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.