Well I think anyone who thinks we're going to go sign big money free agents is dreaming.

That's not going to happen.

It's bargain bin and the draft.

I'd love to be wrong.

I agree.

But a lot of people here don't want to hear that.

If Kelce isn't available then gladly.

Trust me, if I'm wrong, I will gladly eat a healthy helping of crow.

I'd love to see them move on from Schwartz and Fisher, get a young stud LT, a new center, and all of that.

It's just not going to happen, though.

I think Schwartz is just done, I'll be surprised if not.

As for Fisher, I don't know that I want to move on really; it all depends. I just want to hedge the situation with a stop-gap and take a swing on a draft pick and hope that I have a difficult decision next February.

My only hang up is that for me, a 1st round draft pick should be a day 1 starter.

If they take an OT in the 1st, he needs to start day 1. Niang moves inside.

If they draft a LT and he sits while they play Rankin to fill in for Fisher, that's going to suck ass.

well you know, you draft a couple of guys, you sign a couple of guys, and that's 4 guys.

If you're like me and you feel like maybe Alegretti is the only guy that started the SB that is of starting quality AND you've got LDT coming back who is what, like average to above average starting quality...

And those 4 guys plus the two G's and you've completely rebuilt your line.

Anyway. Either Wylie is terrible and makes Reiter look bad, or Reiter is bad and makes Wylie look worse (or what I figure is they both suck) and we just flat need to be better in there.

Yes. That's what I've been advocating for. Trade up to draft a cornerstone T prospect and he starts at LT until/if Fisher is healthy then moves to RT while Niang moves inside. That's why I think signing Linsley is ideal as you've got the C and RG positions realistically locked down while the versatility of the new T and Niang lets you wait out Fishers return.

Well when I said you draft a couple of guys and sign a couple of guys, I'm talking about mostly depth guys. If they get one starter out of the draft and one out of FA, I'd be surprised.

I'd be willing to be that starting lineup next year to start the season is:

Stopgap LT, possibly already on team / Allegretti / New C / LDT / Niang.

And honestly, is that REALLY that much better than what they started this season with? I don't think it is.

It certainly has potential at RT but the real upgrade would be returning to Fisher at LT sometime during the season.

They're not trading up in the 1st to take a tackle AND signing a center for $10M plus per year.

If they trade picks to get a tackle in the first, you're looking at signing some scrub at center. The most realistic place to get a new center is in the draft and they need draft picks to do that.

And Fisher is not moving to RT. That's never going to happen.

Idk why some posters are so conflicted by a game where we had 4 backups with multiple guys playing out of position.

The Chiefs drafted Niang who was a player with first rd talent but a hip injury. Now he’s coming back. They will almost assuredly draft a C in the 2nd rd IMO.

And by all means Eric Fisher will be back by Thanksgiving at the latest unless rare complications occur.

But apparently we need to spend all of our cap money and use all early picks on the OL.

1) I don't necessarily think the first pick needs to start immediately, not when you're drafting #31 and coming off back-to-back SB's.

2)If they're playing Rankin at LT, this offseason was a huge fail. If they draft an OT in the first and he can't beat out Rankin, then that pick was a huge fail. Personally, that's why I go sign old man Peters, so you don't ever have to see Rankin at LT unless there's another rash of castrophe. Rankin can fight for playing time inside, but he's not an OT. Best case: Peters is a saavy old swing tackle and we never even have to play him.

3)Positionally speaking, I actually prefer a DE in the first, and by a long shot. There's a gap between Darrisaw and the 2nd tier OT guys and the 2nd tier guys are all kind of a pick'em and they may well last into the early 3rd. I find Walker Little really interesting actually.

Because the line sucked all year and most of last year. The SB was just the icing on the cake, according to some.

A lot of people want to build a wall. They want to rebuild the 2003 offensive line.

Never said Fisher moves to RT. **** it, done with this. Second time you've done this, and I'm not arguing points that I haven't made.

1. I was talking more specifically about OT and the idea that we have to draft one in the first round. If they draft an OT in the first round because of NEED, he better damn well start from day 1 or they failed to address the need. That's just the definition of need.

2. I agree which is why I said it. If they draft a tackle, he better play. It better not be someone like Rankin filling in for Fisher.

3. I agree. I absolutely hate the idea that a certain pick in a certain round HAS to be a certain position. That's how you end up drafting poorly and surrounding Mahomes with shit.

well since you quoted my post I'm guessing you're not including me in that, and I would say that I agree with you largely speaking.

We're not spending a bunch of cap money on FA's on the line. I'll be REALLY surprised if we do that. Bargain bin shopping on crusty old vets that maybe have something left in the tank will be about it.

I'd love Fisher to be back by Thanksgiving; but I think it unwise to bank on it.

I'd like ONE early pick on the OL, specifically on an OT.

IF the team doctors have determined that the tear maybe wasn't that bad, and are pretty positive he'll be fine and will indeed be back by Thanksgiving then I'm cool with skipping OT early in the draft (and early means maybe up to a 2nd which is my preference) and maybe we sign old man Peters to hold the fort until Fisher gets back and then Peters becomes your swing tackle/super sub.

Basically, there won't be ANY big money sure-fire free agent pick-ups. We don't have money for that. We've kicked the can down the road about all we can. Veach is kind of a wizard and maybe he finds a way, but I expect a lot of guys nobody ever heard of on cheap deals. IF there's a bigger FA signing it'll probably be a Sammy Watkins replacement.

and bringing back our own guys coming off injury, like Charlton, maybe Osemele, guys like that. Justin Britt maybe. Old man Peters. Stuff like that.

And we'll need to draft guys for those spots too, because those guys are old and won't last long and we don't want to be looking at those same spots next year.

But that's just my opinion. I'd rather fix it for now; hedge your bet on the future and figure one of the two works out.

Dude, relax.

You said:

The way you worded that, I initially read it as you were moving Fisher to RT. Looking at it now, yeah, I see your point.

You're WAY too emotional about this man. I get it, the SB sucked. You're angry. But you're letting it cloud your thinking.

Wasn’t targeting you just thinking out loud.

As mentioned, I’d like the Chiefs to draft a C in rd 2, go with Niang at RT and draft another G in the mid rds to develop like we did with LDT.

Veach already brought in Prince Tega-Wanogho and had Justin Britt in for a visit and the new league year hasn’t even started. He’ll be making moves.

Oh and I think Rankin gets a real shot to start at LG. He was solid when he played last year and we all know that it sucks being injured but not being able to go to rehab at the stadium all off-season bc of covid. Think that really hurt him.

I'm trying to figure out where in the CBA it says you can't cut an injured player. I, personally, have yet to read anything specifically stating you "can't" cut an injured player and that's what the Injury Protection - Benefit (Article 45) segment comes into play in that the Chiefs would be on the hook for medical care/treatment/rehab until the injured player returns.

If someone has the specific excerpt from the CBA with a reference page number, I'd love to read it.


As for the Fisher situation, it appears there are definitely two sides here: those that think he'll return and be back to his old self and those that aren't expecting it based on statistical/medical evidence that suggests he probably won't ever be 100% and there's at least a 25% chance he'll never play again.

Whatever side you pick certainly dictates how you want to see the Chiefs attack the offseason and there will never be agreement on it.

I'd certainly love to go back to thinking everything's fine but there are two truths in the argument:
1. The offensive line cost KC a chance to win the Super Bowl. It takes longer to beat zone than man and teams that have been successful in slowing down the offense have ran zone with a two-deep shell. Mahomes needs more time going forward.
2. Fisher, healthy or not, is a free agent after 2021 unless the team re-signs him and re-signing him is expensive. With the cap implications moving forward, Fisher contributes to less talent elsewhere.

For me, I want to secure the future for Mahomes and the team. I think, given the compounding of injuries for Fisher the past few years, I'd rather send a couple of low-30's 1sts for a top 15 LT and move on. Use his money in FA to get a couple of guys to fill other positions like a solid veteran C and #2 WR that keep the window open now.

Yeah, this is an uncommonly deep draft for OT's; and since it IS an area of need (though we may disagree on HOW much we need one) I feel like we oughta take one, but not necessarily in the first. I think there's a bigger drop-off after, say, a Jaelen Phillips to like a Weaver or Basham Jr. than there is from Darrisaw to say the Mayfield/Eichenberg/Radunz tier. And Little may end up better than all of them, but hasn't played football in a year and a half. He IS a Stanford guy though, and dummies don't go to Stanford, so that's a + in his column.

All of which I would like to try to hedge with some of these vets that are coming off of injuries and trying to re-establish their careers. Cheap stop-gaps while you figure out what you have with the young ones. I just think it's smart if you can't throw money at it to throw numbers at it. Double your chances of success, and if you somehow end up with too much talent to play, well that's a good problem to have.

If we DO sign a significant FA cap-wise, I'd bet it's a WR to take Sammy's spot.

but-and these are just guys that makes sense to me at the moment but it could be others-Peters and Britt would be super cheap stop-gap guys that would be upgrades over what we currently have if they're healthy.

I don't want to waste another year of prime Mahomes on an offensive line performance like that when it's avoidable. I mean it WASN'T avoidable really, but it is now.

I've read that you can't just cut an injured player, and I've heard that repeated but I can't tell you for certain where.

At any rate, I largely agree with you, but the only thing that I would disagree with is I'd rather not hurt ourselves next year if we can help it. We may not be able to, but I'd prefer to not mortgage draft capital unless we absolutely must.

And maybe we must, I don't know. I trust Veach to handle it; he rebuilt a historically bad defense in one offseason so who knows. He HAS shown a willingness to part with #1 picks to get a guy he wants. But, everyone knows it's going to be a pick around #30, so there's that.

This OT class...I mean...so we took Fisher #1 overall, right? #2 Joekel was out of football before his first contract was up.

Judging by Fisher's predaft scouting reports, and comparing with these guys...

I think Fisher would've gone like maybe in the late 20's in this draft. He'd be maybe the guy taken after Darrisaw. Maybe later. Maybe around the early 2nd.

It's that deep, just basing my observation off of the scouting reports which are the same guys in a lot of cases judging both classes.

and 2013 was that BAD a draft class. Figures we'd get the #1 overall in that year. Fisher's a good player, but jeez.

Wanogho's interesting. I was reading his scouting reports earlier. Only criticisms are technique and you can teach that. Britt, if he's healthy, is a plus player and still just 29. So yeah, it'd be awesome to hit on either or both of those guys.

That's the thing, I've seen it regurgitated with zero evidence of truth. If you read Article 45, Section 2, you'll see specific language stating "...if the player's contract was terminated by his Club..." That leads me to believe, along with finding nothing in the rest of the CBA (although I didn't go over with a fine-tooth comb), that the regurgitation is complete bullshit. I could be wrong and it's in there somewhere, but I question it and assume otherwise until I see it.

I think if that draft happens again Hopkins goes 1st. Cant blame them for not grabbing him though as no one saw him being this good.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Raiders?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Raiders</a> WR Nelson Agahlor expected to draw interest from the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Chiefs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Chiefs</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bears?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Bears</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Colts?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Colts</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NFL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NFL</a></p>&mdash; NFL Rumors &amp; News (@nflrums) <a href="https://twitter.com/nflrums/status/1360137976278319110?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 12, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I’m convinced that we will invest in FA at some level to improve the OL.

I expect that we will draft OL as well, just not relying on the draft, and returning (LDT) for need quality and depth improvement.

The OL will be Veach’s summer long project.

Oh I'm sure we will and I think it'll be similar to what it's been in the past, 1 year deals late in FA.

Anything significant is coming in the draft and most likely not be game ready this year.

Need a respectable running game and it opens up the rsst.

Weak ass source.

Can’t even spell his last name right.

Agholor seemed to get a lot better this year but if the money is equal I’d prefer Davis I think

Of course there are other factors at play, like which guy really wants to come in and win, further enhance the culture of hard work in that WR room.

Anthony Sherman willing to take less money to stay with the Chiefs


From PFT

Probably doesn’t have a choice if he wants to be here but I like the precedent he is setting. Win at all costs.

For me, it's just not that simple.

It's a heart/head problem.

My heart says "move on from Fisher".

My head says "they won't".

I'm not going to spend the offseason building up for a big let down. The Super Bowl alone was enough of that for a long time.

You guys feel free to discuss it as much as you want, I think I'm done with the subject. At least until free agency even starts (which is almost a month away at this point). We all know what everybody wants. The only thing that remains is to see what they actually do.

You technically CAN cut an injured player but you have to reach an injury settlement with them. They don't have to agree for 1. And it doesn't release the cap liability completely either.

This depends 100% on how they repaired. If they suture it together then this is a high possibility.

Being a fatty it would make more sense to do an FHL transfer which will actually make it stronger than it was pre-injury. This repair does impact one's speed and vertical so not an ideal repair for a WR/CB/LB, etc.

FYI, I did find this if anybody wants to read it.

https://www.nationalfootballpost.com...ry-settlement/

I wanted to sign Agahlor last season, but the experts around her said I was crazy... Now you got to pay real money for that guy.

I completely agree.

Reminder for those who forgot:

Trust your scouts. This guy should be starting at one of the tackle spots next year depending on what happens to Schwartz

Natural RT. I think he’s plug and play if Schwartz retires.

I said it the other day.

He will start and he will surprise some people.

One of my only concerns was what he was doing during the season. When I saw he was working out and looked to be in decent shape, the only concern is his ability to stay healthy now.

Plug and play at RT, and I do think he’s possibly capable of playing LT as well.

So that leaves LT and Center as the issues right now. I have a feeling that Allegretti and LDT are your starters at OG. Unless they plan on moving Allegretti to Center and Rankin to LG.

My guess is that LT is a stop-gap until Fisher gets back. Probably not ideal but I just don't see them getting rid of Fisher.

I’m not even sure who that is at this point. I’m hoping it’s not Remmers.

Also saw this from staylor in Niang’s draft thread:

The LIV Chiefs Kingdom
@1_ChiefsKingdom
·
5m
Niang since 2017

975 Pass-block snaps
0 Sacks allowed

This guy is a first rd talent. Get a C in the 2nd rd to start day 1 and let’s ride. Fisher will be back at some point.

My gut says it will be a FA.

Prince Tego is an interesting story. All the scouting reports i've read say he's "got all the skills and is very gifted" at the LT spot but obviously injuries have been his issue. With the situation as it is he's got this offseason to work hard on his health and surely he must be thinking he has a chance? Even the Chiefs talking heads who I listen too are not questioning his ability at all. He was projected to be a third round pick but went in the 6th...I hope the kid sees the opportunity he has and grabs it.

You know who might be the ideal perfect pick for the Chiefs?

Alijah Vera-Tucker.

His versatility would help some the problem we have with so many question marks.

Teven Jenkins and Jalen Mayfeild fit the bill too.

Shut down Nick Bosa and Chase Young in college If I'm not mistaken?

I honestly think it will be Peters.

I don’t like that the guy is almost 40 ****ing years old, but something tells me it will be him.

I don't think there's any way Vera-Tucker makes it to the end of the 1st. Mayfield maybe. Teven Jenkins is the guy that would probably be there of the 3.

Makes a lot of sense honestly. Seems to fit the MO.

Oh I don’t think so either.

I don’t think there’s a chance that Teven is either. I don’t see him getting past the Steelers and Colts. He’s a perfect fit for both. That guy is an animal and he’s also versatile.

Mayfield is a bit more of a projection, but I really like him too. I do think it affects his stock in comparison to theirs. I think he has the best shot of the 3, along with Cosmi.

Honestly though? I think they might all be gone.

The thought of relying on a guy coming off an achilles rupture in December and a guy who we haven't actually even had in our building yet as our bookend Ts for 2021

https://media.tenor.com/images/9d5ec...7027/tenor.gif

The **** do you want them to do?

Lay out your plan.

I wouldn't want that to be the plan for a full season, and if we didn't think Fisher was coming back.

And I'm still not sure we shouldn't hedge the bet with an earlyish draft pick.

But yeah, he could hold the fort until later in the year and then be your swing tackle.

I already have. Numerous times.

Um, if you draft a tackle, he's never been in the building. There's zero difference between Niang and a draftee in that regard, other than Niang is already on the roster and paid for.

Well post it here or link it up. There’s multiple threads discussing this shit.

every time I lay out a plan, I'm told it's unrealistic and devoting too many resources to the offensive line.

And then people want to play Rankin, Reiter, and Wylie again.

Yarp. Or go after veteran brokedicks and pray they can hold it down.

If our tackles come January are Fisher in his normal form and Niang, I think we will be just fine.

But obviously they have to add one or two other tackles to hold the fort possibly. A stopgap LT until Fisher is ready, and maybe a developmental option for the future.

I don't WANT to play Rankin, Reiter, or Wylie. I just happen to think they will.

I'm honestly not opposed to what you've outlined, I don't think it's overspending.

The plan I'm not down with is trading a bunch of picks to trade up or drafting an OL just to draft an OL.

As long as Niang has been working out and getting better, which we know he has, he’s nothing more than a redshirt coming in as a rookie. There’s no reason to think he forgot how to play football.

Nope. The only option is three offensive linemen in the first three rounds. That’s it.

I'll give you the cliff notes version. Sign Kelce or Linsley in FA, trade up to draft a cornerstone T prospect, and figure out the rest when you determine if Fisher can play to his usual standard.

Again, drafting an OT and assuming he'll step right in and start is exactly the same as making that assumption about Niang.

You're either okay with it or not.

So your solution is to rely on essentially 2 rookies?

I mean shit. My plan was drafting a center/guard and a tackle in the first three rounds and finding a way to get Kelce. I don’t see Reid or Veach drafting 4-5 offensive linemen and even if they did....they all aren’t starting day one.

Lol exactly.

They’re going to give Niang a shot, he’s going to start at tackle or guard at minimum.

But his talent suggests he could be a long term starter at tackle so if he’s your RT, unless you are planning to cut Fisher (which isn’t necessarily feasible right now), then what’s the plan other than a stopgap?

No point in drafting an OT in the first if Fisher and Niang are the long term plan.

You'll have to excuse me if I'm not just pencilling in a guy coming off surgery to repair his hip, especially when we haven't gotten a chance to see how he's doing since he opted out.

Kelce is not going to be available. The Eagles are $40M over the projected cap and would eat $10M to cut or trade him.

Linsley is a possibility assuming they want to spend.

As for the draft, you just got done saying that relying on a guy that has never stepped foot in the building is a bad idea, but you want to spend multiple picks to get exactly that.

I'm sure you can understand how that doesn't make sense.

As long as it's not Niang. He's already a Chief so he must suck.

Yeah, the difference is Niang is coming off surgery to his hip. You can't just assume he'll be the same player after that.

And if you do that you’re also going to upgrade the interior. You already are upgrading RG going from Wylie to LDT.

Draft a couple of guys in the first 4 rounds, and you’re MUCH better off than you finished 2020.

Fisher was the #1 overall pick. How many sacks did he give up year one?

That was nearly 2 years ago now.

The entire point of redshirting was to give him even more time than necessary to get healthy to ensure he will be.

There’s no reason to think he isn’t healthy after all of this time.