ArrowheadOne
Friday Notes and Quotes
by David Bell
What was on my mind? Mostly Wednesday’s Supplemental Draft. Apparently Chiefs GM Brett Veach is standing pat–for now. I did say, drafting Beal high enough to get him required that Veach and his staff properly vet him. Didn’t happen, so we move on from there. I still would like to see another starter in the mix but we go with Amerson(undervalued by most) and Nelson(undervalued by most).
Quotes for the Week – man that’s a toughy for week ending 14 July
Veach had no presser nor did Andy or any of the coaches. Lemee see?
Bill Barnwell’s quote on the Chiefs Offense as a top ranked threat came through this past week. He thinks highly of the tools available to new starting QB Patrick Mahomes.
“This has been building one year at a time for the Chiefs…. It starts with Travis Kelce, who is the consensus second-best tight end in the league behind Gronkowski. In 2016, the Chiefs added Tyreek Hill, who graduated from his gadget return man role as a rookie into a real-deal wideout last season by posting a 75-1,183-7 line.,,,Kareem Hunt last season(s running back) produced 1,782 yards from scrimmage as a rookie, which was the 10th-best mark for a debuting runner in league history…. Hunt already is one of the league’s best backs.
It’s hard to find a team that can say it’s paying its fourth-best weapon $16 million per year, and, in part, that’s because the Chiefs probably overpaid Sammy Watkins. If we ignore the money and the hype surrounding Watkins coming out of Clemson, it’s accurate enough to say that Patrick Mahomes’ fourth-best weapon is a 25-year-old guy who averaged just over 80 receiving yards per game in 2015 and turned nine red zone targets into seven touchdowns last season. The upside for Watkins is still as a legitimate No. 1 receiver in an offense that already has two of them.
While we can never truly know whether a young quarterback would develop into a star in any situation, it’s hard to imagine what else Patrick Mahomes could ask for than Reid as a coach and this bevy of talent as targets. Every team is susceptible to injuries, and Mahomes will have growing pains, but no offense has as much upside across the board at the skill-position spots as these Chiefs.”
Chris Conley on Working With PMII
If Chris Conley is ahead of rehab schedule, and thinking on how he was finally trusted by Alex Smith in 2017, I think it’s appropriate to include Conley’s view of working with Mahomes. I think you recall that I was pretty high on Conley last year. let’s hope it comes through. I think you can recall his camp where he had a good connection with Mahomes: At the end of this years OTA’s Conley said:
“I haven’t worked with Pat much prior to this camp — it was mainly Alex… It’s huge, not only to build chemistry with Pat but to also knock some rust off.”
Patrick Mahomes had a view on Conley being ready as well:
“I have an extreme amount of trust in [Conley],” Mahomes said. “He’s a guy who’s always going to be in the right spot and doing the right thing, and people forget how physically talented he is. He’ll go on top of guys and make a play. He’s another one that defenses have to account for.”
Who Are The Guys?
I think the Playmakers on this team is a pretty fine list of players. Unfortunately if such a list needs 14, they should not include Kickers and should include more Defenders and the QB. The Chiefs are 2 or 3 shy, no, maybe I should make this number one larger or two.
Here is my list. It will be close to your own or any other site who would look at this from a play-making standpoint.
- Travis Kelce TE
- Ty Hill WR
- Kareem Hunt RB
- Sam Watkins WR
- Mitch Schwartz OT
- Eric Berry SS
- Chris Jones DE
- Reggie Ragland LB
- Kendall Fuller SCB
- Justin Houston OLB
Special Teams Playmakers
Both of the Chiefs kickers rank right up in the front end of their respective task roles among NFL Kickers and this is big advantage to the team. We can depend on both men.
What we hope? Colquitt doesn’t punt as much because the playmakers move the chains and score. Further, the Place Kicker is employed a lot more frequently with the strong offense performing. Still, our kickers are play-making contributors. It’s just that I think we have to have 12 players and those should be on both sides of the ball before considering S/T.
Team Leaders on S/T? Anthony Sherman and Frank Zombo along with Dan Sorensen. There are more but we have to wait and see how this balances out in 2018.
I list 10 players total. On defense we have a lot of potential, but unproven. I list Ragland because of his fine 2017 season after missing the first 4 games. I list Fuller because of his slot leading performance in 2017. I list Mitch Schwartz who may not be top of the NFL but one of the best OT’s in the gam. Jones came on with a bang in 2017. Houston should get back to form and Watkins, no matter what has been steadily averaging over 800 yards per season – catches the ball short, intermediate, the flats. You name it. Perfect compliment to Hill.
- Dustin Colquitt P
- Harrison Butker PK
The Offensive Line
I also think the Chiefs are halfway decent up front on the OL. Lets just call it the “just okay” OL. It was ranked 18th by PFF heading into 2018.
- LT Eric Fisher
- RT Mitch Schwartz
- LG Parker Ehinger
- OC Mitch Morse
- RG LDT
PFF lists Bryan Witzmann as the LG.and it’s his starting role to lose. We should probably list Cam Erving as the starter at center to start with. We have a new big man with Reggie McKenzie and I expect him to move quickly up the chart. Also if Cam Erving comes through it provides a quickness to the front 5 and that is needed. Plus the depth is improved.
I am not sure I have a good quote for the week. I might have “done” had Brett Veach made a supplemental draft pick. Ah well.
Who should we see emerge as playmaker additions during this season’s games?
- Patrick Mahomes — he will be a playmaker but we don’t know how he will fare in not making mistakes (namely INTs).
- Anthony Hutchens — He is a run stopper and will pair well with Ragland. He is now depended on as a starter.
Chris Conley — I expect a strong year from Conley. In fact, I demand it. With Hill, Watkins, Kelce and Hunt/Ware garnering defensive attention on every snap, Conley should have a break out season(yes, I expect Ware back strong, perhaps not week 1 but soon after if not that).
Who among rookies? I expect Dorian O’Daniel to be fit to different defensive looks by Sutton — subbing in for Ragland, playing in the Nickel, or Hybrid Safety. Like that. I expect Xavier Williams (not a rookie but listed as a pair handling the NT position) and Derrick Nnadi to solve the NT problem. Armani Watts is another of my young players who I think will excel at FS — it might take going beyond Pre-season but I think during the season he proves himself a starting quality player. I expect Breeland Speaks to be speaking pass rush, sometimes from a four man type front or getting the nod at OLB. I am not sure what I can say about others.
Dog Days Are Here. Training Camp is awaited, anxiously.
David Bell – ArrowheadOne
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