Chiefs: Offensive Line Scenarios – by David Bell – After the playoffs, anyone who follows, observes and analyzes the Kansas City Chiefs will without a doubt be all over the problems of the 2020 season and the how injuries affected the Chiefs front five that started at the season opener. Bottom line? We can look at the miserable results of the Super Bowl to know what happened and where the weaknesses lie. Those weaknesses and the ability to counter them for the upcoming season will be the focus of this dispatch.
In order to approach what may happened, it will depend first on 5 players:
- Eric Fisher (LOT)
- Mitch Schwartz (ROT)
- Laurent Duvernay-Tardif (ROG)
- Kelechi Osemele (LOG) and,
- Lucas Niang (OT).
I’ll take a look at each player briefly and the likelihood of their being able to start the season.
Eric Fisher (LOT)– Eric Fisher suffered an Achilles Tendon tear. This injury is such that, historically, players who suffered the injury never came back the same player. Fish is 30 years old and he is a big man up front, John Dorsey’s #1 draft pick in 2013. This injury occurred in the playoffs and it is such an injury that it usually takes one year to recover and rehab in order to return to football. If Eric cannot be ready for opening the season and most of the games scheduled, retaining him for a position is likely a 2022 situation. By the time the starting 5 is set in concrete, Fisher will still be in recovery and the middle of rehab. I doubt he even is able to return this season.
2021 Season assessment? Not available. Fish is also 30 years of age in 2021, and age is a factor. Recovery/Rehab time frame is usually 10-12 months.
Mitch Schwartz (ROT) – Mitch Schwartz ended his season in week 6 and did not play another down. He suffered his first serious injury as a pro and when he went out, I was a bit “heart-broken” about it. I believe he is the most undervalued and underrated Offensive Lineman in football. The man was so solid that he appeared in 7,894 snaps (7 ½ years) in a row. Mitch was a gemstone of dependability until injury left him out of football in 2020 after 134 consecutive starts. With the back injury, Schwartz would not return to the grass in 2020, nor to a postseason game. This type of injury is an affliction of Offensive Linemen overall and when they occur it is difficult to even assess how serious the injury is and how it affects the players future. Of all our offensive linemen that we have fielded, he has become my favorite offensive lineman: post 2010. Solid in player, solid in run blocking and great in pass protection.
2021 Season Assessment? Unknown. It is a huge contingency for GM Brett Veach. Mitch is 32 for the 2021 season. Age is a factor. If Mitch can return the Chiefs will have a lot better opportunity to get the front five into a strong position for 2021.
LDT (ROG) – Larry took the 2020 season of to work in the medical field. This was the season after he suffered a couple of injuries and had a down season in 2019. He plans to return to the Chiefs for 2021 and from any reference to him and his ability strength and conditioning-wise, he has maintained an appropriate regimen to be ready to play this spring. Still, it is a contingency situation because of the 2019 season performance. I quickly attributed the downturn to injuries, but then he sat out and we won’t know the scoop until it is hashed out in Spring Training or this Summer.
2021 Season Assessment? Contingency situation based on training, health and Coaching evaluation.
Kelechi Osemele (LOG) – When Brett Veach signed Osemele I was almost ecstatic about the potential of adding a man-mover to the right of Eric Fisher. He immediately became a starter and did exactly what I believe needed to be done on the interior of the offensive line: clear defenders out. Would that we had a LOG, ROG and Center who played with that ruthless toughness who could open holes for Clyde Edwards-Helaire(CEH) and Darrel Williams or Lev Bell as well as Osemele. He played the position with abandon and vitality that I want all across our front five. Another loss to the team with Week 6 play, injuring both knees in that game, and lost for the season. I know that Kelechi has tweeted very positively about his rehab and looks forward to 2021. However, for him as well as both Fish and Schwartz, age is a factor. He also is beyond the year 30 mark.
2021 Season Assessment? Conditional upon healing up from injuries and rehab to playing form. Kelechi states that he is going to be ready in the Spring. Neither knee injury was of the serious variety. Hard to judge at this point. I want him back. He has also tweeted that he is a “Chief.” I like hearing this from our guys and if he can return, he can again take on the LOG role.
Lucas Niang (OT) – Niang was the Chiefs 3rd selection of the 2020 draft. I felt he was a very solid selection. Lucas fought an injury as his last collegiate season ended. It was my view that he lost draft position due to the injury, but that also enabled the Chiefs to select him in round 3. Niang sat out the 2020 season due to Covid-19. I have touched on this before as I felt that he would have been the Swing Tackle in 2020(SW/T). This did not occur due to Lucas sitting out 2020, so we must wait to see him fulfill his promise when things are put together in Spring. I hate to thrust a young player to the starter role, but Niang should know the play book backwards and forward come the end of April. I slot him as the starting LOT, never-the-less.
2021 Season Assessment? Break in season for 2021 – will be thrust to a starting role, a huge on the job learning experience.
OL Contingency Look: The Positive View
An alternate situation might see Nick Allegretti at LOG, or Center, Yasir Durant at LOG or even OC. What I am referring to here is that Osemele could be a ‘no-go’.
OL Contingency Look: The Very Negative View
With this view, I am making a judgement that Niang is not ready to roll, and Osemele isn’t back to form. We still use a high draft pick for the OC, Durant has got to fill at ROT because LDT may not be the player he was in 2018. Rankin then takes on ROT, because Mitch Schwartz’s back injury continues to keep him off the field.
A Peek at a Heavy Draft for the OL
My Draft Picks, depending on the draft proceeding in our favor could consist of players like for the offensive line:
- Center: Landon Dickerson – Alabama, Creed Humphrey – Oklahoma, Drew Dalman – Stanford
- OT: Alijah Vera-Tucker – USC, Samuel Cosmi-UT, Rashawn Slater-Northwestern, Alex Leatherwood-Alabama, Landon Young – KY
- OG: Wyatt Davis – OSU, Alijah Vera-Tucker – USC
Chiefs Scouts may see one of the tackles as an inside player, or players slotted at Center, could be used at OG. I really like Davis and Vera-Tucker, and later in the draft, Dalman.
Other Players from the 2020 Roster
At this point, I am not convinced that Austin Reiter or Andrew Wylie will be retained. I think they have already hit their ceiling. I like Stefan Wisniewski. He is a valuable asset as a Vet and has proved himself with the Chiefs. Mike Remmers might be another depth player, but he is not a starting quality OT. Daryl Williams, who can play center and Guard will have to demonstrate growth. I have no real opinion on other possibilities.
I have not considered a free agent signing for the positions of need. It is going to be a Brett Veach GM game played well beyond my ability to envision what may happen. I have provided a positive look, and a negative look and listed a few possible draft picks that are likely to be in range in rounds one and two and a couple in later rounds like 3&4.
Bottom Line: OL
Ladner Morse wrote a piece which discussed the OL situation for Wednesday’s article. This uses that as a base, so some credit must be given to Laddie for this first peak at the 2021 Offensive Line. There is reason for a positive outlook. I am a big time Brett Veach supporter and his ability to work with HC Andy Reid and his coaching staff. Reconstructing the Offensive Line in one season is going to be a tough proposition. I think I have laid it out so that you can see the difficulties and potential solutions.
David Bell – Writing from Houston (no power at Rockport)
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