Duncan's Comprehensive offseason plan (March)

[duncan_idaho]

Looking at this again now that we know a little more...Here's a run at one scenario for KC.

1. Free agency

Let walk: Orlando Brown, Juju Smith-Schuster, Andrew Wylie, Derrick Nnadi, Khalen Saunders, Carlos Dunlap, Brandon Williams, Juan Thornhill, Mecole Hardman, Blake Bell, Ronald Jones, Jerrick McKinnon, Nick Allegretti, Deion Bush
Trade: Clyde Edwards-Helaire (Day 3 pick in 2024, save $2.5M in cap space)
Extend Chris Jones (add 4 years, $120M, roughly to his deal and drop his 23 cap hit to about $17M)
Re-sign: Tommy Townsend (4 years, $12.2M), Justin Watson (1 year, 3.8M)
ERFA Tender: Fortson, Buchele
RFA: Tershawn Wharton (2.2M)
Sign:
TE Mike Gesicki (1 year, $8M base with incentives to $12M)
T Andre Dillard (2 years, $14.2M with $4M to sign and incentives to $20M)
T Kelvin Beachum (1 year, $3.5M)
DT Greg Gaines (4 years, $41M, 5.6M cap hit in 23)

These moves leave me short of the cash needed to operate/sign the draft class. So I restructure $20M of Mahomes salary, saving $16M against the 2023 cap and leaving me about $18M in cap space to maneuever with. This increases the likelihood I need to move some Mahomes money over the next few years, but that’s the plan, anyway…

My goal with this was to add depth at the T spots that I can live with if the draft doesn’t break my way. Same at DT. With Gesickki,I’m fully embracing running 12 set as more and more of a primary set, and I drastically upgrade TE2. Having a better option there should also help with load-balancing Travis Kelce.

2. Draft: (mock courtesy of NFL mock draft database)

1.31 – Trade to Houston for 2.33, 3.76 (they move up to take Daiwan Jones, OT, Ohio State)
2.33 – Derick Hall, DE, Auburn
Trade 2.63, 4.134, 6.219, 2024 5th to Seattle for 2.52
2.52 – Darnell Wright, OT, Tennessee
Trade 3.73, 5.168, 6,217, 2024 6th to Carolina for 2.61
2.61 –Keanu Benton, DT, Wisconson
3.95 – Jonathan Mingo, WR, Ole Miss
4.122 – Zack Kuntz, TE, Old Dominion
6.197 –Xavier Smith, WR, Florida A&M
7.227 – Darell Luter, CB, South Alabama
7.251 – Jerrod Clark, DT, Coastal Carolina
7.257 – Brenton Cox, DE, Florida

My goal with the draft is to be aggressive in the middle rounds, where the depth exists, and take the best value at key spots (OL, DL, WR).

Hall is a great long-term complement to Karlaftis. I love Wright as a future RT prospect. He doesn’t give me a long-term LT option, necessarily, but if I can handle one side of the line I feel good with it. With the OT depth, if I wasn’t in position for Wright or didn’t move up, I could have rolled with Freeland or Bergeron or Duncan instead.

3. Post-draft Depth:

QB Mahomes/Buchele
RB Pacheco/cheap vet
WR Valdes-Scantling, Toney, Moore, Watson, Mingo, Smith (I really like Smith’s speed and experience being the “movement” guy in his offense)
TE Kelce, Gesicki, Gray, Kuntz

LT Dillard, Beachum
LG Thuney, FA
C Humphrey, FA
RG Smith, Kinnard
RT Wright, Niang

DE Karlaftis, Danna, Hall, vet,
DT Jones, Gaines, Benton, Wharton, vet

LB Bolton, Gay, Chenal, cheap vet

CB Sneed, McDuffie, Watson, Williams, special teams vet
S Reed, Cook, cheap vet,

4. Summer FA

In the final stage of free agency, I’d be shopping for a Dunlap-like depth piece at DE and have around $10M of room on hand to do it (could always restructure on another player if needed). I'm looking for cheap veterans in a few spots, but nothng that is bank-breaking.

I've thrown numbers at OT and am being creative in trying to find an underrated value to improve the passing attack/replace Juju.