100% agree.

If you 3-peat, you’ve essential beaten the game at that point.

Nothing wrong with starting a new play through.

They can do a reset, but do it at the expense of the defense. A reset cannot involve not immediately addressing the offense enough so that Mahomes continues his downward trajectory. Fix the tackle position, find a good running back, continue to add talent at receiver.

They did though. Unfortunately Rashee, Hollywood and Pacheco all got hurt.

OL has been bad at LT but the underlying problem is all of our explosion but Worthy was sitting on IR and replaced with older, slower declining veterans.

Really sucks that we never got to see Rice, Hollywood and Worthy together. Offense would look drastically different

Which is why I don’t understand some of the Veach blame. He can’t control injuries. Especially, the freak Rice injury.

Maybe some blame for LT. I guess the Cam Robinson trade would’ve been the better move.

I’m growing increasingly concerned about the future of our OL. Thuney has 1 season left on his deal, Taylor has a team option after next season and isn’t the longterm answer, Trey Smith is the top FA in the league this offseason despite a down year, and LT has been a turnstile with no clear answer.

Feels like we might need another rebuild on the OL soon. We need answers at LT, at least one but maybe two guard spots, and could benefit from a RT upgrade. We have some guys developing but the uncertainty around these guys leaves room to bring in additional competition.

I’m thinking resign Trey Smith and draft OT in the 1st.

We just drafted two OGs in Nourzad and Hanson, have an UDFA OG with some promise in Mettauer, and can bring back Caliendo at OG who has been very solid. That's not even considering that Morris is probably best served moving inside. I'd say OG is not an issue. We do need to address OT. I do think that Suamataia develops and handles one of those spots, he has all the tools. Like his cousin, that may come at RT but we'll see.

Feeling better, thank you lol

A rock solid LT would really make me feel better though.

You have to solve LT for at least a couple of years. You need a plus pass rusher to add to Jones/Karlaftis.

You need to build the secondary around Mcduffie, who will not be cheap.

You've got two young talented WR's in Rice and Worthy. You have some weaponry.

I think you have to figure out what the next era is going to be built around, and if it were me, I'd be building the offensive and defensive lines. Thing is, where we draft, we're going to have to pay for it in free agency.

Depending on where you look it seems like we’ll get a chance to draft one of the following OTs @ #32: Jones Jr, Milum, Williams, Ersery, Simmons, Savaiinaea, or Conley Jr.

Curious on CPs opinion of the above names? Are they developmental or bookend LTs? Who fits our offense best? Which will be out of reach and who’s most likely to fall to us?

Feels like we should target LT or Edge in the first.

With McDuffie as cornerstone of the secondary plus Rice and Worthy here cheap for at least the next three or four years, yeah, I’d keep prioritizing the lines above all.

If the lines are good, with Mahomes you’re always gonna be in that mix of 4-5 legit SB contenders late in the year.

I agree, let’s work on the trenches. Plenty of options already on the roster at WR, I’d like to see a CB addition but it’s not my biggest concern.

I’m intrigued by Simmons potential to fall to #32 due to injury and penalty concerns, his camp says he’ll be ready to go by NFL training camp but I’m assuming that’s a likely bit of propaganda representing an aggressive timeline to keep his stock high in the draft. Ultimately, our OL isn’t bad but could use some improvement, we can roll with what we have and wait patiently for him to heal up before throwing into the mix. Feels like we’re one solid LT away from being a top tier OL that the NFL pundits worship again, especially if we’re able to retain Smith and he locks back into his previous play level.

Veach tried like hell to sign Trey and after watching a game in person I see what Bolton’s value is. The defense functions so well in large part bc of his brain. Every play Bolton was telling guys where to line up or what signs there were.

Remember the Nazeeh Johnson TFL on the screen? Bolton telegraphed it to him pre-snap. He knew it was coming. Same with the Hicks INT. Bolton showed a hand signal as the ball was about to be snapped and that’s when Hicks/Cook rotated. He knew the ball was going to Nico and not Dell.

If Veach gets Bolton and Trey done I think they go for DL, corner and more playmaker help with the first 4 picks. If they lose one of Bolton/Trey I think it’s DL, corner, replacement for who they lose and a weapon.

3 weeks later, checking back in while the vibes are high....

The thing that's shifting for me now is maybe we do pay George.

Obviously there's a ceiling there, you can't pay him top of the market cash. However, he's getting better. You can see he rushes with more of a plan now. He seems to know exactly when to use his spin move and it works.

If he will do this type of stuff we've seen the past couple weeks against top competition in the playoffs, I have zero issue paying that guy. He stands for all the right stuff. Super young. Great head on his shoulders and will play his ass off until he hangs up his cleats.

It's not all that different than Tamba was for us. Cornerstone group of the defense for 2025-2027 is going to be Jones, Karlaftis, Bolton probably**, McDuffie, and Hicks.

You keep a nice core like that in place and you'll never slouch down to 2018 levels. Look at Buffalo. They had to ripcord their D, and it eventually is catching up to them now. They're another draft away from having it back in a stable place in the secondary.

Let’s say George has a great postseason.

Would you at least listen to offers?

Sacks aren’t everything, but Brian Burns has had similar sack production in his career. His trade comp was pick 39 and a 5th the next year.

Let’s say George commands something similar.

You either get George or an early 2nd (say pick 45) and the cap space.

I'll always listen but if he has a great postseason, it's gonna take a lot to bite. We still have two more really cheap years left on his deal.

Going back to my OP this morning, he's not a guy I worry about getting fat and happy off a contract extension. I think he brings a consistent no-nonsense approach that pays dividends with the other guys around the defense long term.

Roland-Wallace has done a fine job in the slot the last 4 or so games. They will draft a corner but probably not until rd 3 at the earliest

I think I'd re-sign Omenihu; he and George work nicely with Jones.

I'm still hoping we get something from Humphries that says he could be the guy for a couple of years, because other than that it's taking a run at Cam Robinson. That's fine, too.

Probably letting Smith walk.

Ty Robinson from the Huskers might be a nice addition to the defensive line.

If like to see a remake of the DT position after this year. Start thinking about life after Chris Jones. I know this is bad timing as we played well without him on Christmas. But I don’t think it is sustainable with the guys we have inside. Look to get a little younger and higher ceiling. I think we have 3 quality prospects on the practice squad this year too. And I would look to add a guy in round 2-4.

Mike Pennel has been a really nice player. And he is one I would think about bringing back as a run stuffer only.
Turk Wharton is a dime a dozen. I know he has played well. But let him go out and sign a contract and get a comp pick back for him
Derrick Nnadi needs to go. I haven’t gotten the fascination with him other than he knows the system.

Siaki Ika is a guy that makes Pennel replaceable. And he is younger and more athletic.
Fabian Lovette is an intriguing guy. And would be an upgrade to Nnadi. Can back up Ika.
Marlon Tuipulotu is also interesting and could be a Wharton type replacement with better run stopping skills.
Malik Herring I would like to see moved inside as a pass rush option also a Wharton toe replacement with more size.

2-4 Round draft guys to bring in.

TJ sanders 6’4” 290 South Carolina
Deone Walker 6’6” 340 Kentucky
Jared Ivey 6’6” 285 Ole Miss
Jordan Burch 6’6” 290 Oregon
Riley Mills 6’5” 305 Notre Dame
Shemar Turner 6’4” 300 Texas A&M

Josh Simmons IMO fits what Andy looks for in a LT a smooth mover who wins with athleticism. Suamataia is also athletic, but evidently he's mentally a soft bitch.

Tershawn Wharton had sneaky solid season with 6.5 sacks, props to him!

Re-visiting this thread.

QB: Mahomes will need to be extended, and have his contract reworked. Wentz we can re-sign, I don't really care. They need to have a reliable vet in the position. I don't think that's Wentz, but who knows. They have two 7ths this year, so they can drop one of them on a reserve QB.

RB: Pacheco is entering the last year of his deal, and I'll be interested to see if Steele develops. But this team needs to drop C+ money on a RB2. If there's good value at RB on the 2nd day of the draft, then pull the trigger there. Let Hunt walk.

WR: The Rice/Worthy combo is going to be lethal, and Brown should be affordable on a prove-it year. If Hopkins wants back cheap, I'm okay with that. Watson is cheap, bring him back. With Rice/Worthy/Brown/Watson, I'd be okay with a lower-level investment in FA. Maybe Hardman. No draft picks necessary, because the top three WR positions are all taken.

TE: The second biggest question mark of the entire offseason is Will Kelce Retire. I personally think he will. Noah Gray and Hendershot give you a decent one-two punch, but an investment in FA or the draft will be necessary.

OT: The biggest question of the offseason. The Chiefs need to package a 3rd and a pick year to go get the OT they want. They have to solve the LT equation, and a cheap five year LT is going to be invaluable. Taylor is your RT for at least another year, and Wanya can play swing tackle.

IOL: I think you can extend Thuney, let Trey walk, play Caliendo at guard. I don't know how much the team likes their depth at IOL with Suamataia, Nourzad, and Henson. A vet signing may be necessary.

DT: Wharton has probably played his way out of KC. Pennel can be re-signed or replaced by another plugger that Spags likes. The Chiefs will probably need to drop a draft pick at the "Wharton" position.

DE: I would like to think the Chiefs can bring back Omenihu at decent value, on a cheap one-year deal. That would give them Karlaftis/Omenihu/Danna/FAU. I'd like to think they'd extend Karlaftis this offseason? Can they? Maybe.

LB: I let Bolton walk. He's insanely talented, but he's going to be too expensive. You can slide Tranquill to the Mike, let Leo man the station at Sam, and sign a good Will in free agency -- my vote would be for Willie Gay.

CB: McDuffie will get an extension. From there, you've still got Watson/Williams/Roland-Wallace/Nazeeh. If good value falls in the draft, take it. But I'd prefer they just roll with what they've got.

S: Beg Justin Reid to take a deal. I'm guessing he won't (nor should he), so he's gone. That does give you Hicks/Cook/Conner. A vet signing here makes sense and wouldn't be expensive, I don't think. Same thing I said before with value in the draft. If a true free safety falls in the draft, you go get them.

ST: extend Araiza if he's cheap. If he's not, trust Toub to find a guy who is.

I do think you gotta pay Bolton OR Reid. They're the communicators of the defense. You lose both in the same offseason, you're playing with fire.

And let's be honest, Reid is the older guy, and there's a replacement already waiting in the wings.

Bolton is still only 24. There's just a lot going in favor of paying him.

I think it’s a Goldilocks scenario: Trey will be too expensive, Reid will be most affordable, and Bolton will be in between but you can only choose one. From that perspective I’d choose Bolton but if you can rework Mahomes and extend Thuney to free up space go ahead and sign Trey if OL is the biggest concern.

Not a fan of paying Smith. He's gonna get a huge bag.

Say the Cowboys do in fact want to move Parsons

Would you do our 1 this year, the 3rd from the Titans and a pick next year?

I would rather go after Chase Young who on the surface had 5.5 sacks but had 59 total pressures this year. And I don’t think he’s gonna cost a lot. That’s if Omenihu walks.

He’d be a great FA addition

It would cost significantly more than that.

I've wanted him multiple times here, they just never seem interested.

A 1, 2 and a 3? I dunno.

Yeah, and the run defense being as good as it is has a lot to do with Bolton.

And as you noted, there's really nobody behind him.

The staff does seem to love Reid and what he does in terms of communication on the defense, but at a point you run out of money. If we want to address OT with a veteran presence, we can't keep Reid. And we do appear to have a replacement for him in Hicks.

The issue with Bolton is just price. He can make things really onerous for us because I think we're gonna pay him. Will he go the Creed route and get every dime he can? Or can we do some creative contract work to make that more palatable for the next couple of years?

But ultimately I think Bolton's coming back and I'm gonna have a hard time being to upset about it. I really like the player and the guy. I just hope he's not gonna break the bank. Realistically $15 million is the floor for him but if he wanted to break our balls, he could probably push that nearer $18 million or more. Or just take it to FA and make us pay out the nose.

I really hope it doesn't come to that.

Fastest way to be a whipping boy on a football team is to demand that massive contract. Because unless you end up in DPOY conversations, you're never going to satisfy most people. And I don't want Bolton to sour the fanbase on him - he's just a damn fun guy to root for.

If it wasn’t for Anthony Hitchens, I’d probably be out on paying Bolton.

The difference between the two is so damn obvious. Knowing what we have in Bolton is hard to pass on. Because we know we can spend a good amount of money on a far worse linebacker. Bolton is a bit too important to replace in the upcoming draft with our other needs.

Bolton, flaws and all, is probably worthwhile to bring back. My only concern, as someone else said too, is that it always seems like he’s dinged up a bit.

We went into this year, knowing that Veech had to solve our WR problem and he did a great job at that. Let’s hope he can do the same with our LT problem for 2025. We really do need a long-term solution there. I am hoping Humphrey will magically Provide it. But if not, we’re going to have to save cap room to sign the best free agent available or to get somebody in a trade like we did for Orlando Brown. I think it’s unrealistic to expect we can solve the LT problem in the draft, although we can hope Kingsley takes a giant step forward . But that is not something we can count on.

Even if we could get Parsons for that amount of draft capital, which I doubt, we could not afford the cap space he would take.

A few other lower key FA’s I would love here:

Mike Gesicki TE-if Kelce retires I would go after this guy. Perfect fit. Have loved ever since he was a prospect
Ty Johnson RB
Elijah Moore WR-if Hollywood doesn’t return

I saw that Hunter Nourzad gave up zero pressures/sacks in Denver. He played C but could play RG IMO.

Will be an interesting camp battle next year if Trey leaves

Defense has been stout all year without Omenihu, I love him on the roster but don’t see any need to pay him big money after missing a season due to injury and would prioritize Bolton or Smith instead.

I wonder what Reid is going to be worth on the open market.

He's met if not exceeded expectations here, but the safety market is a mess. Constantly good players getting cut at the position. You'd think he could get more than his $14M AAV from the prior deal, but if the market/draft has any depth to it, he may not.

All I know is that we've got 4 picks in the top 100, and we need to land 4 good football players. I don't even give a shit what positions they play. We need good, controlled cheap young talent, period.

We also have Jared Wiley at TE.

Wiley & Grey could be the future!

As bad as he was in coverage and on the blitz this year, he'd be lucky to get 4M AAV. He better be banking on his history and, hopefully, a playoff turnaround.

Man, you guys have really talked me back into Chase Young, I thought he'd signed a longer term deal in NO.

What would a contract look like there? I'd take him over Omenihu methinks.

3 years 45 mil get it done?

Chase Young has the chance to be a Trey Hendrickson type signing for us.

He’s top 10 in pressures. He’d absolutely be a 10+ sack guy here. He’s not super valued now either.

It would be amazing having that guy here

With Jones and Karlaftis on the line with him I think he'd have a chance. He does seem to be improving steadily. It would be nice to snag him ahead of a real break out.

If you're confident you can keep Young motivated, I'm all in on that. Even at the expense of Omenihu. And if it works and he finally starts hitting his potential... shoot. There's your next potential defensive centerpiece.

It would be pretty Chiefsy to bring in a former #2 ovr pick and he actually look like that dude.

Sign Chase Young and draft Walter Nolan... Terror of a DL right there.

Travis Kelce was injured as a rookie and basically missed the entire season.

Kind of like...Wiley.

I'm not saying...I'm just saying.

:D

Whoever you hired to give him the Nancy Kerrigan - Tonya Harding treatment was worth every penny!!

Why wouldn't we just convert his roster bonus and/or salary to a signing bonus like normal? It's pretty simple to drop his cap hit to $40 million for the next several years. I don't see any reason to redo his deal ever, unless he demands more money down the line.