Chiefs Offseason Notes
I'm operating under the assumption that we're for certain a top 3 team, have a ton of picks, and we should mostly keep the band together. I'm giving OBJ 1 more year on the tag to prove he's our guy, although a solid playoff performance and a SB win could probably change that. Absolutely I'm keeping Chris Jones and inviting JuJu to return. McKinnon too, he was like our 3rd or 4th best receiver this year. Mahomes wins MVP, Jones wins DPOY, and Chiefs win the Super Bowl. Also, EB gets a HC job and we receive a 3rd RD Comp Pick.

Key Internal Signings:
OT Franchise Tag Orlando Brown Jr
DT Chris Jones extension
WR JuJu Smith-Schuster
OG Nick Allegretti
DT Khalen Saunders
RB Jerrick McKinnon

Key Releases:
DE Frank Clark
OT Andrew Wylie
DE Carlos Dunlap
DT Derrick Nnadi
WR Mecole Hardman
TE Blake Bell
RB Ronald Jones II
FS Juan Thornhill?

Key Free Agent Additions:
DE Brandon Graham 6'2 265 lbs - He'll be available for a 1 yr contract at his age (35 yrs), after having signed one this year with the Eagles and producing 11 sacks as a rotational pass rusher.

One of the following: I'm also interested in bringing back Thornhill maybe at the right price, DE Clowney after a down year, or WR OBJ if he's healthy enough and ready to replace MVS on a Prove-it deal in KC. If you get Clowney, my 1st RD pick has the flexibility to play inside. If OBJ joins us healthy, we have our dynamic outside WR.

***2023 Draft***
I'm looking for size (H & W) and speed in this draft! Not one or the other, ideally my targets will have it all! I'm also putting an emphasis on our bigs, despite being the 2nd best defense by sacks we still have 2 spots on the DL that could be significantly improved IMO. Our biggest need is at RT, and I wouldn't be surprised at all if we end up taking a sure thing at the end of RD 1. I'd also love to stuff some ballhawks into our young secondary.

RD 1 - DE/DL Tuli Tuipuloto, USC, 6-4 290 lbs, 13.5 sacks

Tuli has plenty of juice at 290 lbs, his speed and burst really stand out on tape! He had 13.5 sacks. He's scheme flexible enough to play inside next to Jones or replace Clark on the edge. Actually, he also played OLB and ILB for USC this year...crazy versatile! As the league's #2 defense by sacks, I'd love to add a dynamic player like Tuli that will continue to grow our pass rush. I also like Andre Carter, but have cooled on him a bit bc he'd be more of a conversion from OLB.

RD 2 - RT Dawand Jones, Ohio State, 6-8 359-380 lbs

This guy's a ****ing behemoth! He has a 7-ft 5-in wingspan! At his size, he's one of the largest players in league history (depending on source). He probably goes higher than this but I love the way he manhandles defenders and finishes plays! Plug and play RT for certain, dudes a brick wall. NFLdraftbuzz.com scores him as a 90% Pass Blocker & a 95% Run Blocker. He gave up zero sacks last year, and 0 sacks again this year. Interesting note that he did give up 3 sacks the previous year all to Aiden Hutchinson, and then vowed to get in better shape and has improved ever since. I also like Zion Nelson if he's available here instead.

Here's a great write up on him: https://www.profootballnetwork.com/d...g-report-2023/

RD 3 - NT Keeanu Benton, Wisconsin, 6-4 315 lbs

Described as "pure power" I've seen Benton projected everywhere from the 2nd to the 5th RD, but there's limited DL talent in this draft so its likely he also goes a bit higher than this. But say he, or maybe Mazi Smith, drops to us in the 3rd then I'm (likely trading up) adding a double-team machine next to C Jones to free him up for 15+ sacks again next year! Benton moves really well for his size and is also known for being disruptive in the backfield with an 88% Pass Rush score on NFLdraftbuzz and 10.5 sacks over the last 2 seasons.

RD 3 [EB Comp Pick] - WR Jonathan Mingo, Ole Miss, 6-2 225 lbs, 4.4 Speed

This guys right in between JuJu and Dk Metcalf size-wise, has experience outside and in the slot, has great hands, and he's pretty damn fast too with 4.4 speed! Watch how he runs in the open field and how soft his hands are on tape! Not what I expected from a guy his size. He has a 93% Deep Threat score on NFLdraftbuzz. They highlight that he's "a great blocker, faster than he appears, can take the top off the defense in the open field, and is a quarterbacks best friend" on that site. While his production wasn't anything crazy 808 yards on 16.8 per, some still have him in RD 4 or 5 (no clue?), I think he's extremely likely to climb draft boards due to his size, speed, and hands. Who better for him to learn the NFL game from than JuJu?!

RD 4 - S Sydney Brown, Illinois, 6-0 205 lbs, 22.4 MPH, 6 INTS

Another major need that's going under the radar a bit is Safety. With Thornhill leaving and Reid/Cook underperforming, I'm looking to continue adding mid to late round DBs where Veach often finds gold. Brown's got size, speed, and he does the one thing our DBs don't currently do... he produces INTs! Kids a ball-hawk. Had 6 INTs this season! Opposing QBs had an avg QBR of 47.8 when targeting him! He also made Bruce Feldman's Freak's List - ranked #34. He wrote, "made All-Big Ten honorable mention in 2021, led Illinois with 81 tackles, and also forced two fumbles. He added almost 6 pounds of lean muscle mass this summer while losing 1 pound of fat. He has also hit 22.4 mph on the GPS in-game. "

RD 4 - RB Sean Tucker, Syracuse, 5-11 205 lbs

KCCrow turned me onto this guy when he was highlighting an offensive lineman's blocking skills in another thread. Wow! His movement is so deliberate, no wasted juke moves or unnecessary movement in his game at all. He reminds me a lot of Jerrick McKinnon actually, who I'm theorizing will find a better contract elsewhere after his performance this year. But he also has a lot of Pachecho to his game as well, nice burst and speed, willing to run between the tackles. Some see him as the 3rd best back in this draft, ESPN has him all the way down at #12. I'm leaning towards fans contributing to those early rd mocks for him and the recent trend of devaluing RBs making him a steal in the mid rounds.

Here's a great write up on him: https://www.nfldraftbuzz.com/Player/...er-RB-Syracuse

RD 5 [Traded CEH & 7th] - TE Brevyn Span Ford, Minnesota, 6-7 254 lbs

Holy shit! This guy lives to plow linebackers! I saw him referred to as a "3rd Tackle out there." But he doesn't just truck mother ****ers all day, this guys got serious hands too! "Soft hands" even, and a "playmaker." His highlight real starts with a pretty amazing circus catch for a guy his size, another real I watched highlighted him as a big hitter demolishing LBs. At 6-7 with 500+ yards I'm guessing he'd make a great Red Zone target, or at least he'd move a guy or two out of the way for Pacheco! I've seen him going as high as the 3rd, ranked as a top 10 TE, but others like ESPN doesn't even rank him.

RD 5 - DE Adetomiwa Adebawore, Northwestern, 6-2 280 lbs, 4.5 Speed, 11 sacks / 2 seasons

Described as one of the only true "burners" in the edge class this year. He doesn't have the length or a ton of production (11 sack last two seasons), but with that size and 4.5 speed I'm guessing we'd be happy to rotate him in as a situational pass rusher and coach him up! He's a local, went to North Kansas City High School. He also made Bruce Feldman's Freak's List - ranked #30. He wrote, "The 6-2, 280-pounder this offseason did 30 reps on the bench at 225. He maxed 410 on the bench and 685 in the squat and 375 power clean. His times also are elite: a 4.05 pro shuttle; a 6.9 3-cone to go with a 10-5 broad jump and a 37.5 vertical jump."

RD 6 - OG/OT Braeden Daniels, Utah, 6-4 300 lbs

I really like these notes about him: "Daniels has seen success playing both guard and tackle during his college football career, with experience at left guard, left tackle and right tackle. As the starting left tackle for the Utes, Daniels has allowed just eight pressures all season and no sacks according to PFF." -Cheifswire. "He's infinitely coachable and athletically gifted with the ideal frame, physique, weight distribution, knee bend and hand strength to be molded into a special blocker. Is effective when asked to pull, showing the agility, speed, and overall range to get out as a lead blocker, where Daniels locates defenders and shows the ability to adjust and land blocks against linebackers." -NFLdraftbuzz.

RD 7 - CB Justin Ford, Montana, 6-2 195 lbs, 4.5 Speed, 20 Passes Deflected, 9 INTs

Another tall and fast DB. "Extremely aggressive to come up and put his body in traffic to make tackles." - NFLdraftbuzz "The term “ball hawk” is often thrown around for any defender that has made a couple of plays on the ball. Yet, Justin Ford embodies its meaning: a skilled ball player adept at stealing or intercepting the ball.Ford led the country (FBS and FCS) with nine picks, recording one in eight straight games. But wait, there’s more! Ford also took two INTs to the house and deflected 20 passes. The 6’2″, 200-pound corner even added a forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, and a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown for good measure." - PFN

RD 7 - CB/S Quinyon Mitchell, Toledo, 6-0 200 lbs, 22 Passess Defended, 5 INTS

"Mitchell is quietly one of the best cornerbacks (Ranked #19 S on ESPN) in the nation this season. The 6-foot and 200-pound cornerback has some of the best ball skills of anyone in this draft class, especially playing off-man coverage. He leads the FBS in passes defended with 22 on the season. He has 5 interceptions on the year including 2 pick-sixes that came in the same game against Northern Illinois" -Chiefswire.

RD 7 - CB Starling Thomas V, UAB, 6-0 195 lbs 24.16 mph

He's the prototypical size that Veach looks for in a DB, but he also crazy fast! Opposing QBs had an avg 62.9 Passer Rating against him last year. He also made Bruce Feldman's Freak's List - ranked #59. He wrote, "He received honorable mention All-C-USA honors in 2021 after making 41 tackles, eight PBUs and two interceptions. His sheer speed gets him on this list after reaching 24.16 mph on the GPS. In high school, Thomas was an Alabama state 100-meter champ, having run a 10.4."

Depth Chart:
QB: P. Mahomes II,C. Henne, S. Buechele,
RB: I. Pacheco, McKinnon, S. Tucker
FB: M. Burton
TE: T. Kelce, N. Gray, B. Span Ford
WR: J. Smith-Schuster, M. Valdes-Scantling, K. Toney, J. Mingo, S. Moore, J. Ross, J. Watson
OT: O. Brown Jr, D. Jones, L. Nang, B. Daniels
IL: J. Thuney, C. Humphrey, T. Smith, N. Allegretti, D. Kinnard

ED: G. Karlaftis,T. Tuipuloto, B Graham, M. Danna, A. Adebawore, J. Kaindoh
DT: C. Jones, K. Benton, K. Saunders, T. Tuipuloto
LB: N. Bolton, W. Gay, L. Chenal, J. Cochrane
CB: T. McDuffie, J. Williams, L. Sneed, J. Watson, S Thomas V, J. Ford
DB: J. Reid, B. Cook, S. Brown, Q. Mitchell

Favorite Sources:
1) NFLdraftbuzz.com & ESPN.com/NFL/draft/bestavailable, I really love their scoring systems and positional lists
2) Thedraftnetwork.com, SI.com, and especially NFLmockdraftdatabase.com for their player projections per round
3) Bruce Feldman's annual Freaks List and Youtube for player analysis
4) PFN.com, PFF.com, Fanspeak.com for Mock NFL Draft Simulators
[Reply]