Yeah, there's not much you can do with Kelce.

And restructure Chris Jones as well.

They can create space. The question is how much they want to create/need to create.

They can generate $15M easily from Jones and could push it to $20M if needed. Same with Mahomes.

I don't know that they'll touch Kelce again, but they can extend Mathieu and pick up a bunch, they can extend Hill and add some, and they can either extend or injury settlement Eric Fisher to create some. Same with Schwartz, who - even if he retires - will function like a regular cut and save them $6M.

There are no major extension candidates this year.

The Chiefs will be able to find room. I think it makes the most sense to find room to spend on a C or RT as there will be some good ones available and the prices on those positions are generally reasonable in free agency.

Convert some of this base salary to a signing bonus.

He’s 32 and has a cheap cap hit next year at $7.5 million. Up his cap hits in 2022 and 2023 and then extend him if you want when he’s 34-35.

Agreed.

Still wish we wouldn’t have spent a 1 on a rb

The center market might be a little pricey this year. They're talking about Reiter getting in excess of $10M per.

Draft defense
Draft more Defense
Then draft extra Defense.

Fill the OL with FA pickups. there's going to be cuts this year like we've never seen due to the Cap decrease.

Pickup a good WR in FA also.

Priority #1 has to be a legitimate swing tackle. A guy who's mostly a RT but can play LT until Fisher is ready.

Both our tackle spots are sketchy as **** going into the season. I'd like to see a tackle and a guard or two picked up in F/A, and then another tackle picked up in the draft.

Due to injury and lack of production there are legitimate holes on this roster and Veach has his work cut out for him this offseason. Surely he has a plan.

I would rather draft one and plug him in if we can.

I just ran through the following:

1) Restructure Chris Jones (saves $11M on 21 cap hit)
2) Extend Mathieu (added 3 years, turned it into a 4/$60M deal, which is roughly market value, structured it so I save $11M on 2021 cap)
3) Extend Eric Fisher for one year. I trimmed his 2021 base to $2m, gave him a $4m signing bonus to, saved $8M on 21)
4) Cut Mitchel Schwartz (simulates a retirement on his part, saves $6M against 21 cap)

That puts the Chiefs at $166M in cap liabilities. If the cap gets chopped to $175M they still can sign rookies without doing anything painful. If it ends up at $185M they still have enough room to make a few moves in FA. If it stays flat at $195M they're in awesome shape.

OT Orlando Brown is available for trade

And don’t get me wrong. I appreciate what Henne and Moore have done for this team, but can we stop with the expensive, old backup QB?

Find a couple veteran ring chasers for DE and WR.

Can't remember where I read this past week, but it sounds like it will be between $180-181M. Veach said they have models for $175-$185M and we'll be in good shape, so it sounds like our guys are confident.

Yeah, I've seen that, but there are also several guys available.

I could see a Mitch Morse reunion being cheaper than $10M/year.

Or, just commit to taking a C in the draft. There are some good ones in there, including my draft crush Quinn Meinerz.

There's been a bunch of speculation. I just don't believe they're going to hit the 21 cap as hard as some are predicting.

Makes a lot more sense to keep it flat in 21 and borrow against 22 and 23 than to rip 14-15 teams all at the same time.

Dropping it $15M in 21 is going to wreak havoc on the FA market... not so much for the top guys, but for all the guys in between it will be a disaster.

No to Morse. We don’t need more injury prone guys on this team.

I don't see it.

They let Morse go because they didn't want to pay him. I can't see him coming back for cheap, not to mention the injuries.

Yeah, and then the NFLPA will get involved, which the NFL really doesn't want to deal with I'm sure.

Isn't he still 31? Will turn 32 in like the middle of next season? Not sure...

I just can’t see them wanting it to be that way. They’ll figure something out to atleast keep it flat

AJ Green will be available and should come very cheaply. He's got to be better then Watkins and he'll be motivated to get a ring and another big deal....

I wish this shit would stop. Green is done.

These owners can shut the **** up. Keep the cap the same.

It's like printing money in their basements isn't enough. For ****'s sake.

He was over playing in the shit hole known as Cincinnati. He might be done but we aren't getting Allen Robinson at some massive discount-despite what a few posters think.

FTR ESPN's Bill Barnwell and the local Bengal websites see it happening:

https://www.cincyjungle.com/2021/2/6...fl-free-agency

If we could grab Meinerz in the 3rd that would be great. I know he looked good in the practices but hopefully the "small school" competition thing makes him available around there.

And no, I have no idea where people are putting guys in their mock drafts.

I loved the "run it back" theme of 2020, but I think it's time for us to move on from a number of vets. If you are an UFA you are most likely gone.

Offense UFA's

Sammy Watkins
Demarcus Robinson
Austin Reiter
Kelechi Osemele
Anthony Sherman
Daniel Kilgore
Le'Veon Bell
Mike Remmers

Osemele was a great story, but I don't know how you give him an another contract after that injury. Liked what he brought, but I just don't think you do it. And I love Sherman, but we NEVER use him. Time to get a cheap youthful replacement at FB if Andy really wants to have one. You probably have to try and keep Remmers.

Defensive RFA's

Alex Okafor
Daniel Sorensen
Bashaud Breeland
Damien Wilson
Tanoh Kpassagnon
Mike Pennel
Antonio Hamilton
Taco Charlton

This list was bigger than I thought it would be, but like above besides maybe a DE, I think let them all walk. Breeland is one of my favorite Chiefs. Love the stability he brings to the secondary, but I don't think we are brining him back.


RFA's - Tender and probably keep them all right?

Darrel Williams
Ben Niemann
Charvarius Ward
Andrew Wylie
Deon Yelder

ERFA - these guys are making the roster.

Nick Keizer
Byron Pringle
Alex Brown

In the draft, it's got to be BPA in the first round. Preferably a DE or LT, but you just can't lock yourself into a position of need. I do think we need to invest or 2nd or 3rd round pick in an offensive lineman. As for the WR position, there just are not the targets available for the Chiefs to spend on a 1st round WR IMO. Especially considering that we can expect CEH to have a much larger role in the offense next season.

Best case is that we figure out something with Fisher and he can come back mid-season. Maybe add another tackle in the draft, but where we really need help is at center. I think that would make a huge difference. Its just never easy finding them in the draft.

Its probably an offseason where a trade would really help things out, just not sure there is one in the works for what we need.

What? Of course it will. Mahomes' cap hit averaged out to around $4-5m over the last three seasons. Next season it'll quintuple and after that, his cap hit will never be below $30m.

He's worth it, you can finesse the cap, the cap is likely to rise over time, and great drafting will help mitigate the impact, but we will have to pay the piper soon. It'll be a lot more difficult to field a championship squad when Mahomes is taking up $50m and $60m worth of cap space.

This is exactly why I'm saying we needed to cash in while we could.

All of these guys made it to and won one Super Bowl relatively early on in their careers. It looked like they were primed to stockpile a few more throughout their careers and yet they were unable to (thus far).

I don't want that to be us.

Give me a Robert Foster or a Keelan Cole. Guys with talent that haven’t been able to play with legitimate QBs in their careers.

I thought it was more that he was becoming concussion prone. I believe he had problems again with it this year.

Are the Bills going to cut Mitch? Seems odd

I know this much. If we don't get new blood on the OL we will have another problem. We beed two new tackles for sure.

Is there just something about the offensive system and playcalls beyond the OL and injuries that are causing a problem? Because it's been mentioned that even with a fully healthy OL last year Nick Bosa was just as destructive and I believe I saw something about Bosa and Barrett having the two highest total pressures for a game in the Super Bowl. Obviously it worked out fine in the end last year, but I'm not sure this is sustainable. And on Sunday they talked about how KC really didn't give any extra help to the OL. I don't know the answer, but something just seems off a bit with their playcalls in the Super Bowl.

Are you seriously comparing this OL to last years?

Nick Bosa is a ****ing beast dumbass. Fisher struggles with power. The 49ers had one of the greatest groups of pass rushers ever assembled, and it still wasn’t enough.

If we had last years OL on Sunday, we win again.

You’re overthinking it because you want another position group to bitch about like always.

This will be an unpopular view but I think Sorenson has to be brought back.

No ****ing way. He’s 31 and can’t cover TEs. He’s expendable.

It's talent. Our offensive live sucked last year too. Especial the inside.

I get that Reid and Co do an outstanding job of producing NFL offensive linemen out of late round draft picks. Guys like LDT are gems when you get them in the 5th round, but he also has a ceiling. So when he goes up against a Donald or someone like that its probably going to be a long day.

We have seen what Reid can do with 5th, 6th, and 7th round offensive line talent, but maybe just maybe we should start off with players with a little more natural talent. Imagine what Reid could do with a 2nd round talent.

The Chiefs recently have struggled against what? Teams with a ton of talent on the defensive line. We have to address it. It's our kryptonite.

No. Time to move on and get younger.

I think Sorenson is about to get a nice contract. Not a big one, but one that makes it difficult for the Chiefs to keep him.

I've always been a Sorenson guy, but sadly i think his time has come to an end.

Don’t do this to me

Well, Niang was a 3rd. Have high hopes for him, that said, I would like to see a center or another tackle in the 2nd this year.

I do too.

I have high hopes for Niang, but that Covid year really adds some question marks. Now if we can have a regular offseason and get guys in, that should help a lot with him.

Bills WR John Brown could be available from what I’m hearing.

He had some serious injuries before that draft-he played them through during his last year but he needed some time off. If anything, the time off did him some good. Allowed his body to heal properly. He's a massive player and should be able to fit right in at RT. He can play guard too but we might have something in Allegretti, and will need the Frenchman so we're not starting all new faces this season.

With LDT coming back the main spots on the line we gotta handle is LT and C (if Reiter leaves). Depth too of course. I think that Niang can take that RT spot from jump street. Hopefully.

Great post, it cuts to the heart of my argument about starting with a base talent level beyond what 5-6-7th rounders bring

They had a 2nd round talent in Rodney Hudson and let him go because they didn't want to pay him.

They replaced him with a 2nd-round talent in Mitch Morse, and between the concussions and his free agent price tag, they decided not to pay him either.

The teams we face in the Super Bowl are likely going to have monsters on the defensive line regardless of who we play as well.

Green Bay, Tampa Bay, San Fransisco, and Los Angeles are the top 4 favored to come out of the NFC. All of them have pass rushing talent that will wreck our shit if the OL isn't properly addressed.

It made perfect sense, especially in a plague year with little offseason to bring as many of your guys back as possible after winning a Super Bowl.

The fact that we were able to bring 20 out of 22 starters or something like that back was a HUGE advantage.

Covid opt-outs and injuries just killed us, especially on the offensive line, and so we fell short of the ultimate goal.

But-this game also exposed a flaw; It takes time to develop 7th rounders and UDFA's into potential NFL quality players. Even then, there is likely a ceiling to their abilities. Yes, nobody could've done better in the situation The Chiefs found themselves in, but the fact is that there's also no real help on the way that you can count on in player development. A bunch of 7th rounders and UDFA's are unlikely to win match-ups against 1st round defensive linemen.

It's time to move the investment in the offensive line up on the priority list; we simply don't have a couple years to try to groom guys to play anymore, and we can't afford to be that short on talent when our opponents are stocking their front 7 with top tier talent.

IF we could run the ball efficiently, we might never punt. It's really that simple. The way to beat The Chiefs is pressure with 4, drop 7 in coverage. When your 4 are better than our 5, you'll win.

If we can run the ball without smoke and mirrors, we can force a defense to play honest. If we can do that, we might go 19-0.

Yep. Protecting Mahomes and being able to establish a legitimate running game are more important immediately in my eyes than a 3rd receiving option or a pass rushing DE.

Sure, but you’re already probably adding guys like Niang and LDT to the OL.

On the other hand, you’re likely losing Watkins/Robinson and Okafor/KPass.

That context closes that gap a little.

And it’s also about positional value with DE. A pass rusher that could add 8-10 sacks opposite of Clark would put this defense in elite territory.

Agree. The money Hudson got on the open market was crazy. We probably should have kept him. I wouldn't have paid Mitch either with his history of concussions.

But drafting guys in the 2nd round and not giving them a second contract, doesn't mean they were mistakes.

In the prime of Mahomes, drafting a guy in the 2nd who comes in and starts and plays well on a rookie contract is exactly what we need. Now when it comes time to pay him, it's going to be a big decision. That's OK. We already won by having contributor on a rookie contract.

Kpass is a 2nd rounder, who we are moving on from. Now he was too much a project for me, but I wouldn't say he's a bust. I'm happy that he was a defensive starter for half the time he was here, I just don't think he's worth a second contract.

And just because we drafted a couple centers in the 2nd round and let them walk, doesn't mean we would do it again. Even if Fisher and Schwartz were 100% healthy, we have to add some young building blocks on the line if we are going compete for championships.

**** you dumbass.

Are you really that ****ing stupid to not understand the tone of my post?

And even if I was just bitching about the OL, I'm just joining the club since just about everyone on here is. But I'm not, I'm looking for a solution.

Barrett and Bosa both had 10+ pressures in each game. Yes, they're both beasts. But that's excessive. So I'm very clearly wondering if there is an issue with the offensive playcalling or system that goes beyond the OL if we had our OL at full strength in 2019 and we still gave up a ton of pressures. Are we relying too much on a deep passing game when we should be sticking with a shorter passing game with the run used a bit more than normal? Or some other issue?

No, I'm not just bitching about the OL. There's no point in bitching about the OL, because everyone knows the injuries killed us. I'm looking deeper at what has led to elite pass rushers absolutely wrecking our OL no matter who we lined up. The common denominator is the play caller and the overall system.

This team isn’t adding 4 rookie offensive linemen to the mix and succeeding. I don’t see Reid or Veach doing that.

Imagine thinking Nick Bosa having 10+ pressures is the same as Barrett doing it....

Bosa is going to get his. He was the best defensive player on the field in that game.

Niang is an unknown commodity in the NFL coming off major surgery and LDT wasn't exactly a bastion of health before he left to fight the pandemic.

Watkins/Robinson and Okafor/Kpass were JAG level guys at best this year. I don't think it'll be too hard to find replacements for them.

Edit: for Niang I mean unknown as to whether he can actually play T or will be relegated to G to start his career

LDT has one year on his contract, and it's not like we are going to give him another contract. Hell, you guys have wanted to cut his ass for years to save like 3M in cap space.

So you already have to plan for his departure.

Yes, Niang is part of the rebuild, but he and Allegretti don't fill the need at LT or Center. We can get by at a one guard spot.

Need a couple vets

I dunno where the money will come from but I’d like Scherff and Kelce

Niang is an “unknown commodity” in the same way that any draft pick would be. You realize that, right? He’s still a 1st round talent that I’m sure they’re expecting to start somewhere next year. The injury shouldn’t be an issue now that he’s had an entire year to get healthy. It appears he’s working out and healthy.

LDT isn’t a sure thing in terms of health, but he should be healthy right now and he’s still an instant upgrade at RG if he returns, and he’ll obviously be penciled in as a starter if that’s the case.

Watkins/Robinson and Okafor/Kpass aren’t just bodies that need to be replaced with more bodies. We need upgrades at both positions along with possibly losing two guys at both. They were already needs to being with. Losing those guys just makes them even moreso a need.

They have to make some investments in the OL. I think they will.

This draft lines up perfectly with what the Chiefs need.

It’s a great WR draft. It’s a great OT draft. It’s a pretty normal DE class.

That just makes me feel like 2 of the first 3 picks will come from WR/OT for sure, and honestly if they went WR-OT-C with their first three picks Id probably think that was pretty solid.

They’d have to spend whatever FA money they could scrape up on DE in that scenario, but I could live with that.

I agree with you.

On one hand, if you add a real pass rusher at DE, your front four could well be dominant. To do that, you're probably going to have to do it in round 1.

I have high hopes for Niang; he's a first round talent that fell to the third due to a hip injury. My theory is that Veach was in on the covid opt-out knowing Niang wasn't 100% yet and basically arranged a red-shirt year. I have no proof of that, just my conspiracy theory. But, we don't know what he is and how soon he will be ready to play and play well.

LDT is a decent player, but I would describe him as an average to above average NFL OG. That's cool if you've got talent around him, he can hold his own.

Watkins I could give a shit about, he never plays anyway. Robinson wouldn't be expensive to retain, but I'd just as soon roll with Pringle anyway, and he'll be even less expensive. But you need to start drafting WR's, for sure. I don't see a huge drop-off in this draft between say, a Terrance Marshall and an Amari Rodgers as far as how they would fit in here. Rodgers is probably a 3rd-4th.

Most importantly, this is a really good OT draft. Judging by draft profiles and scouting reports, for example, Fisher might go late in this first in this draft, where in 2013 he was first overall. I like Fisher, he's a good player, but what a shitty year to pick first that was.

I like Mayfield a lot, but we'd have to take him at #31. Eichenberg, Radunz, or Little are all solid LT's but may fall all the way to #64.

Just my thoughts.

It’s a number game. We aren’t going to replace all 5 starters with new guys in one offseason.

If LDT wants to come back, I’d assume he will be because we’re already likely losing Reiter and I’m 99% sure they don’t want Wylie starting again next year.

I didn’t even want LDT back earlier in the season, but with all of the injuries and unknowns, you almost have to bring him back if you can.

Well, by definition, what you're saying is-We'd have 5 new starters compared to September 2020.

I think you're right, I think we have no choice.

Alegretti and LDT make a fair OG pair as long as you upgrade C.

Aaron Donald led the NFL with 98 total pressures and TJ Watt was second with 75, per PFF. That's roughly 6 a game for AD and 5 a game for Watt. You don't see how 10+ pressures in a game is excessive? There have been plenty of dominant pass rushers in the Super Bowl, nobody in recent memory has put up the same amount as Bosa and Barrett.

Again, I'm not bitching. I'm asking, if a dominant DE is capable of playing out of their minds even when going up against a pro bowl left tackle in Fisher, why are we not doing more to help the OL? We went without a touchdown against Tampa. Our offense was held in check for 3 quarters against SF. The KC offense clearly hasn't been nearly as explosive in the Super Bowl outside of the 4th qtr last year.

I don't recall the exact stat, but something was posted in regard to KC not giving extra help to the OL despite all the injuries. You really don't see something off about that? In 8 quarters of Super Bowl football we've seen maybe 1 quarter where the offense was dominant.

I can't emphasize enough, I'm not bitching. I'd sincerely like to know an answer as to what is different about our offensive performance between the Super Bowl and every other game where we do look dominant. Are our we just getting outcoached?

Bosa played his ****ing ass off because it was the SB, and Fisher struggles with power. It’s really ****ing simple dude, and not a sign of some major issue with our “OL scheme”.

I've said it before, but I'll say it again here since it's the answer to your question.

The answer to the question of "how do you beat the Chiefs" is this:

Pressure with 4, cover with 7. If you can get to Mahomes with 4 before his weapons can clear coverage, you can win.

We can't run the ball, so you don't have to respect that really. So if you have a dominant front 4, you can shut us down. Because our line sucks. Even with Fisher and Schwartz last year, it worked for 3 quarters until SF's line started to wear out.

We've got maybe 3 more seasons of peak Hill with peak Kelce and now CEH. We need to build a line good enough to keep defenses honest and Mahomes upright long enough to get it to them.

Bosa's a great player, and great players always get theirs.

We've been inadequate on the line since Morse left, to be honest.

And with no Fisher and no Schwartz we got whooped.

Talent wins.

I'm really just interested to see what Veach does with the offensive line. A good Vet FA anywhere along the line would help a ton, but that's not the easiest thing to do with the cap situation.

Can we swap LDT for Mitch Morse? LDT would be closer to work LOL

Exactly.

It's all about positional value period. You don't just draft for need, that's how you end up wasting draft picks and still sucking.

Yea I agree, but we were talking specifically about ranking needs.

People are way overreacting to some of this.

OT is certainly a need but it isn't so much of a need that we just throw away all of our capital to address it. Knee jerk reactions lead to mistakes.

Thankfully, I have faith the Reid and Veach will address this with pragmatism, not panic.

Yup. It’s like they don’t understand that you are already adding a 3rd round pick and 1st round talent at the position without doing anything at all. Niang is basically locked in as part of your 2021 draft class.

We need another OT either through free agency or the draft, but it doesn’t have to be with the 31st pick.

Willie Gay is also almost like an added pick given the limited role he had. I can’t wait to see that guy go. I know it won’t be perfect but it will be an upgrade with the athleticism alone.

There is something to be said for over correcting a position based on one game. Yes, the OL needs pieces. But they also just need to stay healthier than this past season above all. Which even if they did have injury problems again, the two opt-outs on top of it made the unit look catastrophically bad Sunday. That won’t be the case next year.

Take BPA aside from QB or RB and figure the rest out later. Even if you end up picking a guy where they already seem deep, there’s nothing wrong with making a position group overwhelmingly dominant. Just pick good players.

WR is our biggest need IMO but I think DE is very close and it might be better to use the 31st pick on one there if there’s someone worthy.

2nd rd WR’s are common. With such a deep class I can see a good one being available at 63.

This is why I’m very annoyed that we aren’t getting a 3rd round comp pick for EB.

If we had 2 3rd’s, we could go DE/WR in the first 2 rounds then trade up for OL, or stay put and grab 2.

I'm hoping that someone will move up for Trask or Mac Jones and allow us to pick up an extra 3rd and some more currency.

Carolina is desperate need of a QB as are niners. Depending on what happens with Watson and Wentz, maybe they make something happen there.

As to for the 1st pick. Yeah, I'm hoping we go DE for our 1st pick. We should be able to grab a solid base end at the very least. Lots of big-bodied 6'5-6'7 260+ guys that seem to be projected in that range.

Morse was as unreliable to stay healthy as Sammy Watkins.

No we're not. Everybody just watched what happens to this offense when you throw 5 JAGS out in front of Mahomes. That bullshit people were spewing about Reid being able to scheme around anything? Yeah, myth ****ing busted. In embarrassing and humiliating fashion. And the guys that are coming back really aren't anything that special.

We beat a better defense/DLine last year with the guys who are coming back (minus Mitch). I too had hoped that Andy would find a way to scheme around all the injuries but you can't scheme against jailbreaks on every damn snap.

Even with this shitty line, we were like a few plays/**** ups from this game being completely different. I am not even talking about the penalties.

We actually had the perfect play dialed up on multiple occasions only for someone to **** it up. The breakdowns are all there on YouTube.

Fisher isn't playing with a blown achilles.