Yeah, me too.

He’s just a little slow footed for LT. Could be a good RT in a power oriented system, I guess. But I don’t see him at T for KC.

I think they band-aid the LT position for 2021 season while Fisher rehabs.

How Fisher rehabs will ultimately dictate how the Chiefs proceed from there.

If his rehab goes well and he's back to full strength, then I believe the Chiefs will resign Fisher.

I dunno what to think about Schwartz. The msg board rumors about him retiring are just rumors. Could be true, we just don't know. He still has 1yr left on his deal and Sept 2021 is still 7mo away.

Either way, I think the Chiefs need to draft a OT. Niang sitting out this season kinda sucks.

Don't have to draft a OT in the 1st rd though. Tbh, I prefer BPA at 32.

Good thing about Mahomes, is that he can mask-over a lot of bad OL play.

If I had to say anything its alot more about the 3-cone and change of direction ability/ability to snap off routes for this offense. Robinson is a 6.77 3-cone, Pringle is 6.87, Watkins 6.95, Hill 6.53, Hardman is 6.75. So, you can kind of see from that that all of them are relatively quick in terms of change of direction. As a rule, 6.80 to 7.0 is good and sub 6.8 is outstanding. Not a guy over 7.0 on the list of regular performers. Kemp and Dieter would be exceptions, well actually Kemp ran a 6.99 at his pro-day iirc, but anyhow we don't see them play anything but special teams.

Some idiot from The Draft Network wrote an article earlier this year trying to say receivers should stop running the drill, arguing it's not an important measurement for receivers. He'd be correct if you're looking at a straight-line, jump-ball receiver where I'd put much more emphasis on vertical, but we don't deploy those. It's one of the most important ones, and has long been considered the most important overall measurement in football.

If I'm looking at a Reid receiver, I'd be most interested in studying the guy's ability to snap routes at the top and his ability to change direction to create YAC in the open field. If he can do those, he's on the radar.

They could do that, but I think there's a real chance they pass on giving Fisher a 3rd contract.

It makes sense to draft a replacement today and let them play RT for the year while Niang spends a year getting back into football shape for 2021. Draft pick moves to LT in 2022, Niang to RT.

If the Texans decide to blow it up, would you trade 32 for Tunsil?

Would be tricky to make it work against the cap for KC - he carries hits of 16.5, 17.5, and 18.5 the next three years.

The Texans would also absorb a $10M cap hit. I’m not certain that works for either of them.

That said, I would absolutely trade #32 for some tackle help as long as it isn’t a one-year rental.

I know the Lions just extended Decker, but that’s a guy that would work well if they decided to move him, and he has a super low 2021 cap hit to boot.

Deckard woudl be my choice if possible.

Orlando Brown, jr., a 3rd round pick of the Ravens that filled in for Stanley, wants a LT gig and is reportedly refusing to go back to the RT position.

Considering he's a 2 time Pro Bowler, I'd offer #32 and one of the 4th round comp picks and call it a day.

I'd even throw in next year's 4th to make the deal happen.

**** the Ravens. They can have a 2nd round pick and like it.

It's worth considering. He will never play another snap in Baltimore.

Sounds great on paper, but Brown just doesn’t fit the profile.

He’s more of a power/gap run first offense T. I don’t see them making a trade for a T like that.

Decker is more along the lines of the type of T they would want.

My idea. Credit me any time you bring it up please and thanks

If you want credit maybe get his ****ing name right?

:)

That may be, as I've never sat down to actually watch him play. I remember being surprised that he lasted until the 3rd round after playing well at Oklahoma but I lost track of him until just this week.

I saw the Tweet earlier this week and knowing that he was drafted and coached by Harbaugh, thought he'd be a guy that could step in and start immediately.

It's too bad that he's not a scheme fit because at age 24, he's already been a two time Pro Bowler.

I don’t see why the Lions trade Decker. He’s 26 and can protect whatever QB they decide to go with.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a great thought and well worth a discussion. I wouldn’t completely rule it out.

At the end of the day, I think the Chiefs end up drafting a T somewhere in the first 2 days, likely in round 1 or 2.

If you can hit on Niang and another young T, that would really help us financially for the next few years.

For sure, if you can get cheaper at tackle, it gives you a lot of flexibility to go get playmakers. Fisher and Schwartz are the 5th and 8th-highest cap hits on the team, respectively.

This is why I really think it's going to be an OT at #32.

It certainly makes sense, provided there's an appropriate player there.

There were rumors that an OT could be on the table last year and Ezra Cleveland was a name to look out for.

I bet he was on the draft board, just not high enough to garner the 32nd pick. But this year I’m not sure if OT will be worth it at 32. It obviously needs to be a worthy pick instead of a need but I trust Veach to make that call.

We’ve got Niang, hopefully Remmers, Prince Tega-Wanogho and Yasir Durant along with other guys who can play tackle in a pinch such as Wylie, Rankin and LDT.

Maybe Veach can get a trade with a team that drafted an OT and new leadership is willing to part with them while they are still on their rookie deal like we did with Rankin?

Like Taylor Moton?

If Veach can do with the o-line group what he's done with the DBs, we might as well start naming streets after him. I'd love to see it.

:swoons:

I do wonder if the Eagles are motivated to trading Lane Johnson.

They need to trim so much cap, it’s going to be tough and require creativity.

Johnson is 30 and still has a lot left in the tank. He’s under a solid contract that would be a little less tough to scrunch under the cap than signing Moton probably would be.

If we can get out from under Schwartz if he's done, I'd absolutely look to trade form a guy that another team needs to move from.

This year the vet market could be nice.

I don't see them trading for anybody. Picking up cheap free agents, sure.

If they think Fisher is done and don't intend to bring him back, 32 for a young LT under contract elsewhere would be nice.

I'm just not as worried about the money this offseason. They'll figure it out.

This isn't a normal year.

If the cap stays flat - what I think is going to happen - it will end up being a pretty normal year.

KC has flexibility with Jones to restructure if needed and free up a lot of room. Pair that with an extension of Mathieu and some potential cap relief from Fisher and Schwartz, and KC will have some room to manuever.

This.

I just think they've got so much room to maneuver stuff around.

They just signed Jones. Not sure it's a good idea to keep moving stuff to the back end of the contract (same with Clark).

Hopefully they can extend HB and get some relief with Fisher and Schwartz but they have to recoup those signing bonuses, which can get iffy if the player doesn't want to pay it back. Lots of teams end up settling and not getting it all.

He doesn't have any signing bonus, though. Just those injury guarantees.

That contract has looked like it was designed, from the jump, to have a restructure done and convert a roster bonus/base salary into a signing bonus.

If they add a year to the end of the deal, they could convert that roster bonus in 21 to a signing bonus and drop his cap hit for 21 by $15M.

Everything I've seen to date is that the cap is going down, likely to 181 million. I wouldn't count on flat, but that'd be awesome if it were true.

Just heard today from a couple talking heads that it might be possible for the Chiefs to take a T in the first. I don't really care one way or another, but just always assumed we'd take either a DE or a WR in the first and second.

Blue-sky minute:
If we did take a T in the first, then what's more likely in the 2nd?

I still see a lot of speculation they’ll borrow against 2022 to keep it mostly flat, which is what makes the most business sense when 1/2 the league is over the $175M mark.

Keeping it flat would be a rather large outlay. If you do that, then I think it's more likely that you're seeing another flat year thereafter. So, do you take the hit in one year or do you bank on growth over the 2019 figures immediately? At the rate we're going, we may still be seeing covid precautions affecting 2021. I hate being that conservative but I don't like projecting against anything right now.

My opinion, at this point, is to borrow 50% of normal cap growth, which would be about 3.5%, applied against the current cap figure of 198 million (yields approx 6.9 million) and add it to whatever cap figure they end up with. If it's projected at 176 million, then you end up at 183 million.

As long a Mahomes is KC's QB/Veach the GM...this teams runs through it's top offensive skill positions.

They are in the SB with 4 out 5 starters gone from the o-line. Does anyone think the are in the same position if Hill or Kelce were lost in game 4?

You have to factor in aging vets/FAs/reclamation projects that will take a discount to play here...Chiefs will have the "Manning effect" for the foreseeable future...

Mahomes elusiveness make drafting a 1st round OT not as urgent as other teams.

From my understanding, it's all about the new Broadcast Rights Deals, which the NFL is currently negotiating.

If the networks and NFL can agree to new deals before the new league year begins in March, the cap will not go down in 2021 and any losses will be spread over a 3-5 year period, so that there is zero impact moving forward.

If the deals aren't completed, no one, not the NFLPA or NFL Front Office, has any idea what the cap implications will be for 2021.

I think you're more than spot on here Dane. I recall it being a hot debate last year and alot of those renew for the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Hopefully they can get things ironed out and spread it out. Some teams are in far worse shape than us if they don't.

Yep.

This team needs to keep stocking playmakers.

Yeah I think this is where I am starting to lean simply bc Fisher is still young. He’ll likely be out most of next year but still has a few years left after that.

I’d keep Remmers to go with Niang and Wylie as the swing tackle while adding more projects like Prince Tegha-Wanogho as depth.

I know some guys are wanting that Purdue WR but he’s too small. I can’t emphasize enough how much we need a bigger receiver that can block and give us what Sammy and Kelce do.

Honestly I would have no problem drafting the TE from PSU if the receivers are gone. Just more weapons for Patrick and that kid wouldn’t be paid a lot of money until Kelce is 37. By that time Kelce is either done or he’s not going to get big money anymore.

You want skill guys, but at some point you can only have so many on the field at one time. You need two good tackles.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">&quot;Anything over $185M we&#39;re in good shape but we&#39;re prepared for $175M, too.&quot; - <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Chiefs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Chiefs</a> GM Brett Veach on preparing for the various cap possibilities</p>&mdash; Sports Radio 810 WHB (@SportsRadio810) <a href="https://twitter.com/SportsRadio810/status/1356714615816794116?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 2, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

It woudl be such a bloodletting for some teams, I can't imagine the owners will let it happen. I would guess they figure out a way to atleast keep it flat.

You may only need those tackles for one year though.

This team just can't afford a new center and two new tackles with all the other needs they have.

It would be a crying shame to have a top 10 offensive line in 3-4 years and have nothing at WR or TE because we stopped acquiring them.

Does anybody REALLY want to be the ****ing Colts?

I am asking:

If you don't think you can catch up with the talent on a SB winning team, don't you lean toward getting a lot of change in personnel and at the same time dump a bunch of players into Free Agency.

That invites a bear bias in salary cap. You are looking to erode the distance in play between haves and have nots in known talent. I don't know how each team at the top and bottom of play looks in their cap and obligations but there are 24 teams that didn't make the playoffs and may be looking for reshuffle of each teams players.

The Colts don’t have Mahomes, so while I understand the comparison it’s not apples to apples.

I don't think we have to worry about that. Aside from last year, the Chiefs have drafted at least one pass catcher in every draft since 2004. They have 5 mid-round draft picks to acquire one this year in a draft heavy with mid-round talent at the position. I fret not.

Agreed. And Reid is not a fan of being weak at T.

This draft is deep at OL too. You can't just zero in on OT or you'll end up with someone that can't actually step in and play. That would be the worst possible scenario - draft a 1st round tackle and have to sign two stop gaps anyway.

WHA?

Respectfully, we would never be The Colts.

Also, we're loaded with weapons, and the likelihood that we'll just stop looking at offensive weapons is nil.

Worrying about 3 to 4 years down the road when you have glaring deficiencies makes no sense.

It would seem, based on the mocks I'm seeing and draft grades that this class of OT's is talented and deep; and it's possible to get a day one starter perhaps as late the end of the second/top of the third.

It seems to be a very deep WR class too; and honestly, I see not all that much space between the first rounders and the third and fourth rounders. At any rate, zero chance any drafted WR starts in year one in this offense. ZERO. It ain't happening. He'd have some play packages, just like Reid does with all of his new toys until they have digested enough to play the whole offense. That doesn't generally happen until year 2 at the earliest. I also don't expect there to be a huge problem bringing either Robinson or Pringle back, it's not like they're going to get huge offers. And they should bring one back, and they should still draft at least a middle round talent to groom.

DE is also a need, and is an area where I DO see some drop-off once you get into the middle rounds. Still, some guys may fall, but I feel like you won't get a 'difference maker' type beyond round two. You can get some solid players later, though.

Um, yeah? That's what I said in my last post. :D

And while I don't completely agree (there are WR's that could contribute day 1 if both Sammy and DRob are let go) on the WR, my point was this:

If you take an OT at #32, he HAS to start day 1. If he doesn't, you've just thrown away a ton of value.

We can afford to have a WR slow ramp into the offense. We can't afford to take an OL and have them not be a starter.

If you're going to draft for need, you have to be damn sure you fill the need.

um, yeah, that's what I said. :)

I think it needs to be DE or OT in rounds one and two, personally. Possibly in either order, based on mocks.

Andy has always been able to develop WR's. That I'm not so worried about.

And absolutely if you take a T at 32, he starts day one.

Excellent point.

Kelce got 145 targets, Hill 135, Hardman 62...

Some here bitch and moan about Hardman noting being used more, and we all agree that CEH will be more involved in the passing game moving forward, but yet some want to spend a first round pick on a WR. I just don't get it. Yeah we need to replenish the position, but I don't think it requires high draft picks. I mean we have the best QB on the planet. I'm pretty sure he can create stars.

See Aaron Rodgers.

LMAO Good grief, this is way over the top melodramatic. Just because we're most likely going to spend a single Offseason building our OL back up after both our bookends suffered at best significantly career altering injuries doesn't mean we're never going to be able to find more offensive skill position players.

I just don't get all of the panic about the offensive line.

The past few nights, the NFL Network has replayed the 2018 regular season game against the Patriots as well as the AFC Championship game, and regardless of who has started, the line performed fine, whether it was Wylie or LDT or Cam Erving at LG or any iteration.

I think there's a better than good chance that the Chiefs starting offensive line will be either Fisher or a fill-in at LT, Allegretti, Reiter, LDT and Wylie, if Schwartz is actually retires.

I think it would be great if the Chiefs can re-sign Remmers and Wiz as backups, leaving Niang and a draftee to battle out at LT. I could see them snagging another IOL from the 5th-7th, watch the guy sit for a year, then move into the RG or Center position. But I just cannot envision a scenario in which they draft a pair of tackles and a center while forcing them to start the 2021 season.

That just doesn't jibe with Veach and Reid's philosophy.

Reiter is gone. No way do we pay that much money to keep him.

But I’m not overly worried about the offensive line either.

Sure, I completely agree but I just have a hard time believing that any team will offer him the kind of money that Spotrac is projecting. It would be great for him and his family if he can snag $11 million per but that really seems to be an egregious number for a 29 year old center.

It wouldn't surprise me to see him back on a backloaded 2 year, $12-15 million dollar deal with a minimal cap hit in 2021 because Reid really likes "His guys" and Reiter definitely fits that description.

The Chiefs went 5-3 with Cam freaking Erving at Left Tackle so I don't think the situation is as dire as some believe.

A midround WR you should keep your eye on is Josh Imatorbhebhe of Illinois.

This guy has all the tools to be a really good X. Just needs coaching.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3Y_2REHPWl4" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

THis is a good point. Don't forget Fisher was playing at 50% when we played the Saints and we did pretty well. Would I prefer Fisher at LT? Obviously. But Andy has 2 weeks to scheme and there are a lot of things that he can do in those two weeks to compensate for some O-line weakness.

Then you can't just take any of these guys.

Several of the prospects being discussed will be GUARDS in the NFL. And a handful more will require time to develop.

So it isn't as simple as "take the OT available at 32". It's a lot more complicated than that.

It's going to take more than an offseason to replenish the line and if some people around here had their way, you know damn well that what I'm talking about is accurate.

He needs a lot more than just coaching. He's extremely raw.

There are people here that were saying the entire IOL needed replaced prior to the Fisher injury and now they're saying we need two tackles.

So... coaching?

Maybe it's due to the small sample size or maybe it's more natural for him to play outside but I have to say, there's really no reason to draft and start a rookie Right Tackle when Wylie has done a pretty damn good job in spot duty this season.

With a full offseason and training camp, I think Wylie would be just fine, if not well above average, at the Right Tackle position.

No, not just coaching, he's going to need a ton of luck. He's a guy that might not even make the roster because he can't even digest a playbook.

Compared to him, Hardman was medium rare.

That's you though.

Wylie is, in general, the most despised OL starter on CP. People wanted him cut yesterday. Do you think they're going to be okay with him being the opening day RT? Because if they draft a guard, that's where he's going to end up.

Well I hope you're not including me in that.

I think it's wise to not count on Fisher.

I think you need to bring Remmers back. Super-sub/insurance plan.

I DO think you need one tackle. I don't believe you just hand a spot to Niang, and I'd rather not see the Rankin show at LT.

We will need to figure something out at C, whether it be internal or a cheap vet, but if we draft one, I don't think you assume he starts either right away. I'm curious as to how the Justin Britt work-out went. That could be a nice stopgap guy. He's still only 29.

Durant just looks too slow afoot for an OT, but is a maybe at Guard.

I mean there could be some options already here and it could be that Veach knows exactly who will be ready to play and where, but WE don't, so we speculate.

To be completely honest, I couldn't care less what the ill and uninformed CP population feels about the roster, period.

This forum worships Byron ****ing Pringle and thinks he's as good or better than Sammy Watkins.

That says it all.

I think he's better outside than inside, which is kind of surprising. Or maybe not, as I suppose his best trait is being generally pretty athletic. He's not very powerful, and that looks pretty bad inside when we try to run.

I don't know that I'd say he's above average though.

No, I'm not really automatically including anyone - there's so many "this guy sucks" posts on CP it's hard to keep track of individual opinions anyway.

I absolutely agree with you on almost everything above.

I took Eichenberg in my latest mock draft this morning. I think at worst, he can start at RT. At best, he can start at LT. That fills at least one hole.

You'd still need a center since we're all assuming Reiter will get too much money but you wouldn't have any gaping holes at guard or RT, since Wylie, Remmers, Niang, and LDT to fight out those positions.

Why not?

He played extremely well against the Chargers in Week 17 and was by far the best LG on the roster in 2019.

If the Chiefs decide to pass on a left tackle in favor of waiting for Fisher, I think there's a good possibility that he heads into camp as the starter at Left Tackle.

For the record, I'm not saying that he's an above average Right Tackle at this moment in time.

I'm saying that if he had a full offseason and training camp at Right Tackle, there's a chance he'd be above average because he's shown that on short notice, he can more than hold his own at the RT slot and against a very good defensive line in the Saints.

The only reason Rankin is a Chief - and most likely the reason the Texans are in a meltdown that started with the Tunsil trade - is because Rankin was an unmitigated disaster at LT for the Texans.

I'm not real comfortable with him being penciled in as a starting tackle.

No offense but the Texans under Bill O'Brien didn't coach up anyone. O'Brien needed Top Shelf guys like Tunsil in order to have even a decent offensive line, so whatever happened in Texas is pretty much irrelevant at this point.

He's been in the Chiefs system now for two years, so it's time to shit or get off the pot.

Again, he played well at LT vs. Chargers and looked really good while doing it. He's certainly better than Cam Erving, who started 8 games in 2019 for the Chiefs and went 5-3 with him.

I'd prefer to have a guy with experience at Left Tackle as opposed to a rookie drafted in the 2nd or 3rd round next season.