When TE James O’Shaughnessy went bye-bye in a draft-day trade with the New England Patriots many fans thought it signaled that John Dorsey would be selecting a new TE before the draft was over. That’s exactly what didn’t happen and it leaves the team with another question mark at that position. A question mark which was already hanging over the TE position since early March when Demetrius Harris was arrested on felony possession of marijuana and paraphernalia down in Bates County, Missouri. In fact, Harris was a big question mark for many fans prior to that time because his career drop-rate of 43.75% is almost exactly what Steph Curry’s career 3-Pt percentage make-rate of 43.8% is. Yes, it’s like comparing apples and oranges… but those are a lot of bad apples.
So, what positions will be up for grabs the most this year? It may not involve starting positions directly, but who the starters will be should have an effect on those players are fighting it out for a key position on the field.
Tight Ends
With Harris facing a possible suspension by Roger Goodell the main back-ups may be fighting it out for the #2 spot which has traditionally been a blocking tight end. Those TEs would be Gavin Escobar who was signed by John Dorsey this spring and Ross Travis who was 3rd or 4th or the depth chart in 2016. If Escobar can show any consistency catching the ball he may have the inside track on the #2 TE position. However, his 7.5 catches per year over the past four seasons, while playing for the Dallas Cowboys, makes that unlikely… unless Andy Reid is not only a “QB Whisperer” but a “TE Shaman” as well. I predict that Ross Travis becomes the second best pass catcher among K.C. TEs in 2017, unless John Dorsey has another TE up his proverbial sleeve that we — and perhaps he — doesn’t know about. On Monday, Lyle Graversen predicted that Wyatt Houston would make the Chiefs roster but yesterday the Chiefs cut Houston. It’s Harris who should probably worry about making the roster.
Running Backs
Spencer Ware should be the Chiefs starting RB when the regular season begins but the #2 RB spot is up for grabs. Although rookie Kareem Hunt will be in the mix at running back, his success may mean the end of the line for Charcandrick West. You may wonder what C.J. Spiller’s presence on the roster may mean. However, Spiller should mainly be considered a replacement for Knile Daivs and he’ll spend most of his time returning kickoffs, thereby freeing up Tyreek Hill for extended duty on the front line of Andy Reid’s modified offensive assault. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Kareem Hunt is getting the lion’s share of the carries and platooning with Ware by season’s end.
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Inside Linebacker
With ILB Derrick Johnson’s return apparently on pace for training camp, the competition for the pleasure of standing next to him is the real place to look for heavy hitting to happen. Ramik Wilson did an admirable job in DJ’s absence but Justin March-Lillard was the starter at the beginning of last season. Some will say that DJ Alexander should be getting consideration there but it’s really between Wilson and JML. However, if JML gets hurt in camp, or early in the season, he may be facing the same fate as Wilson at the beginning of last season when he was cut. JARD usually only gives a player so many chances and JML has been hurt and missed major parts of the last two seasons. My milk money’s on Ramik.
Wide Receiver
The starters will likely include Jeremy Maclin and Tyreek Hill but the addition of Jehu Chesson may indirectly affect who gets the most snaps as the season unfolds. If either Chesson or Demarcus Robinson is able to make a significant contribution at wide receiver then Tyreek Hill may be freed up to take all the punt returns — which I believe will still be on his list of things to do this fall — but it may give OC Matt Nagy and HC Andy Reid the freedom to use Hill more however they please. The offensive attack in 2017 will mainly be an offense featuring Tyreek Hill and TE Travis Kelce, as well it should. Any third wheel who can draw attention away from those two could really help to open up the whole field for them. Kareem Hunt could be that player too depending on how much Andy Reid decides to use him as a receiver out of the backfield. Remember the days of Brian Westbrook and LeSean McCoy in Philly and the way Reid used them. I think Hunt has those kinds of skills and Reid likely sees Hunt as another dangerous RB/WR out of the backfield… because to Reid, a short pass is like a running play. Which… leads to a lot of fan frustration with Andy’s dink-n-dunk offense… but that’s an article for another day.
If you were looking for a piece about how Patrick Mahomes will challenge Alex Smith for the right to be the starter… come back in 2018 or 2019 for that story.
What do you think? Which positions will be most, “up for grabs” in your book?.
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