Chiefs Offense: Worst Replacements Parts

What happens if a starter goes down at any particular position? Who will step in? Long term or short term, it could be disastrous, depending on the position. So, if a front line player goes out with an injury… what then? That’s exactly the reason the Chiefs lost their last game (and we all know what game I’m referring to). So, it’s important to cover this issue because of what happened last year, and more specifically, after losing the starting LT, RT, and RG for the season. Clearly, GM Brett Veach has made enough moves this offseason to make sure a meltdown of 2020 proportions doesn’t happen again in 2021… on the offensive line. However, what happens if the same ugly problem happens at other positions?

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David Bell and I will cover the offensive positions today and and give you out take on which one’s the Chiefs will have the hardest time replacing: both short term and long term. We won’t be focusing on a FG kicker because if Harrison Butker goes down, K.C. will simply go out and sign the best FA kicker possible and since we don’t have any idea who that might be, it’s hard to comment. Also, there’s no need to cover the Punter, Long Snapper or even the Kick Returners: I’m sure Brett Veach has a line on a great Replacement Punter (Dustin Colquitt)… replacing a Long Snapper is never a difficult proposition… and K.C. is loaded with Kick Returners. Let’s begin with the…

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Short Term: Henne will be able to do a fine job and might even win a game or two if Patrick Mahomes goes down for 2-to-4 games. In that case, K.C. will be just fine.

Long Term: If Henne is needed to win the final two games of the season and then lead the team into the playoffs, therne you’ve got trouble, right here in river city. -Laddie

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Short Term, OL Overall: We have five positions. It is clear to me that we have sufficient talent who could man each of the five positions for a short-term injury replacement. For example, one of the linemen is injured and needs to miss 1 to 3 weeks to recover from a severe ankle injury. This is a time frame in which the existing depth should be able to manage a starter being absent for a short term time frame. No matter who we substitute in for those situations, the Chiefs depth will handle the missing player for a time frame of perhaps 3 weeks.

For All  positions, short or long term, I think the Chiefs Offensive Guards, Tackles and Centers will have NFL experience as starters, even if it turns out that a replacement must be a rookie. If I use Veterans as the Starters, then the interior OL is Thuney, Blythe and LDT left to right. The Chiefs #2’s are players who have started or who are actually talented rookies: Andrew Wylie, Creed Humphrey, Trey Smith, Nick Allegretti, others. Moving to the outside for ROT? Let us presume that Mike Remmers as the veteran earns the start. Behind him, logically is a top quality essential Rookie, Lucas Niang.  I think this also applies to Niang standing in for Orlando Brown in a short term situation.

Long Term OL Overall: An Injury sustained which caused one or both of our Tackles to miss 4 weeks, be relegated to the PUP or a suffered a season ending injury is where my biggest worry comes in. If Remmers is out? Niang takes over. But if, at any point Brown is the player injured, my stress level rises considerably. If Brown is out on the left? Niang Replaces him or if Remmers is out on the right, the same applies. The exposure in my mind is who is going to be the long term replacement for Brown either way. At this juncture, I think all four positions can be handled with efficiency of the existing roster players(and or call-ups from the “Taxi Squad”, except if Brown is the injured player. If both Tackles are out? I am comfortable with whomever would start on the right side. the LOT replacement is a bigger concern and one that I hope that the Chiefs are training up a player to be the #2 LOT(all camp, all pre-season) to prepare for the worst case scenario. I just do not know who that player is to be. 

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In 2021, I think the team withstands a series of Injuries and weathers storms far more capably than 2020 with greater depth and NFL experience. There is really only one caveat to that, which is replacing Orlando Brown, Jr for the long term. -David

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Next on the list would be…

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Short Term: There’s simply no substitution for the tight end who I believe is the best TE in the history of the NFL. When all is said and done Kelce will have nailed down every receiving record for a tight end… and… he’s a good blocker! No matter who the Chiefs get to replace Kelce, they’re just not going to measure up to the threat he poses over the middle.

Long Term: If Blake Bell has to provide the threat that Kelce has given for over half of the past decade, it’s just not going to happen. Quantities of players – at other positions — will have to step up if Kelce is not available long term. Some can say Mahomes is the engine, but if that’s the case, Kelce is the chassis. In the short term, Reid can plan around the loss of Kelce, and Blake Bell is probably the best answer for now. However, it would take multiple players to provide the catches Kelce creates.

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Yes we have one — a feature back — and that is Clyde Edwards-Helaire. Then comes the depth. #2: Darrel Williams but beyond the edge of the ocean? There be dragons. here I add my caveats for #3 and #4–Jerick McKinnon (Georgia, 8 yrs), Darwin Thompson was a draft pick, plus Derrick Gore (Louisiana-Monroe, 1 year) could claim that #4 position, and then we have Elijah McGuire (La-Lafayette, 3 yrs). As far as Darwin Thompson goes, he hasn’t been on the field enough to show the “usability” so I discount him because the Chiefs didn’t use him. Then again… I could be wrong.

Short Term – Clyde Edwards-Helaire (CEH) had a good rookie season that suffered due to the injuries on the OL. The outlook with the front 5 for 2021 is nearly stupendous, and that bodes well for any RB used. If CEH went down and missed 3 consecutive weeks, I can see that Williams, and one of the other RB’s, handling the roles.

Long Term – This is where it gets sticky. I do believe CEH is a true Feature Back. With this offensive line, even with the run game back seat to the passing game, Clyde will have over 1,200 yards rushing and we hear anyway, they are going to feature him as a more significant target for Mahomes. That would be hard to replace though I do trust Williams to be a dual threat and both McKinnon and Gore have good hands. It won’t be the same as CEH, just different and situations would require different play calling considerations at the same time. Long Term though, this is not optimal, the team should handle a long term absence of CEH and weather the storm (and dragons). There is though, no FRU (Field Replaceable Unit). -David

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Next on the list would be…

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Short Term: Once again, K.C. looks like they’d be in trouble if Tyreek Hill goes down. If it’s a short term injury, I can see other players stepping up, like Mecole Hardman, but even so, it’ll take several WRs to provide the open looks Hill gives Mahomes.

Long Term: I’ve long said that Mahomes can make any WR into a good one. However, Hill is not good, he’s great, and would be great on any team. If he goes out for an extended period, it may present the biggest challenge for Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes of all. If Mahomes is the engine, and Kelce is the chassis… Then Hill is the performance carburetor! -Laddie

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Mecole Hardman could work up his skill. He has the speed. If he truly is ready to handle the “Chiefs way” and run his routes, he can solve the first problem for the short term. It’s the moves that can’t be duplicated, which Hill does, and leaves people standing in his dust. This is why I want Mecole to truly emerge as the #2. Also, because I think Cornell Powell can be the possession player that the team so desperately needs. That could be a great 1-2-3 punch for K.C.. I also am wondering about Byron Pringle and I want to add adding Darius Shepherd to that thinking. -David

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We didn’t cover the FB role, but as David pointed out to me, we no longer have the Shermanator and he was most important to the special teams anyway.

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Offensive Summary

The best take away from a review of the Offensive replacement parts is that the OL position is the most secure. That’s great news in itself, especially when it comes to protecting His Majesty, Mahomes. However, if one of the big three — Mahomes, Hill or Kelce — happens to go down for any kind of extended period, K.C. could be in trouble. Knock on Redwoods! From where David or I stand, it looks like the RBs are the second most insulated group.

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Tomorrow we’ll get into the Chiefs Defense and the worst replacement parts there.

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David Bell and Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne

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