Mock 2/7
 

Trades
QB Alex Smith to Washington for 2018 3rd round selection (78) and CB Kendall Fuller per sources.

Retirements (Else Release)
ILB Derrick Johnson
OLB Tamba Hali
If either of these guys don't hang it up, it's time for the Chiefs to finally grow a set of balls and cut them loose. Business is business. There is zero reason to keep players that don't produce well beyond their primes, and they've done that a couple years too many already.

Cuts
CB Darrelle Revis - I don't see the Chiefs picking up an 8.8 million roster bonus, especially after acquiring Kendall Fuller.
OLB Frank Zombo - Zombo has proved time and again that he's nothing but a special teams guy given that he can't get pressure on the QB.
FS Ron Parker (Designate as Post-June 1 cut) - Parker just doesn't make the plays to justify his contract. He fell to only 4 passes defensed on the season despite the Chiefs having problems at CB#2 all year.
TE Demetrius Harris - It's time for the basketball conversion experiment to end; Harris can't catch a cold.

Let Walk
DL Bennie Logan, P Dustin Colquitt, QB Tyler Bray, CB Phillip Gaines, OL Jordan Devey, DB Steven Terrell, WR De'Anthony Thomas, OL Zach Fulton, CB Kenneth Acker, ILB Ramik Wilson, CB T. Mitchell, FB Anthony Sherman

Estimated Cap Space before signings: $30 m

Re-Sign
DL Rakeem Nunez-Roches - RFA Original Round Tender $1.91 m
ILB Terrance Smith - ERFA Tender $630 k
CB Keith Baxter - ERFA Tender $560 k
ILB Kevin Pierre-Louis - 3 y $3.60 m $1.00 m guaranteed, 2018 ~ $1.10 m
DL Jarvis Jenkins - 2 y $2.50 m $500 k guaranteed, 2018 ~ $1.30 m
WR Albert Wilson - 4 y $14.1 m $5 m guaranteed, 2018 ~ $2.30 m

Total Cost: ~$7.8 m

Free Agents:
LG Andrew Norwell (CAR) - 5 y $60.00 m $30 m guaranteed, 2018 ~$8.50 m
One of the premier guards in the NFL, Norwell should be extremely high on the wish list for the Chiefs. With a young QB, it's best to give him as much protection as possible.
DT Justin Ellis (OAK) - 4 y $16 m $4.5 m guaranteed, 2018 ~$3.50 m
Ellis has been a spot starter for Oakland up until 2017 when he assumed full-time duties where he excelled as a run plugger. The Chiefs don't need to spend $8 m per on a base NT.
QB Austin Davis (SEA) - 2 y $2.2 m, 2018 ~ $1.00 m
Davis proved to be a capable backup but nothing more. He should be had cheap.
WR Deonte Thompson (BUF) - 2 y $2.0 m, ~ 2018 ~ $1.0 m
Thompson is a vertical threat on the field while also possessing excellent quickness. He is also a very good kick returner.
DL Quinton Dial (GB) - 1 y $790 k
Dial was an A quality NT in San Francisco when he started there for 1 season, but he has otherwise been misused. He received only spot duty on his 1-year deal in GB so he should be a cheap pick-up as a rotational player for an odd front.
TE Crockett Gillmore (BAL) - 1 y $790 k + incentives
Gilmore hasn't been able to stay healthy the past two seasons else he probably would have seen an increased role in Baltimore. When he's on the field, he's been solid. He could come fairly cheap on a 1-year prove-it deal.
OLB Jeremiah Attaochu (LAC) - 1 y $790 k + incentives
Attaochu looked like the real deal in 2015 but since then, much like Gillmore above, has been too often injured. He could also be cheap on a 1-year prove-it deal with incentives.

Total Cost: ~$ 16.4 m

Estimated Cap Space after signings: ~$5.8 M

Draft (7th round #s may be incorrect):
2 (54) - ILB Josey Jewell - Iowa (6'1" 236)
3 (78 f/WAS) - OLB Jeff Holland - Auburn (6'1" 249)
3 (86) - FS Armani Watts - Texas A&M (5'11" 191)
4 (124) - DE Andrew Brown - Virginia (6'4" 294)
5 (175* c/ Foles) - CB Taron Johnson - Weber State (5'11" 190)
6 (199) - QB Kurt Benkert - Virginia (6'3" 214)
7 (233 f/ ARZ) - TE Ben Johnson - Kansas (6'5" 245)
7 (235 f/ SEA) - FB Garrett Dickerson - Northwestern (6'2" 248)
7 (243 f/ TEN) - P Corey Bojorquez - New Mexico (6'0" 200)
*Estimate

QB: P. Mahomes, A. Davis, K. Benkert
RB: K. Hunt, S. Ware, C. West
FB: G. Dickerson
TE: T. Kelce, C. Gillmore, B. Johnson
WR: T. Hill, C. Conley, D. Robinson, A. Wilson, J. Chesson, D. Thompson
OL: E. Fisher, A. Norwell , M. Morse, L. Duvernay-Tardif, M. Schwartz, B. Witzman, C. Erving, P. Ehinger
DE: C. Jones, A. Bailey, J. Jenkins, R. Nunez-Roches, A. Brown
NT: J. Ellis, Q. Dial
OLB: J. Houston, D. Ford, J. Holland, T. Kpassagnon, J. Attaochu, D. Nicolas
ILB: J. Jewell, R. Ragland, K. Pierre-Louis, U. Eligwe, T. Smith
CB: M. Peters, K. Fuller, S. Nelson, T. Johnson, K. Baxter, A. Lampkin
DB: E. Berry, A. Watts, D. Sorensen, E. Murray, L. McQuay
ST: H. Butker, J. Winchester, C. Bojorquez
+A truckload of UDFAs and whatnot

Looks pretty realistic but the Chiefs won't be able to enter the draft with $5.8M in cap space or we'll have another Maclin situation on our hands.

To fix this issue within your moves, I'd let Jenkins, Pierre-Louis, and Wilson all walk.

Maybe. Here's the draft class needs (estimated)

2-054 $ 901,468
3-078 $ 711,960
3-086 $ 690,095
4-124 $ 640,687
5-175 $ 534,630
6-199 $ 518,622
7-233 $ 502,448
7-235 $ 501,861
7-243 $ 498,682
Rookie Pool = $ 5,500,453
9 x $ 480,000 = -$ 4,320,000
Eff. Cap Need = $ 1,180,453

Leaves $4.6 m

I don’t think Jewell has the athleticism to play at the next level enough to spend that high of a pick on him

Maybe a 3 or 4 but 2 is too steep for me

I like the 2nd round for a dlineman that falls

I think Watts is going round 2. Really like his game. Hell there are 2-3 quality safeties we could get in rd 2 and start them week 1.

I’m all for drafting one that high.

Very realistic, love the Norwell get. ILB looks a bit thin, resting our hopes on a rookie to start day 1 seems a bit risky.

Who do you replace them with?

Couldn’t agree more with this.

Give me Taven Bryan in round 2. Him and Jones together would be ****ing awesome.

If we don’t re-sign Logan, Tim Settle would be a great pick as well.

If we’re going to take an ILB there it better be Leighton Vander Esch.

No love for Eligwe? I thought he looked really good in preseason. He’s also got the height/weight/speed.

I’d like to either roll with Eligwe to sign Nigel Bradham in FA

I don’t think you’ll find somebody on CP higher on Eligwe than me after watching him in the preseason, and in particular in that Titans game.

That’s why I’d probably pass on an ILB in round 2 unless it’s a 3 down stud that has no business being available (Vander Esch).

If we let KPL walk, I’m fine with letting Eligwe and a 3rd rounder like Jerome Baker battle it out.

I liked Eligwe in the preseason but thought it was odd that they had him outside against Denver, so at this point, I have no idea what to expect from him.

Also, I'd be shocked to see the Chiefs take a WILL in the 2nd round, as Safety and D line seem like more pressing needs and I'd love to see the Chiefs take White or Marcus Allen.

Berry, Parker, Fuller, Nelson, Peters and one of those guys might be the best secondary in the NFL.

I’m thinking DL should be a priority in FA. It doesn’t seem like the Chiefs will find a DL in the draft that is ready in 2018. I’m fine with taking one in the 3rd as depth pending a FA starter in front of him though.

The more I think about it the more I see a Safety as possibly the best option in rd 2. 3/4 guys are on long term deals and it’s a big area of need.

We really need a Husain Abdullah type back there.

If the Chiefs go Safety in the 2nd round, it'll also really help the pass rush, especially if Tanoh continues to improve and Dee Ford can return healthy.

I'm good with a free agent on the DL but I think they'll still need to grab at least two guys in the draft and I'm actually good with them taking two in the 3rd round. They won't be expected to start immediately but will become rotational players right away.

While I can see the Chiefs asking Bailey to restructure and add more years, I can't see them cutting him outright because that would mean that only 2 defensive lineman, Jones and RNR, would return from last year's squad and there's a possibility that Jones won't even be 100% by Training Camp.

I realize that it's speculation at this point but it's clear that Jones play wasn't consistent and up to his potential last year due to the knee surgery during training camp. I'm all for giving him as much rest as possible so that he's a healthy 100% in Week 1.

I’m not necessarily opposed to taking a safer high but I’d like to see what happens with berry coming back first.

Him being healthy allows the others to slide into better roles for themselves and now a year of experience for Murray would allow him to potentially overtake Sorensen.

They aren’t great safeties but when asked to do what Berry does they looked bad. Having him back would be a big factor.

I’m looking at the front 7 early and often in this draft.

They need more athletes on the dl that can rotate around and play different spots

Bailey seems to have plateaued but that’s a lot of turnover if you let him go.

****, David Irving would be a nice guy to have up there right now

How much can you count on Berry though? At some point he's going to get the "injury prone" label. He was having issues with his Achilles before Week 1 and then he tore the completely opposite one. Dude is a great athlete and takes care of his body but at some point all of that shit starts to add up.

True but the only real injury from playing football was the Achilles

The knee maybe but that’s just a freak play.

I've seen absolutely nothing from Eric Murray that says "NFL player".

I'd be down with a safety in the 2nd round, along with a free agent safety if it meant the end of Daniel Sorenson and Eric Murray.

They aren't even JAG's, IMO, and Murray singlehandedly lost the Raiders game because he couldn't cover 150 year old tight end Jared Cook.

They aren’t moving on from sorenson I doubt after the contract. As much as andy seems to like him it would surprise me.

Murray Definitely had some rough moments but I thought he improved as the season went on basically being a rookie and playing a lot of minutes

I would really like another Olb that’s worth a shit but the draft looks pretty slim there

Post June 1 for Sorenson gives $3.8 million cap relief with only $1 million in Dead Space

I don’t think that will matter to them, as andy is or seems to be super high on him.

They can free up a lot of money this offseason but they’re gonna have to keep some of these guys

Veach needs to get rid of him. He was a nice player on a rookie contract but he does not deserve anywhere near this much.

Sorenson was terrible. At least with Parker we know he can be a cover player who could play some corner if needed.

Sorenson was legitimately terrible in all facets of the game. I like what I saw from Leon McQuay much more than anything I saw from Sorenson. He’s got potential as a backup.

I honestly wouldn’t mind getting rid of Murray and Sorenson.

I feel like Reid has always prized edge rushers and corners. I doubt we'd go ILB in the second. I could see an edge rusher or even another corner.

Veach made it pretty clear with his trades over the past 6 months that he's going to be aggressive when it comes to finding ways to flll holes.

Knowing that, I think Sorensen is in trouble. $3.8M could go towards a lot better options.

If he had elite long speed, he'd be a top-10 pick. That said, he still has very good sideline-to-sideline burst and he has insane short-area quickness. I heard this same shit about guys like James Laurinaitis and Paul Posluszny, but all they did was come into the NFL and be studs putting up 110+ tackles a year. Sorry bud, sticking to my guns on this kid.


Another guy from Iowa to watch is Nathan Bazata. He's a bit undersized like Allen Bailey was coming out, but he's another very good player that you could probably get alot cheaper than his play warrants.

Maybe so

He just seems a little to limited for me. I’d like to see what he can run and measure bunt I’m skeptical

A safety like White or Marcus Allen would have more value than Jewell in the 2nd round, IMO.

I'd be fine with Jewell in the 4th but 2nd is too high, IMO. The Chiefs need either a safety or D lineman in that spot and ready to start immediately.

I truly believe that Veach will remake the defense this offseason and it's difficult to envision a future for Hali, DJ and Sorenson.

I think Parker and Bailey, especially if they agree to restructure, are safe at this point but the Chiefs would save nearly $12 million by cutting them both.

The problem then becomes, who replaces them?

I highly doubt any of those 3 players are going to be remotely close to available at 54, especially Vander Esch and Bryan. If Vander Esch is there, I'd run to the podium pretty fast. I love all 3 players, and really, wish I could find a way to think any of them will be there but I don't. I think there is a possibility to move up for one, maybe Settle.

Believe me, I don’t think they should be either, but there’s from what I’ve seen in mocks, on the clock, etc. it seems like a real possibility that one of the following falls to us IMO:

Vander Esch
Bryan
Settle
Reid
Phillips
Jefferson
McFadden

I’m seeing anything from 1st-3rd for most of these guys. There doesn’t seem to be any real consensus on them, and I have a good feeling somebody that should’nt be there will.

Would Reid and Sutton ever consider building the defense to play with a lead? I'm thinking of how Dungy did it when he had Manning: bad run defense and phenomenal pass rush.

On paper, the Chiefs could have a special secondary if they add another safety. Let Justin Houston go for the sack on every play, and throw some smaller faster LBs out there. Jones already gets an incredible amount of pressure on the QB for a DL. If they are told to go for broke 9 out of 10 times they could force a lot of turnovers in the passing game. This would all hinge on the offense being able to score at will, but it really does look like they have the potential to do so if PM2 is legit.

this is a rare draft in which I agree with the usual Chiefs homer faithful and declare-
GIVE ME FATTIES!

Seriously. I want DL, I want OL, I want FATTIES. We need DL starters and depth. We need a LG and depth across the line. With Fuller, and hopefully a returning Berry, it's our two areas of greatest need.

Tim Settle baby!

I almost hope Settle performs average to below average at the Combine/campus workouts. His stock is skyrocketing. Hard to see him available unless you get him bottom of the 1st/top of the 2nd round.

He’s damn impressive. Super young too...

He’s going to have a great combine I’m sure and be the next Poe. Shoots up boards, doesn’t make it out of night one.

I want him so bad, though. Our defense was never better than when we had Poe in his prime. I think Settle has that potential.

With he, Jones, Houston, Ford, etc... you may have a legit front 4 that can apply pressure consistently. With our revamped secondary, all of the sudden the defense could be a whole lot better.

I think there’s a better chance that Taven Bryan makes it to us than Settle.

Knowing that this is Andy’s football team and he runs shit, we will most likely draft a DL with our 2nd rd pick. I’m okay with that, but it better be someone that can play in 2018. No more developmental bullshit in the first 2 rounds.

It’s going to be DL or S.

I’m starting to like the chances of Justin Reid making it to 54 a little more.

The good news is that this RB class is as strong as last years. There could be at 3-4 taken before us which pushes defensive talent down the board.

Nathan Shepherd is a guy I think they’ll look at. 6’5 300 lbs with room to get bigger. Good prospect but he probably won’t do shit year 1 and we can’t afford that.

I really like Shepherd.

I think him along with R.J. McIntosh and Andrew Brown should be our round 3 targets on the DL. Maybe Kendrick Norton too with our last day 2 pick.

I'm a Kendrick Norton fan.

He’s going to be a good value in that late 3rd-early 4th area.

Seems like this is actually the year to look at developmental type guys: they’re not likely to content next year so play for 19 and 20

I get what you are saying-- in theory, we don't contend in '18 as much as 2019 or 2020. But I wouldn't give up on it whatsoever.

Still a ton of really good players on the roster right now and one would assume that will only improve by camp.

True but you’ve got a first time starter at qb. Inevitably there’s gonna be some ups and downs

What we have to hope for is that Mahomes is more of a 2nd year guy than 1st year. And he honestly might be because he has been given the time and opportunity to learn the playbook and create some comfort within operating the offense. He will be going out there in 2018 solely focused on what the defense is presenting rather than whether or not he knows where his own guys should be or what they will be doing.

From a physical perspective, it is his first season. But from a mental perspective, I think he has a leg up.

I’d imagine he’s gonna be better off than not, but it’s atill his first year starting. Just gonna be things he hasn’t seen

Nothing to pair up with Hill? I know Hill is amazing, but counting on Wilson, Conley, and "the rest"( actually, beyond Hill they are ALL pretty much "the rest" ), seems pretty uninspiring.

Let's look at those sweet numbers!

Hill: 75 catches, 1,183 yards, 7 TD;
Wilson: 42 catches, 554 yards, 3 TD;( extreme sadness, older than dirt, yet out-producing the youngsters minus Hill? Blech. )
Thomas: 14 catches, 143 yards, 2 TD;
Robinson: 21 catches, 212 yards,
Conley: 11 catches, 175 yards.

Under the old situation you could look at that and say, "well, that's about all you need from the WR group for a season", but that pitiful setup is dead and gone and unless all you want to do is advance the ball to its reception spot, it might be a good idea to pursue some dynamic talent to round things out opposite of Hill.
At least ONE.

Albert Wilson is older than dirt? At 25?

Jesus, I thought he was more like 35 with the way he moves.

No wonder he keeps hanging around.

Watch the Denver game with Mahomes. Dude was getting open.

The Chiefs offense all but disappeared during their 1-6 run.

I’d be surprised if that happened again with Mahomes.

That's because Mahomes will not go into a shell at times like the offense did for stretches under Alex Smith.

It ties back to the Cowherd video I posted a month ago. What does the QB do when its the 2nd half and its time to just make some plays? The defense knows your game plan, they’ve saw the script, and the QB is going to have to just make some shit happen.

That’s where Mahomes excels and Smith struggles.

There were a couple of games last year when Smith really showed playmaking ability that has rarely ever been seen in his career, from kickoff through the 4th quarter. New England and Houston come to my mind. The offense was so good in those particular games because they just kept attacking, and Smith kept attacking.

I seriously thought the guy was a 27+(or greater) year-old vet that Reid had absconded with from Philly. LMAO

In any event, Wilson just had a "good year" for Wilson. And even though we weren't utilizing WR in terms of spreading the ball around very much, it's plain to see that outside of Hill there isn't much going on within that group.
Now we have a QB that allows us to have 2 or even 3 serious threats, much like Manning had in Denver the first year that they went to the SB and got demolished. And now, we don't have to rely on the TE to save the day because he's less than 10 yards from the LOS and open by a country mile.
At the very least, one more above-average talent at Receiver makes the KC offense absolutely lethal and VERY hard to defend. It's already an incredibly dynamic unit, but that last piece combined with some key upgrades on the Line make it damned near unstoppable.

Just watched DeShon Elliott. Dude would be an instant upgrade and immediate impact. Big dude who lays the wood and had 9 INT’s in 26 games.

Makes too much sense to draft a Safety in rd 2 right now. The value will be insane.

I’d be great with that. Truth is, we’ve got nothing special there outside of Berry, and he can’t play forever.

S:
Justin Reid
Armani Watts
DeShon Elliot

DL:
Taven Bryan
Tim Settle
Harrison Phillips

Most of those guys will probably be gone, but that should be our list of targets.

Just did a mock on Walkthemock.com, although a few players I tried searching for in the later rds did not show up on their rankings.

But anyways here's my latest mock from walkthemock.com for KC via Default ranking

2:22 - DT Tim Settle, Virginia Tech
He probably won't be there, but he fills a massive need on the DL, esp if the Chiefs cut Allen Bailey. Settle is a beast and can play both inside and outside on DL
3:14 - WR Christian Kirk, Texas A&M
I'm all for arming Mahomes w/ as much weapons as possible. IMO Kirk is a better version of Wilson, who I think we should let walk in FA, unless he's dirt cheap.
3:22 - TE Mike Gesicki, Penn St.
Harris is ****in terrible, and this guy is a huge matchup problem for any defensive back or LB...and this guy can actually catch. This guy w/ Kelce would dominate in double TE sets.
4:22 - FS Armani Watts, Texas A&M
I dont think Watts will be there at this pick, but for the sake of this mock I selected him. I also think he's a top3 safety in a very deep safety class. Safety is an obvious need and possibly a desperate need if Berry doesn't come back full strength and either Sorensen/Parker are cut, plus EB will turn 30 this yr. Watts would immediately become the 2nd best safety on this team. Dude's a player.
6:22 - FB Dimitri Flowers, Oklahoma
I was hoping DB Siran Neal would be available at this pick but he wasn't even listed in this draft's rankings so I couldn't select him. He was a late pick in a Fanspeak.com mock draft I did. But Flowers is Sherman's replacement. Guy can run/catch out of the backfield and is more athletic than Sherman too.

Christian Kirk is already considered a first round receiver and hes' going to blow the doors off the combine. It would take some epic dumbassery for him to be there in the 3rd.

I like arrangement/positions of this mock. A LOT. You've addressed needs while adding another receiver to the mix.
The only thing I would sub is the TE for another O-line fatty. With Mahomes, we shouldn't have to place such a premium on the TE position, so maybe we can look for depth elsewhere? I like the addition of a FB on the tail-end of the mock as it sends a nice message that we are going to ground and pound the football. For real.
Don't know much about the players themselves, but as I said; the positions and placement are top-notch.

I doubt any of those players will be available where i chose them at...except maybe Flowers. But I don't control the mock I just select as my turn comes lol.

I just did one on that site. Got Tim Settle, Mike Gesicki, Kyzir White, Dorance Armstrong and Jack Cichy. I’d do a backflip if this was our draft

I like Trenton Thompson at DL as well. He's a bit of a Chris Jones type. When he's hot, he's unstoppable. You just don't get the hot 100% of the time.