Chiefs: “QB, Or Not QB? That Is The Question” – When you interview someone who spent 50 years in the Land of the Lost, and ask them how it feels to be found, you get get an, “I don’t care for that question” answer. That’s how many Chiefs fans may react to any focus on quarterbacks right now. Why? Because they are already found and don’t want to rehash the past, or how it felt to be lost without one all those years.
While that may be the current state of affairs for Chiefs fans across the globe… because Patrick Mahomes has been “found” and Chiefs Kingdom has consequently been “found” along with him, it’s never not worthwhile to consider how the rest of the league is struggling to catch up with the Chiefs, and in so doing, allow many great players at other positions to slip through their fingers.
This is not about the draft… exclusively. I’m aware that I have suggested in years past that there is something called The Bump Method in which I have suggested,
“In the Bump Method of predicting what player, or players, will be available, I look at what positions are loaded near the top of the draft, and then use that to bump other position players down to the Chiefs.”
While that same process will exist in the coming draft, this is more about how so many NFL teams think that overtaking the Chiefs is just a matter of getting players like Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill and that they could somehow just plug-and-play them. The same holds true for the QB position. Yes, teams are all trying to get better in the offseason, but so many appear to be attempting to mirror the Chiefs in makeup, when the reason the Chiefs got to where they are is: by becoming the best they can be. As an example, Tyreek Hill was drafted as a RB who became a kick return artist and studied to become the best WR he could be and the Chiefs coaches coached the heck out of him in the process. Hill is — if anything — coachable. That’s how the Chiefs got to where they are now. Not by trying to be somebody else.
Plus, HC Andy Reid has said several times over the years that he likes to design plays that take advantage of the specific skills of his players. That also tells you a ton about how these Chiefs became these Chiefs.
I’ll begin by focusing on some of the QB moves made in the league over the past few seasons as well as what’s about to happen with certain teams in need of QB help right now (and that’s almost every team but K.C.). That should give us a groundwork for what’s going to happen this offseason.
AFC East
Dolphins Give Up on Tannehill, Then Drafted Tua
Did you know it’s a thing now, for teams to say internally, “Let’s not create another Tannehill situation.” That’s because some teams don’t want to give up on a QB they have in house who could go elsewhere and excel. Is Tannehill in the top five QB range? No, not at all but he has help the Titans so far. The Dolphins brought in Ryan Fitzpatrick after the Jets gave up on the wily vet then proceeded to sit him down at mid-season in favor of rookie Tua Tagovailoa. Tua’s NFL upside appears limited after only 7 games, but he’s been mentioned in trade rumors with the Texans for Deshaun Watson.
Patriots Move on to Cam Jam
The New England Patriots have done a poor job in recent years of bringing in talent to surround their old GOAT, so they let him walk and brought in Cam Newton. Go figure.
The Jets Drafted Sam Darnold
It looks like the Jets are already ready to move on from Darnold. It’s hard to imagine moving on from someone who has only been there two years, but that’s the nature of the league: “what have you done for me immediately?”
AFC North
Ravens: Lamar Took Over for Joe
In 2019, the move to Lamar Jackson looked like a great move with him winning the League MVP. Now, after he’s hit his playoff ceiling multiple times, people are wondering if he has it in him to break through?
Bengals Burrow In
Joe Burrow, who won a National Championship just a year ago, is healing from ACL and MCL injuries to his left knee. The Bengals look good for the next ten years if he comes back strong.
Mayfield Takes Over Cleveland
Baker Mayfield has become a commercial success more than he’s become a football success. If he can become more consistent and if the Browns get him more help at the WR position, they could continue their upward ascent.
Roethlisberger For One More
Ben Roethlisberger wants one more season, but appears to be on his last leg. Pittsburgh needs to draft — or trade for — his replacement asap. BTW… I seriously doubt recently signed Dwayne Haskins is the answer.
AFC South
Er-thing’s Bigger in TX, Including Houston’s Problem
The organization told their franchise QB, Deshaun Watson, that they’d consult him before making any moves then promptly hired a new GM without even contacting him. That was only one of a long line of dastardly deeds they’d done over the past few years. Jimmy Johnson said if he was David Culley, Houston new HC, he’d go knock on Watson;s door, sit down with him and talk it out. It’s been suggested that Culley could fix the locker room, but their problems go way beyond that.
David Culley says he knows Deshaun Watson is going to be a Texan
I recognize Watson as the second most valued player in the NFL right now and David Bell, who lives in the Houston area and has his ear to the local tracks, thinks there’s no way they trade him. The trust is broken, and there currently look like there’s no way around that.
Colts: Wifeless at the Altar
The Indianapolis Colts are a very good team with one little issue: no quarterback. Philip Rivers retired after one season with the Colts following 16 seasons with the Chargers. If the base salary cap for 2021 is $176M, then the Colts will still have more than $64M to utilize. That amount places them as the team with the second most amount of cap this coming offseason and should put them in the running to sign or trade for any QB they like right behind the Jacksonville Jaguars (who should have $73M in available cap).
Jags Hooking Up With Trevor Lawrence?
With $73M in cap space and the first pick in the draft in their pocket, the Jags future looks like it’s almost a done deal. I expect them to stay at el numero uno and select Mr. Lawrence.
Titans Got Their Tannehill
“I’m so happy to be stuck with you.” Those lyrics seem to reverberate in my noggin when I think about the Titans and Ryan Tannehill. Yes, he had more than 3,800 passing yards this year, but his completion percentage fell from 70.3 in 2019 to 65.5 in 2020 and he actually passed for more than 4,000 yards twice while in Miami. Titans are one team dedicated to their own way of doing business and that’s running the ball. Consequently, Tannehill appears to be a game manager in their system. Running the ball to win is all… just doesn’t seem like it’s going to work anymore. Not in today’s pass-sassy league.
AFC West
Denver Broncos QB of the Future?
Drew Lock has been hailed as their QB of the future but he may not be any better than the other 179 QBs they’ve brought in since Peyton Manning left town six years ago. HC Vic Fangio may be getting another year and at least they’ve hired a real GM in George Paton, but unless the Broncos can fix their QB position, they’re likely not progressing. Locks 16 TD-to-15 INTs ratio is especially disconcerting for them, but I don’t see them making a move at QB this offseason.
Chiefs Are Chiefs of the NFL
Patrick Mahomes. Need I say any more?
Vegas Bets on a Carr
The Las Vegas Raiders appear to be dedicated to the idea that Derek Carr is their man at QB. They brought in Marcus Mariota but he’s not going to see the field unless this Carr gets in a wreck.
Los Angeles Chargers are Set With Justin Herbert
Herbert was thrown to the wolves early in the season and never looked back. With 4,336 passing yards, 31 TDs and 10 INTs Herbert has had one of the best first seasons since… I don’t know… Patrick Mahomes?
AFC Note: It looks like the AFC West is the best division in the AFC when it comes to starting QB situations
NFC East
Dallas: Protagonist/Antagonist, One in the Same
Dak Prescott went down this past season without a contract to his name. He likely wants to stay with the Cowboys, but he’d be better off moving on. I spent 20 years in the Dallas area, enough to know that most consider… Owner-GM-HoFer-Self-Proclaimed-NFL-God Jerry Jones… the problem, not the answer.
The Whole Town’s Talking About the Jones’ Boy
Daniel Jones has taken over for Eli Manning — who retired — and it looks like he’ll be the one they’re flying with as they move on down the road. However, his 11 TDs-to-10 INTs ratio in 2020 could make him moveable in a year if he doesn’t improve.
Eagles Engaged, Then Meet a New Love
In 2019, Philadelphia signed Carson Wentz to a 4-year, $128M deal. In 2020, Wentz was benched in week 14 after a helmet-to-helmet hit from Jadeveon Clowney. Once rookie QB Jalen Hurts took over he was so good Wentz stayed on the bench. Hurts threw for 338 and 342 yards versus the Cowboys and Cardinals, respectively and more importantly, looks like a franchise QB. Do the Eagles try to trade Wentz and his contract? Do they just swallow hard and accept that Wentz will be their QB moving forward? It looks like owner Jeffrey Lurie has made up the team’s mind for them by firing Doug Pederson and bringing in Nick Sirianni. This offseason drama appears to be their version of an Off Off Off Broadway production.
The Washington Football Team
Alex Smith may get another year to take over at QB, but who knows for sure. They did the right thing by letting Dwayne Haskins go. The Football Team holds the 19th pick in the draft which means they are not likely to go for a QB high in the first round. However, they have the 5th most amount of cap space this offseason, with more than $31M so, they might be a player who signs a Free Agent QB, the likes of which includes: Dak Prescott, Jacoby Brissett, and Mitchell Trubisky.
Alex Smith sounds as if he wants to play in 2021
NFC North
Chicago Bears QB Woes
With Mitchell Trubisky dangling in the wind… even though he turned in some very good play later in the 2020 season, it’s hard to picture his return to the Windy City. However, Chicago will be –$10M (that’s $10M in the hole) this coming offseason so finding a less expensive solution seems to be in the cards.
You Can’t Hide Your Lion Eyes
The Lions have a new Head Coach which automatically means… he wants his own QB. Right? Well, in this case, it should be wrong, but with QB Matthew Stafford already on the market, newbie HC, Dan Campbell, is a man on a mission. A mission to disaster? Probably. Stafford is a very good QB caught in a black hole, the wrong organization. Does Campbell look much different than Matt Patricia when he came in headstrong three years ago? I think not.
Report: Rams, Lions explore possible Matthew Stafford trade
So Goes Aaron Rodgers, So Goes Green Bay
The Pack will be holding on to their franchise guy for the duration! Whoa, big news, I know. Now, go and get him some help at WR this offseason. Please! I’m so tired of that being a national byline.
The Vikes Will Continue to Be Kissing Cousins
Kirk Cousins’ contract has paid him $84 million over a 3-year period beginning in 2019. You can count on the Vikings counting on Cousins this year too. The Vikings finished 7-and-9 but it doesn’t appear to be Cousins’ fault. He threw for 4,265 this year with 35 TDs and 11 INTs. I’d be surprised if they don’t re-sign him to an extension in the coming year. Anyone missing a WR named Stefon Diggs??
NFC South
Atlanta in a Hot Take
The Falcons have the 4th pick in this year’s draft, so with a number of QBs available, many speculate that they’ll take a QB and allow him to sit behind Matty Ice. I can’t disagree, but if they decide to trade the pick away in favor of picking up more draft capital, it would be because they’re wanting to contend immediately. With a 4-and-12 record this year, I’m not sure that’s a possibility even though they were in a Super Bowl just four years ago. With a new HC, Arthur Smith, I’d bet on them taking a new QB. Then again, they could easily go a different direction.
Panthers Are Fine, For Now
With Teddy Bridgewater at QB, and the 8th pick in the draft, the Panthers look like they’ll take a QB early, maybe even move up a few spots, then sit him in favor of Bridgewater for a year or so.
The Saints Will Be the Aints Without Brees
Here’ another team that will likely be shopping for a QB this offseason, whether or not Drew Brees returns for one more year, or not.
Bucs Hyper-Hailed Signing of Tom Brady
With Tom Brady teasing the Tampa Bay fans with his one (two at the most) years of service, they’ll be sad that he was ever there (especially after the Bucs lose SB LV). While Brady is in the final countdown stage of his career, the Bucs will take whatever they can get, even SB Runner-up should make them happy.
NFC West
It’s In The Cards, As They Say
The Cards drafted QB Kyler Murray two years ago (2019), and will be set there for years to come.
The Rams Are Iffy
The Los Angeles Rams have said they will open up their QB position to a competition between Jared Goff and John Wolford. WHAT?! Neither guy seems like the dynamic QB that HC Sean McVay would ideally like. The Rams have no first round pick this year so making any moves to shore up their QB position seems highly improbable. They traded their 1st, and 4th round picks in 2021, plus a 2020 1st-round pick, to the Jags in exchange for CB Jalen Ramsey.
Rams exploring Jared Goff trades with multiple teams: Source
Rumblings By the Bay
Jimmy G has been out most of the season in 2020, with a couple of high ankle sprains. Many have lost confidence in him, and HC Kyle Shanahan has not given JG a vote of confidence by making a statement about their QB situation: “You can’t say anything with certainty.” SF picks 12th in the draft and should have nearly $11M of cap to work with this offseason.
Seattle is Cement With Russell
Few teams in the league are set up as nicely — long term — as the Seahawks are at QB. The Chiefs, of course, the Packers, the Bills and potentially the Chargers. Russell Wilson is 32 now, but he doesn’t look like he’ll be slowing down anytime soon.
Summary: QB, Or Not QB?
How does all this affect the Chiefs? I liken it unto a raging fire out of control in another state… and we won’t be sending any of our own firemen to help them. Sure, if there really was a fire, we’d send all the help we could possibly spare. In this case, we’re just happy to watch them all burn their organizations to the ground while we sit back and chow down on some home grown barbecue and sip some lemonade… while watching our Mahomes-boy light em up!
It’s a lesson in futility when it comes to the evaluation of which QB will end up where. It’s a lot like trying to predict the first 32 players chosen in the draft (a crazy mathematical proposition). I’ve never met a mock I didn’t like… but also never met a mock I thought was going to be accurate. What this process of breaking down each team’s QB needs has taught me is, that there are far more teams with huge QB needs than not. I’ll be surprised if we don’t see a record number of QB moves, maybe even more than we saw in 2020 with: Philip Rivers, Tom Brady, Andy Dalton, Teddy Bridgewater, Nick Foles, and Cam Newton, all on the move.
Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
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