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.