Chiefs: Improving Depth of the Front Five – here are some thoughts about the Chiefs players for the Front Five on the offensive line. This follows the signing of Mike Remmers-OT on Friday but precludes other signings and the draft.
Mike Remmers Role: Either/Or
OL Mike Remmers signed a 1-year contract with the Chiefs. His addition will have a solid effect on the Chiefs Front Five. Remmers was as starter in 2019 but missed a game due to injured back in 2018 and practice/camp/pre-season time were missed — a starter nonetheless.
Adam Teicher observes that he gives the OL versatility and Flexibility. He could be starter at tackle or guard or fit the SW/T role immediately. Of course he will have the playbook and blocking scheme to get down but I think for anyone who has average intelligence that this is not a factor.
If I had to guess? He is earmarked to compete for a starting OG role or to be the Chiefs Swing tackle. At both positions, he can play either side. Certainly, if the conditions were that he is brought aboard to move inside, I expect him to win out the starter role. The dependencies are detailed below but involve LOG Andrew Wylie, ROG LD-T, and a determination of who will be the Center.
What this means is we likely won’t know how the Chiefs plan to use Remmers, or for that matter the Interior line players, until they are closing in on June 1, if a player is cut, or getting a fluid group practicing together in camp. What group gives us most of the 3-C’s: Continuity, Consistency and Cohesion. We could make it Four by adding: Contiguity.
Either Austin Reiter 2019’s Center
Or Nick Allegretti’s Emergence
What occurred in 2019 was poor play in the role of starting Center. Reiter maintained his starting position but his play was far below what was expected. He had a poor year and I can see the need at Center being a crucial position. Reiter was the starter but a late round draft pick of Nick Allegretti was dependable and took on the #2 Center role.
I frame the very positive vibes from the Chiefs staff prior to the 2019 season kick as the reason I lay out a change in the starting player for the Center Role. It is my view that Nick Allegretti pushed close to be swapped in for the starting role in training camp and during pre-season.
Andy Reid is notorious about keeping a starting five together from before the time that training camp ends through all pre-season games, and he stuck with that approach in 2019. That’s what has happened in past years as well.
This is one of the reasons that I think the 3 C’s* are a crucial component of Reid’s thinking and one of the reasons why the Offensive Line struggled in 2019 after it began. Think about the import of this and its effect on the players. Fisher was knocked out for 8 games as the season opened. Wylie, LDT and eventually Martinas Rankin wer all injured. There was one point in week 10 that if another injury had occurred, the next front five player to be used would have been Travis Kelce. Fortunately, that was the game where Mitch Schwartz was knocked to the sideline but was able to come back and finish the game.
I watched Austin Reiter in the Super Bowl game. He played good football and did get to the second level and make plays. With Wisniewski to his left and LDT to his right his performance was far better than I expected. As noted, here and elsewhere, it appears that the instability all across the front line had a larger effect on individual play that many realized. I am not eliminating his beginning the season as the penciled in starter at Center.
Either way the Center job unfolds we have two players that can handle the starting and backup up role with Austin Reiter or Nick Allegretti.
ROG: Either LDT Or Martinas Rankin
This brings me to the ROG position. This is a conundrum because LDT had a down year. I have written a couple of times in speculating that he was injured and playing through it but, still not up to snuff. The problem I see is that we are paying the Doc $9M in 2020 and $9.25M in 2021 and he is under contract in 2022. The dead money to cut him would cost the Chiefs more than $8M over two years if cut before June 1. I have determined that the Doc would depart due to cap savings of $5M before June 1. I’ve also speculated for the draft that the Chiefs will add a newcomer to the offensive line room.
Since those realizations, I have since re-thought that idea, especially in light of how injuries and lack of NFL time affected the performance of the offensive line. We should all present Mr. Stefan Wisniewski with a cheer of gratitude as he was inserted in over Wylie and that helped stabilize the front 5 for the playoff run.
Another reason I previously thought that LDT would depart was having watched the play of Martinas Rankin in preseason and his sliding into the starting ROG role when the Doc went down with a serious ankle sprain plus how well Rankin performed during the starts he had until his injury in week 10. In a lot of ways, Rankin substituted for LDT almost seamlessly, which bodes well for his import in 2020. This is likely why many pundits are looking at releasing or trading the Doc and saving the cap space. It makes sense, especially with a trade.
Of course, we won’t know how that unfolds until the draft and June 1 (the official cut date). It also depends on Brett Veach and drafting a player to the offensive line which is also a good possibility.
Martinas Rankin was solid in pass protection. He did not give up a sack in 271 snaps which reflects well upon his possibly obtaining a starting role. It is very plausible to me that the Guard position is already solid with the players on the roster, whether LDT stays or departs. It appears to me, considering the value of our Quarterback, that retaining the Doc is the best course of action and for 2017 and 2018, his play was very solid.
LOG: Either Andrew Wylie Or Martinas Rankin,
Or Greg Senat Or Mike Remmers
One of the first moves Brett Veach made for the new season was to tender Andrew Wylie. Like the Doc, his play was inconsistent. Again, I mention the effect of the injury plague. Consider that to his left, Wylie had substitute Cam Erving. I think that is enough mishap on the field for half the season to affect any young player. It could be that the next questions become:
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- Will Rankin take on a starting role?
- Will LDT be retained?
- Mike Remmers have been acquired to take over an OG role?
This is going to be part of the Q&A we all have until other factors are resolved. About the players now in the mix? I have very upbeat view of the players in the Offensive Line Room. Keep in mind, Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz are the starting tackles and if it were up to me, I’d slot Remmers as the SW/T.
It’s funny but, the Either/Or of Remmer… is important to the Offensive Tackles as well as the Either/Or’s affecting the IOL. Last season, Cam Erving was the #1 sub for the OT’s and came in for Fisher due to his week one injury. That was a near disaster. Don’t get me wrong: I had determined that Erving was not a good candidate for the OT job and was barely adequate inside. Suffice it to say that Mr. Erving is seeking employment outside of Kansas City. Unfortunately, QB Pat Mahomes also had an early injury which slowed his ability to escape trouble. That made things worse.
OTs: Fisher, Schwartz and the Either/Or at SW/T
Eric Fisher at LOT and Mitchell Schwartz at ROT is a very good bookend tandem and both have solid experience. Both have been Pro-Bowl players. One of the most undervalued and underrated players in the NFL is right side OT Mitch Schwartz. Adding Mike Remmer to the OT rotation, the Chiefs now have a very solid threesome at that position.
Other Offensive Line Players
There are several other players that must be figured into the equation:
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- OT Greg Senat
- OG Ryan Hunter
- OT Jackson Barton
To the above group we have added Free Agent newcomer: OT Mike Remmers. It appears to me that Remmers addition is very important considering his NFL experience. Very much like what Wisniewski brought to the table last year as a late addition and depending on how he is earmarked, he could be moved inside.
Ol Depth Chart: Due Diligence
The Active Roster is now 46 and I think that 46th player will be an offensive lineman making the total players 9 for sure and possibly even 10. It is a position that needs the insurance, as we saw in 2019.
- LOT: Eric Fisher – Jackson Barton
- LOG: Andrew Wylie
- OC: Nick Allegretti – Austin Reiter
- ROG: LDT
- ROT: Michel Schwartz
- Swing tackle: Mike Remmers
- Swing IOL: Martinas Rankin
- Reserve OTs: Greg Senat – Ryan Hunter
I am certain that 2020 will see 9 players on the active Roster. Since there are 46 players on the active roster, they might indeed make one of those players the 10th offensive lineman. In this listing it appears to me it is Allegretti’s time to start. Austin Reiter who took a step backwards in 2019 takes over the #2 center role. This is an offensive line with starter quality depth in all five positions while all five starters but Allegretti with NFL snaps as a starter. That is the perfect time to fold in a newcomer to a starter’s job: he has 4 players surrounding him with good NFL Experience.
View for the Day
This is my view as Monday rolls around: Brett Veach will have presented one more lineman to compete for a starting job whether that is a draft pick or free agent added to the mix. As I review the possibilities I can see that the Chiefs will again have a solid offensive line with solid depth. If Remmers is a swing tackle that provides 3 OT’s with solid experience as starters as well.
The more Consideration I give the offensive line room, the better I feel about it’s stability and depth for 2020 and I like the potential very much.
David Bell — ArrowheadOne
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