Way Too Early 2025 Mock (12/13/2024)
 

The Chiefs 3-Peat, of course...

The coaching staff is retained, though Heck and Cullen should both be replaced and won't be. Development on both lines has been extremely subpar. Smith was touted as a 1st round prospect and only slid because of his heart issue and Karlaftis was one. Outside of those guys, nobody has really developed very well. A top OC in round 2 is not to be unexpected, it happens frequently so we aren't counting Creed. But who else have either of these guys made into something? Okay, off my soap box.

That said, I'm going to assume that the Chiefs FO will bank on the development of Suamataia, Morris, and Driskell at tackle so I'm not mocking a big splash there. Honestly, we should expect those guys to develop. The question is if they'll develop enough to forego making a big move in the draft for a tackle or signing a vet insurance policy.

Retire:
TE Travis Kelce

Re-sign UFAs:
QB Carson Wentz
WR Marquise Brown
RB Kareem Hunt
DT Tershawn Wharton
DE Charles Omenihu
LS James Winchester
CB Nazeeh Johnson (RFA)
LG Mike Caliendo (ERFA)
P Matt Araiza (ERFA)
Most PS Players (not Nelson)

Sign UFAs:
WR Elijah Moore (CLE, 25)
WR Josh Palmer (LAC, 26)
DT B.J. Hill (CIN, 30)
LB Jamien Sherwood (NYJ, 25)
DB Richie Grant (ATL, 27)

Let Walk:
WR DeAndre Hopkins, DB Justin Reid, DE Joshua Uche, DT Derrick Nnadi, WR Justin Watson, RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB Samaje Perine, LB Nick Bolton, DT Mike Pennell, WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR Mecole Hardman, K Matthew Wright, DT Marlon Tuipulotu, DE Malik Herring, LB Jack Cochrane, TE Peyton Hendershot, CB Keith Taylor, TE Jody Fortson, RG Trey Smith, K Spencer Shrader, LT D.J. Humphries

Draft:
1. DE Jaylahn Tuimoloau, Ohio State (6'4" 269) - Sets the edge like Spags likes, can take it home when he decides to turn up the gas, but has a little bit of unlocking that needs to happen to get him to his peak.
2. WR Tai Felton, Maryland (6'1" 185) - Might be the most underrated, under-the-radar, WR in the draft this year. He can win in multiple ways with his routes and has some speed plus the ability to create YAC.
3. CB Jason Marshall Jr., Florida (6'1" 201) - Boundary CB that excels in press with good fluidity and hips in transition and can make some plays on the football.
3. LB Jamon Dumas-Johnson, Kentucky (6'1" 245) - NFL-sized LB that is a thumper downhill but can stay on the field for 3 downs in a similar mold to Nick Bolton.
4. DT Yahya Black, Iowa (6'5" 317) - Purely a powerful run defender at the NFL level who can be a cog at NT.
7. RB Kaytron Allen, Penn State (5'11" 229) - Explosive first step and runs behind his pads with good leg drive and contact balance, solid receiver when called upon, and picks up the blitz fairly well.
7. DB Miles Scott, Illinois (5'11" 210) - A WR-turned-DB, Scott has some growth yet to do but he has the pedigree to be a ballhawk free safety and a plus special teams player.

Projected 53:
QB P. Mahomes, C. Wentz
RB I. Pacheco, K. Hunt, K. Allen, C. Steele
WR R. Rice, X. Worthy, M. Brown, E. Moore, J. Palmer, T. Felton
TE N. Gray, J. Wiley, B. Cupp
LT K. Suamataia, W. Morris
LG J. Thuney, M. Caliendo
OC C. Humphrey, H. Nourzad
RG M. Mettauer, C. Hanson
RT J. Taylor, E. Driskell

DE C. Omenihu, J. Tuimoloa, M. Danna
DT C. Jones, T. Wharton
NT B. Hill, Y. Black
DE G. Karlaftis, F. Anudike-Uzomah
LB L. Chenal, J. Sherwood, D. Tranquil, J. Dumas-Johnson, C. Jones
CB T. McDuffie, J. Watson, J. Williams, J. Marshall Jr, N. Johnson, C. Roland-Wallace
DB B. Cook, J. Hicks, C. Conner, R. Grant, M. Scott

ST H. Butker, M. Araiza, J. Winchester

Nobody is even going to consider this because you didn't address LT. I like what you've but I'm suspecting we are in the minority.

Interesting that you have Mettauer ahead of Hanson. That would be a huge win if he works out. I look for multiple LT's and CB's to be signed as PFA's.

There's a lot to like but to me it's overkill at the WR position.

Palmer and Moore can go start somewhere else, why come here and be WR 4/5? Let's use that money to pay for a stable LT who can at least ensure we don't have another repeat of this season if Kingsley isn't the answer.

There's no chance in hell they go into the season depending on him and Wanya. Just not a shot, IMHO.

Curious why let Hopkins walk?

At this point, I would be incredibly surprised if the Chiefs do not drop one of our 3rds and next year's 1st to move up and get a tackle to stabilize the mess on the left side.

I would prefer they actually pay Humphries for a one-year prove it. I think it's possible they do that.

But unless they do, they're just going to have to make the investment we all know they need to make. And tell Andy Heck: this is your last stand.

Hopkins is on his last legs, man.

Same with Kareem. They should not bring him back.

Palmer doesn't really start now, except for injury. He's not really a slot so he doesn't factor as much as a true #3. He's basically a #4 deep threat. I think he can be more but he hasn't been used that way.

I think you can argue choose one of Elijah Moore or Hollywood Brown and I wouldn't bitch about that argument. I thought about it a bit. I think Moore and bring back a guy like Watson wouldn't be terrible.

If they are going to try to do something at the position other than let growth happen, then I'd rather give up the draft picks and move up to get a blue chipper and get it over with than continue with these has-beens on 1-year deals.

Mettauer was a phenomenal pass-blocker at RG at OU. It'll be interesting to see if Hanson can actually beat him out.

Does Marshall Jr play well in the slot? Bc we need another versatile corner that can play there. It helps Spags with blitzes confusing the offense.

And God help us if McDuffie ever got hurt.

I don't rightly know how he'd perform in the slot, but I'd imagine pretty well. I'd see him more as the outside compliment to Watson with McDuffie in the slot. Roland-Wallace has shown some promise there IMO but they keep throwing Conner out there. McDuffie is irreplaceable though, honestly. He's just that good.

Who are the blue chip LT’s you’d target in this draft?

Therein lies the issue... there really aren't any this year. There's not a few guys you can hang your hat on and think they'll all be really good LTs like the past few seasons.

I really like Wyatt Millum but I don't know if he's a guy you bouncing up into the top 15 for. We'll see. Maybe. Someone is going to take Campbell from LSU pretty high but I wouldn't spend the capital it'd take to go get that guy.

Veach must get a real LT.

What about Simmons if they’re confident he will recover 100% from his injury?

I don't think there's an appreciable difference between Suamataia and Simmons as prospects, honestly. Similar size, similar athleticism, similar issues with technique and hand placement.

You're buying the same thing you already have. Suamataia will improve. Everyone is scared to let him.

Now, if you're thinking one will end up working out at LT and one at RT and all will be golden going forward, that's a fine way to look at it. I just think you're going to need to give Simmons as much time as you give Suamataia, and that would work out if you're planning to plug one at RT and let Taylor go in 2026.

Is the 2025 draft that much worse on the OL? Or in other words, where would Simmons have gone in 2024? Seems like he's still a more highly graded prospect than Suamataia and has more LT experience against higher level competition.

Honestly I'm fine with Simmons, Suamataia, and Morris all being here with the idea that one hopefully fits at LT, one at RT, and the other either a swing tackle or at RG. You can't count on Suamataia improving without a backup option. Your two choices in FA are possibly Cam Robinson and maybe Ronnie Stanley, and there's no guarnatee Baltimore doesn't extend Stanley. I see Robinson hitting the FA market most likely, but he's commanding $20+ million and he can probably get at least a 3-4 year contract. Will KC pay him that?

That’s why I asked. There’s a handful or so of 1st rounders, but maybe only 1 blue chip OT from what I’m hearing about this draft. Because of this, I think we sit tight and take one at #32 or wait to take our shot at OL in the 2nd.

I’ve also been interested in Simmons, because it seems like he’ll be available for us potentially, but waiting a season for a guy to get healthy just so he can compete for the job doesn’t sound overly attractive. I’m game if he’s going to lock down one of our OT spots when he's healthy.

I don’t see anyone in FA that looks solid enough. Heard someone on Youtube ask the following... “would the Chiefs trade their 1st, and maybe a 3rd or 4th as well, to the Chargers for Rashawn Slater?” Dude has a 91.4 PFF rating this season so not sure why LA would move on from him, but sounds like a more of a sure thing than anyone in FA or the draft. What do you guys think?

Why in the hell would they trade Slater? And to a division rival to boot? That'd be about as dumb of a move as that franchise could make. They have both tackle spots locked in for the next decade. Unless they are completely inept, it'll never happen. And yeah, I'd do that trade in a heartbeat.

We'll see what happens yet. The Broncos just extended Bolles for 4 years and the Jags extended Little. That's 2 off the market already.

The only player Baltimore has worth tagging is Stanley, so that option is wide open for them.

Cam Robinson, Alaric Jackson, and Dan Moore might be the next guys up and the guy to steal is NOT Cam Robinson, it's Alaric Jackson. We'll see if he gets extended though and, like the Ravens, the Rams only really have him as a potential franchise player.

So you're going with the same two young not ready for prime time LTs? I think I'd bring in some insurance.

Yeah, we can't go into '25 with the two guys that have stunk so far.

So, let's ditch Hollywood and Josh Palmer in this mock, re-sign Justin Watson, keep Remigio, and sign LT Alaric Jackson from the Rams. More warm and fuzzies? That said, you just blew using a 2nd round pick for his first two seasons and he'll end up at RT in 2026 in all likelihood doing this.

Projected 53:
QB P. Mahomes, C. Wentz
RB I. Pacheco, K. Hunt, K. Allen, C. Steele
WR R. Rice, X. Worthy, E. Moore, T. Felton, J. Watson, N. Remigio
TE N. Gray, J. Wiley, B. Cupp
LT A. Jackson, K. Suamataia
LG J. Thuney, M. Caliendo
OC C. Humphrey, H. Nourzad
RG W. Morris, M. Mettauer or C. Hanson
RT J. Taylor, E. Driskell

DE C. Omenihu, J. Tuimoloa, M. Danna
DT C. Jones, T. Wharton
NT B. Hill, Y. Black
DE G. Karlaftis, F. Anudike-Uzomah
LB L. Chenal, J. Sherwood, D. Tranquil, J. Dumas-Johnson, C. Jones
CB T. McDuffie, J. Watson, J. Williams, J. Marshall Jr, N. Johnson, C. Roland-Wallace
DB B. Cook, J. Hicks, C. Conner, R. Grant, M. Scott

ST H. Butker, M. Araiza, J. Winchester

I dunno Crow, I am in the play Kingsley bucket with you. Get him a full offseason with an O-Line guru and a couple teammates, then a good full camp and he should come back ready to go. He's got all the tools, just needs technique training.

That said, if Stanley somehow hit the market, he will be playing guard, waiting for Taylor to get cut.

I don’t know a ton about Alaric Jackson, but he may provide some hope for Kingsley.

As a rookie, PPF gave him a pass blocking grade of 39.

He then improved to the high 60’s the next two years. Now, he’s up to nearly 80 this year.

Granted, that’s just PFF. They’re normally in the ballpark though when they grade someone really high or really low (because duh, it’s obvious when someone is terrible or awesome).

That said, just because Kingsley sucks shit as a rookie, doesn’t mean he won’t improve somewhat dramatically. And soon.

Yeah, I think move him to guard and be done with it. Morris is the swing tackle. Either bring back Humphries if he works out or by all means Jackson, Stanley, Robinson...whoever you can get as a vet for whatever money is there. Start with that and work back.

Kingsley isn't a guard. If either of them should move to guard, it's Wanya.

I’m selfish, give me Luther Burden III, sign or trade for an OT or keep Humphries. Only thing is I doubt Burden lasts to us.

He reminds me so much of Jamar Chase with his strength and quickness.

I'm guessing that McMillan goes top 5, Burden goes top 10, Egbuka goes top 15 and Harris goes top 20. So, I'd wager pick someone after those four.