Mock (12/30)

[Direckshun]

Assumptions:

1. All staff is retained.

2. S Eric Berry retires.

3. OLB Justin Houston is franchised.

5. The Chiefs re-sign C Rodney Hudson 4 years, $20m ($6m guaranteed), S Ron Parker 3 years, $6m ($500k guaranteed).

6. The Chiefs cut: QB Chase Daniel, WR Donnie Avery, WR AJ Jenkins, TE Anthony Fasano, OT Donald Stephenson, DE Mike DeVito, OLB Tamba Hali, CB Marcus Cooper, K Cairo Santos

7. OLB Josh Martin is tendered.

8. The following players walk in free agency: RB Joe McKnight, WR Jason Avant, WR Junior Hemingway, WR Frankie Hammond, TE Richard Gordon, OT Ryan Harris, OG Jeff Linkenbach, OG Mike McGlynn, DE Kevin Vickerson, CB Chris Owens, S Kelcie McCray

9. The Chiefs re-sign the following players for minimal deals: TE Demetrius Harris, ILB Josh Mauga, S Kurt Coleman, LS Thomas Gafford

10. The Chiefs sign the following free agents: NT Kendrick Ellis (Jets), 2 years, $3m, OLB Brooks Reed (Texans), 2 years, $6m ($1m guaranteed)

11. Compensatory picks: 3rd, 5th, 5th, 7th

On with the show:



1.19. WR Jaelen Strong, Arizona State

The Chiefs have two major areas to upgrade on this roster (assuming they rehab Derrick Johnson successfully): WRs and OL. The Chiefs make almost no moves along both positions in free agency, as they make room for Justin Houston and Rodney Hudson's impending contracts. This will infuriate Planeteers.

Fortunately, the Chiefs make up for it by landing an athletic, long, deep threat who can run crisp routes and isn't afraid to carry an offense on his back. Strong should legitimately start right away.

It's worth noting this gives the Chiefs a young offensive core that they have under contract for the next 2+ years: Smith, Charles, Davis, Thomas, Bowe, Strong, Kelce, Fisher, Hudson, and Fulton. Considering that this is the 2nd youngest team in the NFL, and still managed to go 9-7 against the league's toughest schedule, that's extremely exciting.

2.50. OT Jake Fisher, Oregon

Add another player to the Chiefs' offense core for the next 2+ years. There is a glut of athletic, powerful tackles in this draft, so an incredibly athletic tackle that's lacking in some power gets to drop to the Chiefs' 2nd pick. Fisher is just as athletic as Eric Fisher was coming out of Central Michigan, though he's lacking in some technique and power. All of which should be correctable after a year's worth of learning.

3.81. WR Nelson Agholor, USC

The Chiefs continue to add to a young offensive core. This gives them a receiving corps of Bowe, Strong, Agholor, Thomas, and Wilson, with Travis Kelce at TE. That's a ton of dynamism and lots of varieties in guys downfield.

3.98. ILB Eric Kendricks, UCLA

Whaaaaat? Kendricks in basically the 4th???

Yup. Check CBSSports.com right now, he's trending low in the 3rd, so I get to cheat and slot him in here. Kendricks is clearly the WILB of the future, with DJ on the way out, either this year or next.

4.116. CB Cam Thomas, Western Kentucky

A long, athletic corner for the Chiefs to play with.

5.155. OG Miles Dieffenbach, Penn State

Played extremely well in his time at Penn State before missing all of 2014 with an ACL. Falls as a result -- otherwise would be flirting with a Day 2 selection. The Chiefs' depth chart is already full with Jeff Allen, Zach Fulton, and Laurent Duvarney-Tardif, so Dieffenbach can take all the time he needs to recover.

5.174. RB Malcolm Brown, Texas

The Chiefs are doing alright in the backfield, but they need more beef. Knile Davis is plenty athletic, but he's not quite the sledgehammer the team needs in short yardage.

5.176. TE Nick Boyle, Delaware

The Chiefs need a third TE, and Boyle is a large, powerful blocker with some receiving ability -- prototypical Dorsey selection.

6.190. DE Henry Anderson, Stanford

7.234. CB Julian Wilson, Oklahoma

7.254. K Kyle Brindza, Notre Dame