Mock (1/12)
 

Assumptions:

1. The Chiefs extend Alex Smith 4 years, $60m ($36m guaranteed), and OLB Justin Houston 6 years, $62m ($32m guaranteed).

2. The Chiefs restructure SS Eric Berry and OLB Tamba Hali.

3. The Chiefs resign S Husain Abdullah to a 2 year, $4m deal.

3. The Chiefs resign WR Kyle Williams, LS Thomas Gafford, ILB Akeem Jordan, and NT Jerrell Powe to minimal deals.

4. The Chiefs let walk: WR Dexter McCluster, TE Sean McGrath, OT Brandon Albert, OG Jon Asamoah, OG Geoff Schwartz, DE Tyson Jackson, OLB Frank Zombo, S Kendrick Lewis, S Quinten Demps

5. The Chiefs cut: CB Dunta Robinson

6. Chiefs sign WR Jeremy Maclin to a 3 year, $15m deal, OG Willie Colon to a 2 year, $7m deal, OT Winston Justice to a 1-year, $2m deal, S Nate Allen and S Bradley McDougald to minimum deals.

On with the show:

1.20. DE Stephon Tuitt, Notre Dame

The Chiefs traded the #23, their 4th and next year's 3rd in exchange for the Cardinals' #20 and their 4th next year. The move is intended to jump the Packers.

My current lead guy for my official endorsement at the #23 pick. Tuitt has the body of a 3-4 DE with the athleticism of a 4-3 DE. We have a bunch of "pretty good" guys at DE, but nobody who blows the doors off the place. Imagine an NFL defense that has to pick their poison between Hali, Houston, Poe, and Tuitt. We need more reliable pressure.

3.87. CB Victor Hampton, South Carolina

The Chiefs need more talent at the corner position. By the time the third rolls around, it's conceivable that Hampton, so long as he declares, would be around. He is a very physical, aggressive corner who is not a physical freak or anything (5'10", 190 lbs), but the Chiefs are already set for lankier corners with Smith and Cooper.

Hampton reminds me of Alterraun Verner, a guy who I loved out of UCLA. Not the fastest guy, but a very smart corner with great anticipation.

5.151. OLB Jackson Jeffcoat, Texas

Jeffcoat is an undersized one-year wonder, but his job rushing the passer was incredibly impressive. 13 sacks, with tons of havoc in the backfield to his name. He's not going to test very well at the Combine, I don't think, and again, he doesn't quite have the physical look of a demon off the edge. But his results are hard to discount.

6.177. RB Isaiah Crowell, Alabama State

Crowell is a fiery talent at RB who can make incredible noise in the NFL with his unholy combination of size/speed. Crowell, however, is a terrible problem child off the field. The Chiefs might have a locker room capable of keeping him on the straight and narrow, and I'm willing to drop a 6th to find out.

6.183. TE Jacob Pederson, Wisconsin

Pederson is a fast, athletic tight end with really good hands. He's had two years of impressive work catching the ball, but this past season he bulked up in the run game as well. A fitting upgrade from McGrath, and a potential starter down the road.

7.215. NT Justin Ellis, Louisiana Tech

6'1", 350 lbs of angry run-stuffing material with some surprising athleticism.

QB: Smith, Daniel, Bray
RB: Charles, Davis, Gray, Crowell
FB: Sherman

WR: Bowe, Maclin, Avery, Hemingway, Jenkins, Williams
TE: Kelce, Fasano, Pederson

LT: Stephenson/Fisher, Justice
LG: Allen, Johnson
C: Hudson, Kush
RG: Colon, Johnson
RT: Stephenson/Fisher, Justice

DE: DeVito, Bailey
NT: Poe, Powe, Ellis
DE: Tuitt, Catapano

OLB: Hali, Moses
ILB: Jordan, Johnson
ILB: Johnson, Johnson
OLB: Houston, Jeffcoat

CB: Flowers, Smith, Hampton, Cooper, Parker
S: Berry, Abdullah, Commings, Allen, McDougald

K: Succop
P: Colquitt
LS: Gafford
KR: Davis
PR: Williams

I seriously doubt it.

Jackson has already lowered his paycheck and knows he fits the scheme and is just entering his prime. I think he's turned into a solid player and still has upside.

McGrath - no way they let Duck go. Guy is just learning the position after only one year of college and a very minor college at that. He's shown he can get open and catch the ball.

Schwartz chose KC for the opportunity to start again and he got it by the end of the season. He's not going to be expensive to keep and his play dictates they should keep him around.

McCluster had the best hands of any of the receivers, made the Pro Bowl as a returner and is a solid guy on the field and in the locker room. He's got the capability of flexing to numerous positions on the offense. I'd be surprised to see him not on the Chiefs next season - unless he wants a lot of money. And, at this point, I really don't want to see him go. He's turned out to be a pretty solid contributor.

Zombo is a good special teams player and filled in well for Houston. He's cheap too.

Regarding your draft, I like Jeffcoat a lot. He did have 7.5 sacks his sophomore year, so he's really not a "one year wonder." He also won the Hendricks award as well as Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. In addition, the NFL guys love "bloodline" players. I doubt he's around in the fifth round. If he's there in the third, I wouldn't mind him as the pick.

I don't get the Tuitt thing with the NFL giving him a second round projection. He's shown he can get to the passer, but I wonder if it's because of Nix and that's what they are seeing. At this point, I'd rather keep Jackson versus drafting Tuitt. Jackson, while not the upfield presence, is one of the better run defenders at his position. Tuitt is an unknown and we do have pass rushers in Bailey and Catapano.

(Personally, I'd like to see them go with Powe at NT and Poe at DE on the first two downs, then go with Jackson at NT and Bailey, Catapano at DE on third down subs.)

And I don't want Maclin. He's going to cost too much and he's broken.

Avery blows. Williams blows. Jenkins blows.

And while Hemmingway has good instincts, the guy is slow as shit.

You loaded us up on guys we already have (Ellis versus Poe/Powe), (Crowell versus Davis), (Pederson versus Kelce/McGrath), while not addressing key concerns at improving the WR position, OL and S position. Replacing our free agent guys with other free agent guys is a lateral move.

I do like the Dunta Robinson cut. The tank appears to be empty on that car.

Realistic mock, but do you honestly see Maclin signing for 3 years/5 million per season? I get the injury, but after seeing what Mike Wallace got last offseason, I see Maclin getting payed more than a slot receiver salary.

Because of the plethora of receivers in this years draft, the market may be soft for an oft-injured WR like Maclin who isn't really a #1 WR, coming off of a major injury. He may be cheaper than some people think. Even if we did pick him up though, still doesn't change the fact that a young WR prospect is needed in the draft.

Letting Schwartz walk would be terrible mistake. He solidified our OL.

Schwartz and Stephenson on the right side were pretty good. Let's keep it that way.

It's already being reported that the Chiefs and Schwartz have mutual interest in getting a deal done.

McGrath is on the books for next year isn't he. Under 500k, no way we cut him.

1. The Chiefs extend Alex Smith 4 years, $60m ($36m guaranteed), and OLB Justin Houston 6 years, $62m ($32m guaranteed).

What does that do to our cap situation? Does it create more space, or does things remain the same?

2. The Chiefs restructure SS Eric Berry and OLB Tamba Hali.

Shouldn't we be asking Dwayne Bowe to restructure, if anyone should be willing to help this team it should be him.

3. The Chiefs resign S Husain Abdullah to a 2 year, $4m deal.

4. The Chiefs resign WR Kyle Williams, LS Thomas Gafford, ILB Akeem Jordan, and NT Jerrell Powe to minimal deals.

Why would we keep Williams who is coming back from an ACL? I don't understand why he's always makes your to do list. If this team is going to keep a SF castoff its going to be a healthy Jenkins on the final year of his deal.

5. The Chiefs let walk: WR Dexter McCluster, TE Sean McGrath, OT Brandon Albert, OG Jon Asamoah, OG Geoff Schwartz, DE Tyson Jackson, OLB Frank Zombo, S Kendrick Lewis, S Quinten Demps

McGrath is under contract according to Overthecap.com. His final year costs us $495k, which I think means he's staying put especially considering our TE situation. I also don't think McCluster breaks the bank like so many people here thinks he will due to his pro-bowl selection. If he's reasonable we will keep him. There is NO WAY IN HELL we let both Asamoah and Schwartz walk. I think Schwartz ends up signing a long term deal to be our RG

6. The Chiefs cut: CB Dunta Robinson

An easy cut, but you know there is going to be more than just the obvious. If the Chiefs want to be buyers in free agency, I think we may see them cut someone like Derrick Johnson. I wouldn't be a fan of such a move, but Reid values edge defenders, not inside guys.

7. Chiefs sign WR Jeremy Maclin to a 3 year, $15m deal, OG Willie Colon to a 2 year, $7m deal, OT Winston Justice to a 1-year, $2m deal, S Nate Allen and S Bradley McDougald to minimum deals.

I read that report on Schwartz today, as well. From here on out I will be projecting him as a returning starter. My bad, also, on McGrath. However, bringing in a TE for competition there would not be a bad thing.

The question with Jackson and McCluster is -- who are they going to be more valuable to? With Jackson, the question is almost certainly going to be a 4-3 team or a team willing to play him 80% of the snaps, and pay him like it. We can't pay him like that if we're only playing him 45% of the time, which we are -- on a good day.

McCluster's tougher to project. He's almost certainly priced himself out of our range, but Reid is no doubt obsessed with keeping him. Can Dorsey retain him at a reasonable price? I have my doubts, especially when he'll bring in a ton of interest on the market.

There are three key priorities for the Chiefs this offseason: give Smith more weapons is probably A1.

This board is mistaken on Priority #2, however. The priority isn't getting better talent in the secondary, although that's clearly Priority #3.

Priority #2 is to further beef up that passrush. Offenses are figuring out how to block Hali/Houston/Poe, so we need to add another weapon in there to punish them. Jackson and DeVito are not the answer there, obviously. And Bailey is streaky at best, though he is a good player -- and nobody can bank on Catapano just yet.

This team needs to make a serious investment at DE and give offensive lines migraines trying to figure out how you're going to block so many elite passrushing talents. Tuitt is a gamechanger in that regard. Although if this team was able to track down Antonio Smith out of Houston, I'd be cool with that, too.

Now, I'm a DL homer, always have been -- I almost always go DL in the first round when I'm not going QB. But my point stands.

Correct. Although, when I state that getting better talent in the secondary....I mean FS...not CB. A starting FS would mean a lot to this defense.

Using a pick on a RB is a wasted pick.

I like Tuitt but I really really want this team to sign Lamarr Houston in free agency.

He is the one who gave us fits for years. I can't even imagine this guy next to Poe.

Can you imagine if we got him and another pass rusher like Trent Murphy in the draft?

I would JIMP

I don't think we'll have the money.

That's bullshit.

Poe, Hali and Houston are supposedly destroyers of worlds, Pro Bowl level guys. These are your guys who should be giving "offensive lines migraines trying to figure out how you're going to block so many elite passrushing talents."

Teams don't figure out how to block them, especially all three of them at one time. They should be kicking complete and utter ass. All game, every game.

And you most certainly don't draft high on top of them, if they are of that talent level, especially Houston and Poe, who are very young in their careers.

You want to maximize the DE spot? Then shift Poe over there on first downs and have Powe play NT, a la Ngata. That's how you maximize a 6'4", 350 lbs. guy who is bull strong and runs a 4.8 40.

DeVito is totally solid. So is Jackson. Between Poe, Hali and Houston, they should be blowing shit up like Dresden in WWII. You don't need to spend another first rounder on a guy like Tuitt, who you hope can rush the passer from the five tech spot when you've already got Bailey and Catapano who are already doing that in subpackages anyway and have Hali and Houston.

A backup to OLB is needed. But you don't blow a high draft pick on that guy - as he's going to be a backup/special teams guy.

This team could absolutely use a true lock down, press cover corner.

I'm hoping that Cooper makes the effort this off season to become that guy. He's got the skillset to do it.

I also think that Abdullah has a shot at becoming a very solid FS. He made big strides as the season went on. And I wouldn't mind seeing them draft a guy like KSU's Zimmerman later in the draft to see if he translates to the pro level. The guy is the best ballhawk in the draft at the safety position IMO.

Tyson Jackson ****ing sucks. He can't get a pass rush to save his life.

I don't give a flying **** if we have those 3 or not. You add to that front 7 more and more. The NYG had Kiwanuka, Tuck and JPP but they keep adding guys like Damontre Moore and Jonathan Hankins.

SF has both Smith's, Willis, Bowman and Brooks, but yet they keep adding guys like Tank Carradine and Corey Lemonier.

Teams already have trouble matching up with our trio of monsters, but I want more than that.

Plus we have to consider that Tamba isn't going to be here much longer. Need to develop a guy to replace him.

I believe we will resign Schwartz, Jackson, Demps, and probably McCluster.

You also can't play those three every down.

Depth is definitely important. I know our players were getting tired and all, but I still think a lot of the responsibility for second half failures was the lack of adjustment.
Another reason for the drafting of DL is money and the cap. We will not be able to afford to keep the same 2 top pass rushers. The money required and the cap makes that almost impossible. We may have to let Tamba go if we want to keep Houston. It would be the best financially to get that piece from the draft.
So between the financials and high quality depth for a consistent fresh rotation it is very important to keep drafting DL/OLB high even though they might to be flashy picks at the time.

Absolutely 100% correct. I want great depth to come in.

Re: Lamarr Houston

Going to be hard to sign a Raider when they have a ton of cap space and we basically have none.

As for the draft, the only defensive position that I would even consider using our first round pick on is a FS. That is true position of need and even with that being the case, I fully expect Dorsey and Reid to get Alex Smith some toys to play with. TE, WR, or Lineman.

I think a bi reason for our defensive collapse was that we just rode it so hard early in the year, guys playing every down etc, that thy ran out of gas.

We need to pour resources into the front 7. The panthers have a shit back end, but up front, they're nasty.

Well ,allthat shit was good the first 9 games then it all dissapeared. They need more help or at least more rotation.

Tyson Jackson has not turned into a great player. And you don't have to hope that Tuitt can rush from the 5 technique. ....he ****ing CAN.

I hope they do this because I agree with it 100%

Look at all the good defenses league wide.

9ers
Seahawks
Panthers
Etc

They all have a deep talented dl and lb core