Chiefs Offseason Priorities: Continuity

Chiefs Offseason Priorities: Continuity

 · by Ransom Hawthorne

When it comes to performance, continuity is important. It’s one of the reasons writers struggle to make definitive statements about this Kansas City Chiefs team. With wholesale changes on defense, and a brand new QB, it’s hard to predict how the season will go. While these changes were necessary, General Manager Brett Veach, will almost certainly look to avoid this in the future. In a perfect world, every starter would be under contract for the following year. If that is Veach’s goal, here are the barriers to it’s realization.

WR Chris Conley: Conley’s injury has healed much faster than expected. This, paired with his familiarity with the offense, means he will be the #3 WR. As Conley will be a free agent in 2019, Veach could offer him an extension. Unfortunately, Conley’s contract value is as low as it’s ever been and, he will likely look to rebuild that value by playing out his current contract, before he signs another. If the Chiefs are hoping for continuity at the #3 WR spot, they’ll be hoping for someone else to take the starting job. Given the lack of depth, at the position, that seems unlikely.

DE Allen Bailey: the Chiefs have secured a couple of young DTs in Xavier Williams and Derrick Nnadi, but Bailey and Jones remain the lone pass rushing DEs. Bailey has agreed to an early extension before, so he may be willing to do it again, but the Chiefs are more likely to let him walk. Still, with relatively few options available, K.C. appears stuck with Bailey, at least for this year, and will be looking for his replacement, in 2019.

TE Demetrius Harris: while fans may not like him, the Chiefs don’t have another TE on their roster who has a chance of winning the #2 spot. Harris is well versed in the offense, a quality blocker, and possesses mismatch speed and size. He also had one of the best games of his career, with Mahomes, catching 75% of his targets (4) for an average of 24.3 YPC. Harris will suspended for game one of the regular season but, that won’t lose him his role in the offense. Veach would be smart to offer Harris a moderate deal now, before Mahomes makes him look like a great TE. Even if he drops to #3 on the depth chart, next year, he’s still someone who’s worth keeping around.

OC Mitch Morse: while Morse is regarded as injury prone, he’d only missed one game, prior to 2017. Unfortunately, he missed 9 games last year, and looks like he won’t be ready to start the season. Morse’s talent is undeniable, but the Chiefs are likely in the market for a more durable Center. Cameron Erving is likely to get the first crack, but he’s a free agent next year too. If K.C. hopes for continuity, from this year to next, they’ll be needing one of their depth linemen to make a major leap. Otherwise, they’ll have no choice but to address the position next year.

CB’s David Amerson and Steven Nelson: the Chiefs will have two starters on defense this yearwho will hit free agency in 2019. For a defense that’s trying to find it’s feet, and show progress, that’s a bad thing. Veach should make signing Nelson to an extension, a major goal. Even with that move though, K.C. would still be forced to invest a high pick or significant FA contract for a CB next year.

So why is continuity so important? Well, it certainly helps the team be greater than the sum of it’s parts, but, the bigger issue is flexibility. If you desperately need a quality WR, and it’s a down year in the draft, you have to spend big in free agency (Sammy Watkins). If you make it to the draft without adequate starters, you have to force a pick, which can come back to bite you. Kansas City supposedly had a 4^th round grade on KieVarae Russel, but took him in the 3^rd… because they were desperate for a CB. He proved to be terrible, and the Chiefs 3^rd CB spot has been a question mark ever since. K.C. has a good chance to be successful this year, but, unless something changes, Veach will be scrambling in 2019 to fill all these holes.

Bonus Thought: the Broncos Super Bowl winning team was built using guys who wanted to play with Peyton Manning, and took a discount to do so. Elway has never done very well in the draft, so this was essential to their success. If Mahomes validates the hype, the Chiefs’ 2019 free agency period will be a lot easier for Brett Veach.

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