I think it goes without saying that this coming offseason may be the most difficult offseason of the Veach era for the Chiefs.

According to Veach himself, the team will be starting the offseason with negative cap space and will have the fewest number of players under contract in the NFL.

Here's the roster set up for next season so far (I'm including Brown, as Veach said he was either going to be tagged or extended):

QB: Mahomes
RB: Edwards-Helaire
FB:

WR: Hill, Hardman
TE: Kelce, Gray

LT: Brown
LG: Thuney, Allegretti
C: Humphrey, Allegretti
RG: Smith
RT: Niang

DE: Clark, Kaindoh, Herring
DT: Saunders
DT: Wharton
DE: Jones, Danna

OLB: Gay
ILB: Hitchens
OLB: Bolton

CB: Sneed, Fenton
S: Thornhill

K: Butker
P: Townsend
LS:

Positions that are fine.

QB: Mahomes is our golden ticket, and so long as we have Andy Reid, we have a pipeline to reliable vets in the Moore/Henne mold who can hold the clipboard and play Week 18 while Mahomes rests.

LB: The Chiefs invested two 2nd round picks, so their core of Gay and Bolton get the nod this coming year, and the team may even find a way to retain Hitchens (reducing his salary for a guaranteed roster spot is a near-guarantee.) DOD and Niemann are UFAs, but the Chiefs will probably bring back both for pennies.

Positions with challenges that can be managed.

RB: CEH could be in line for a good year this year, and the Chiefs can probably bring back Darrel at low cost if need be, and they can find Jerrod McKinnons every season.

OL: The entire starting 5 is returning, but the depth will need to be revamped. Wylie, Remmers, Blythe, and LDT are all UFAs. Most can probably be brought back for pennies.

CB: It's unclear if the team can manage to retain Charvarious Ward, who is a UFA. It's also unclear how Baker and Hughes will perform this year -- although, ostensibly, one of them will be fine enough to play as a #2 in 2022. A draft pick or two and a street signing will help body out the roster here, since apparently Spags doesn't need premium investments to make the secondary work.

Positions that are going to be difficult to manage.

WR: Hill is entering into a contract year, and can save the Chiefs a ton of money against the cap by working a new deal. Aside from that, Hardman is probably what he's always been, so the Chiefs still need a true #2, which will remain a vital need. Robinson, Pringle, and Fountain are all UFAs according to OvertheCap, but the Chiefs can probably bring any of them all back for pennies.

DE: This is going to be a challenging position, unless Danna breaks out this year or Kaindoh elevates his game. Frank Clark is probably going to get cut, and Chris Jones is apparently amazing no matter where we put him? But aside from Jones, the Chiefs need a ton more talent at this position. I think we'll all be looking back at cutting Tim Ward as a regrettable error a year from now.

Very difficult positions to manage.

S: If we assume, as I think we should, that Mathieu is on his way out, then what's the answer at this position? Sorensen is a UFA but can be brought back, and Thornhill remains a vexing player right now. Mathieu also allows Spags to get by with cheap investments at DB, since he's a coach on the field. The team may not have the cap room to make a splash here, either. At this point, I think safety is the most likely position for the Chiefs to select in the 1st round, but they need depth as well as top-end talent. With the coming cap crunch, Veach is really going to have to massage the numbers to prevent a huge falloff here.
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