (Comp/ Wilson). ER Owen Carney, Jr., Illinois (6'3" 275)
7 (Comp/ Kpass). TE Peyton Hendershot, Indiana (6'4" 255)

Thoughts on the Draft: I'll start with the elephants in the room in Sam Williams and Peyton Hendershot. Both come with red flags for domestic issues but both have been in programs for a couple years. Neither seem to have a history and both look like similar situations to Tyreek Hill. Could that push them down boards or off boards? Yes, but I'm not sure about KC's. I may be over-reaching for Williams in the 1st but he's a top 15 prospect so I have my doubts he's sitting there around pick 60 unless teams truly don't think he's better. Williams chargers were dropped, Hendershot's weren't. I think Hendershot, there's alot of talent there but playing for Indiana probably had him as a mid-round guy anyhow so if he's down the boards he's probably a late stab like I have him or a UDFA. That said, he broke IUs reception and yards records by a TE as a sophmore before his incident. These guys seem like Veach/Reid types they'd give a chance and if those chances hit they get some bargain talent.

Robinson is my injection of another super-quick speed guy into the offense that will replace Hardman after his rookie deal, but could provide this team with everything they need to play the underneath game with Smith-Schuster already added in FA. It'll be hard to sit deep with 4 guys that can break it on you.

Back to Defense, I feel like Ross is that guy that is fast sideline-to-sideline can be a bonus on special teams as he learns and takes the reigns from my FA add of Morrow. Just keep the speed at the 2nd level rolling, that's my philosophy. Meanwhile, Travis is a big guy that can provide some pass rush too, and would be my future replacement for Nnadi. I think Turner-Yell and Carney could be some solid depth/special teamers. I especially like Turner-Yell's ability coming downhill with speed. Carney has flashed as a rusher in the B1G and may be underrated but he's played a lot standing up so he'll need polishing up.

Greg Bell is my answer to the Chiefs' problem of having a HR hitter at RB. He's not the biggest back but he's quick and can pop off some big ones. He's not Jamaal, but he's definitely not the slow-pokes we have now. Gray kind of rounds out adding more bodies to the WR room and is another guy that can work underneath with speed and agility.

Roster (not cut to 53):
QB: P. Mahomes, S. Buechele
RB: C. Edwards-Helaire, D. Williams, G. Bell, D. Gore, M. Burton
TE: T. Kelce, N. Gray, J. Fortson, P. Hendershot
WR: T. Hill, J. Smith-Schuster, M. Hardman, W. Robinson, C. Powell, B. Pringle, D. Gray, D. Fountain
OL: O. Brown Jr., J. Thuney, C. Humphrey, T. Smith, L. Niang, N. Allegretti, P. Tego-Wanogho, G. Christian, A. Blythe, A. Wylie

ST H. Butker, T. Townsend, J. Winchester

ER D. Barnett, M. Ingram, S. Williams, M. Danna, J. Kaindoh, O. Carney Jr.
DT C. Jones, D. Nnadi, K. Saunders, T. Jones, T. Wharton
LB W. Gay, N. Bolton, N. Morrow, J. Ross, D. Harris
CB C. Ward, L. Sneed, R. Fenton, M. Hughes, D. Baker, C. Lammons
DB J. Whitehead, J. Thornhill, M. Stewart, D. Turner-Yell, Z. Anderson, D. Key
[Reply]

Originally Posted by Direckshun:
Good looking offseason. I’m surprised our mocks currently look very similar.

How concerned are you about the backend of the defense in this mock?

Well, I think most will look similar given that the Chiefs have a few very specific stand-out needs.

I'm not concerned about the back end of the defense all that much, at least in comparison to this year.

Whitehead is a starting SS with similar abilities to Mathieu. He's not as good but they are similar. Stewart would be adding a guy with similar traits at a reserve level and Turner-Yell would be a developmental guy in that mold. Stewart can play some nickel for you; he's actually fairly solid in that role. I think Anderson or Key replace Sorensen's role next year. The CB room is the same and Sneed can move around if needed.

A large function of the secondary's ability to play well is to have a pass rush in front. I think that's where you have to put the most effort. I definitely tried to add there with 4 defensive linemen. Obviously, some of that is due to attrition but the Chiefs need some new blood up there.

The other component is actually taking pressure off the secondary by having better coverage at the second level. I think adding Ross and Morrow would really help that second level raise its play in coverage.
[Reply]