ChiefsPlanet - Chiefs Covitz: Chiefs should be player in free-agent frenzy

Chiefs should be player in free-agent frenzy
By RANDY COVITZ
The Kansas City Star

Now that the NFL lockout has ended, get ready for the start of an unprecedented, free-agency free-for-all.

Starting at 9 a.m. today, teams can start signing their draft picks as well as undrafted rookies, they can begin negotiating with their own free agents and other teams’ free agents, and they can make trades.

And at 5 p.m. Friday, the frenzy will kick into high gear as teams can sign any eligible free agents and squeeze what usually takes four months to accomplish into four days.

The Chiefs, who’ll need to reach the new minimum salary-cap requirements outlined in the new collective-bargaining agreement, should be especially active before training camp opens Thursday and through the weekend.

There are enough free agents out there to start a decent expansion team, and The Star has selected its All-Free Agent team that is headlined by the most coveted cornerback out there, Oakland’s Nnamdi Asomugha.

Asomugha would probably cost more than $15 million a season. Line him up opposite Brandon Flowers and move Brandon Carr into the nickel position in front of young safeties Eric Berry and Kendrick Lewis, and the Chiefs would be pretty tough to throw against.

Another big need is at nose tackle in the Chiefs’ 3-4 front.

San Francisco’s Aubrayo Franklin would fill the bill. Franklin, 30, was so highly thought of in 2009, the 49ers put the franchise tag on him. Franklin, 6-1 and 317 pounds, would be the space-eater the Chiefs need to buttress ends Tyson Jackson and Glenn Dorsey.

Franklin’s 49ers teammate, outside linebacker Manny Lawson, whom the Chiefs passed on in 2006 in favor of Tamba Hali, could give the club another needed pass rusher.

How about a rough, tough inside linebacker to pair with Derrick Johnson?

That would be Paul Posluszny of the Buffalo Bills. Posluszny, the Bills’ defensive MVP in 2008 and team captain in 2009, led the club with 151 total tackles — 103 solo — in 2010, including a career-best 18 in last season’s overtime loss to the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. If not Posluszny, 26, they can consider Tennessee’s Stephen Tulloch, who had a breakout year with 160 tackles last season, ranking second in the NFL. Tulloch, also 26, has 4 1/2 sacks and two interceptions in his four NFL seasons.

The Chiefs have plenty of needs on offense that can be addressed through free-agency as well.

Although the Chiefs selected wide receiver Jonathan Baldwin with their first-round pick, they’re still in need of a speed receiver to stretch the defense and take heat off Dwayne Bowe and Baldwin. There’s a bevy of wide receivers on the market, led by the New York Jets’ mercurial Santonio Holmes and Braylon Edwards and Minnesota’s Sidney Rice.

Santana Moss might be 32, but he caught 93 passes with six touchdowns last season for Washington, though he averaged a career-low 12.0 yards. And keep your eye on Arizona’s Steve Breaston, who’s not a burner, but he played for Todd Haley with the Cardinals.

Terrell Owens or Randy Moss? Let’s not go there.

The Chiefs did not address offensive tackle in the draft, and the pickings may be slim in free-agency. Jammal Brown has been a serviceable player at New Orleans and Washington. Matt Light collected three Super Bowl rings at New England, but he is 33.

A team never has enough running backs, and in the event the Chiefs want to fortify the position behind Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones, they can consider DeAngelo Williams, a former 1,000-yard back for Carolina; Ronnie Brown of Miami; and Michael Bush of Oakland. And wouldn’t it be nice to see fullback Tony Richardson, at 39, finish his career with the Chiefs, clearing holes for Charles and Jones?

If the Chiefs want to bolster their special teams, former Missouri quarterback Brad Smith showed with the Jets that he can return and cover kicks as well as play wide receiver and Wildcat quarterback.

Among players who were passed up in the draft, the top prospects include Boston College inside linebacker Mark Herzlich, who might have been a premium draft pick had he not missed the 2009 season because of a bout with cancer; Kentucky running back Derrick Locke; offensive tackles Willie Smith of East Carolina and Kyle Hix of Texas; guard Zach Hurd of Connecticut; and defensive tackle Sealver Siliga of Utah.