Laddie Morse
I wrote a piece like this a year ago, consequently, it had “2023” at the head of the title. It also focused on four areas that needed to improve, and Veach had already made his moves by late March. It showed the need for a LT, although at the time we thought Jawaan Taylor was the answer and Donovan Smith turned out to be that player. That article also showed Charles Omenihu (C.O.) as the replacement for DE Frank Clark. Although C.O. turned out to be the answer (after a four game suspension), he is now injured and won’t be back until October 1st… at the earliest… so it looks like he’ll miss — at least — another four games of the coming season as well. That 2023 piece also showed Mike Edwards being the one-year substitute for Juan Thornhill — who is now with the Browns — at Safety as well as the signing of LB Drue Tranquill. The signing of Tranquill proved to be crucial because he took over the ILB role for Nick Bolton for nearly half the 2023 season.
This year, GM Brett Veach has made significant progress on several roster positions as well. My thinking is that the Chiefs will need to improve to win it all again. It sounds like Veach with the same aim in mind: to get better at many positions. Let’s begin with the DT position:
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• Veach signed Chris Jones to a 5-year, $158.75 M deal with $101 M guaranteed
• Veach re-signed LB Drue Tranquill to a 3-year $19 M deal, with $13 million guaranteed
• Veach franchise tagger CB L’Jarius Sneed then traded him to the Titans for a 3rd round draft pick in 2025, plus a flip of their 7th round selections this year, in the 2024 draft. Sneed was subsequently able to sign a 4-year deal for $76.4 M with $55 M guaranteed.
• Veach has signed TE Irv Smith Jr. to a 1-year deal is worth up to $1.292 million, with $384,000 guaranteed. This move makes the re-signing of Blake Bell less likely since Bell will be 33 years old before the 2024 season begins.
• Veach has released WR MVS (Marquez Valdes-Scantling) and then signed WR Marquise “Hollywood” Brown. Brown was signed to a 1-year, $7 M deal. Brown will get a $3 million signing bonus with a base salary of $3.5 M. He would also get a $250,000 workout bonus for participating in the offseason program at the team facility. He can also make up to $250,000 as per-game roster bonuses. All together, Brown can make up to $11 M.
• Let’s not forget the best move K.C. may have made this offseason by re-signing DC Steve Spagnuolo., who just won his fourth Super Bowl ring. Here’s what Adam Teicher had to say about it:
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“Spagnuolo had an answer for everything opposing offenses threw at the Chiefs last season. He excels at getting the most out of his players, one reason the Chiefs have derived so much value from so many of their late-round defensive draft picks. Players like playing for Spagnuolo because they believe he puts them in a position to succeed. Spagnuolo guided the Chiefs to the second-best scoring defense in the regular season in 2023. They allowed 17.3 points per game.”
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So, to review what Veach has already accomplished this 2024 offseason: he’s signed CJ to a huge multi-year deal, signed Drue Tranquill to a reasonable multi-year deal, traded away L’Jarius Sneed giving him the extra $19.8 M to use on future signings, signed TE Irv Smith on what can be thought of as a “prove-it” deal, released MVS and signed Hollywood Brown. Plus, K.C. extended DC Steve Spagnuolo.
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Still, the Chiefs Have Options
The Chiefs could re-sign:
WR, Mecole Hardman – now that the NFL has instituted a New Kickoff Rule, Hardman may be getting offers from other teams to be their Kickoff Returner. Might as well be K.C.. The Chiefs have a load of WRs in both Free Agency and the draft to consider. They might as well take their time and get the best fit. We might just change BPA (Best Player Available) to BFA (Best Fit Available).
RB, Jerick McKinnon – As far as a “Missing Link” goes, the running back position needs two such guys and I would not be averse to the idea of brining CEH back, as I mentioned yesterday. Former Chiefs TE Jason Dunn of Chief Concerns might say it best when it comes to McKinnon’s abilities (3:57):
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I agree with Jason Dunn that Jerick McKinnon could be a coach in this league. He already knows how to block and every RB and WR needs to learn how to do that properly.
LT, Donovan Smith – many may not like this move but if the Chiefs want a player who is familiar wit the offense and can give them a solid blind side protector for Patrick Mahomes, Smith may be their man.
Safety, Justin Simmons – while some may see it as a necessity to sign a replacement for Mike Edwards, I do not. I think the elevation of Chamarri Conner and with Justin Reid and Bryan Cook on board, the Chiefs will have this position covered.
Cornerback – while you may think the Chiefs need to go out and shop for the best CB they can find since they just traded away one of the best CBs in the league in L’Jarius Sneed, I don’t see that position as a top need right now. Certainly not a “Missing Link.”
Although the Chiefs had a bad year with their Wideouts dropping the ball and may end up needing to sign or draft more WRs. this offseason, here’s Matt Miller talking to the Chiefs Matt McMullen about Rashee Rice last year prior to the draft (go to the 5:03 mark):
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So, you can see that some of the Chiefs open positions are what I’d call Missing Links, but not all of them are necessary to be filled.
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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
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