Chiefs Roundup: Chris Jones, Draft Duds and Brett Veach’s Wild Week – as the Kansas City Chiefs roll towards the start of Free Agency 2020, GM Brett Veach is a busy man. An already small window, to get something done with Chris Jones, before free agency starts, has shrunk even farther. The NFLPA pushed back the voting window, on the CBA, to the 14th, just two days before the start of the legal tampering period. The deadline to use the franchise, or transition tag, falls on that same day, March 16th, one second before the legal tampering period begins. Just two days later, free agency gets into full swing.
NFL said it has "no plans to move the start of the league year."
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 12, 2020
Meaning, Free Agency is still going to start on March 18. The Chiefs will have to have a plan to replace Chris Jones, if they haven’t reached a deal by then. In all of that, Veach still can’t lose sight of the draft. With big deals coming for their star players, the Chiefs can’t afford to miss on prospects. There’s a lot of information to roundup, and little time left to do it, so let’s get started.
Beware: Three Draft Prospects
In the hype of the draft process, it’s easy to fall in love with a prospect, but miss glaring issues with their play. This has happened to the Chiefs before, with players like KeiVarae Russell and Jehu Chesson. Russell had excellent athleticism, but extremely poor technique. Chesson was a smart player, who tested well athletically, but his tape didn’t match his testing. In the end, the tape was right and the testing was wrong. This year, three particular players concern me: Isaiah Wilson, Antonio Gandy-Golden, and Anthony McFarland.
OT, Isaiah Wilson
Wilson is a big, physical, Offensive Tackle, out of Georgia. Some draft boards project him to be gone by the time Chiefs pick, but I think it’s a distinct possibility that he falls to them. Chiefs could be tempted to take a guy they might not have done a ton of scouting on, since he was projected to be out of reach, but they shouldn’t. For all Wilson’s size, he’s not a fluid mover. In his combine testing, he really bombed the short shuttle. Wilson will always show enough promise to think he could turn into something, but I doubt he ever gains the necessary mobility to deal with speed rushers, off the edge.
WR, Antonio Gandy-Golden
Golden is a big, explosive, Wide Receiver, from a smaller football program. Fans and teams love to dream of finding guys like this and developing them into NFL studs. While Golden has some good qualities, his lack of fluidity will really bite him against NFL press coverage. You could possibly overlook that for a guy with great hands, but Golden struggles with drops, at times. In a deep WR class, Chiefs shouldn’t chase a boom or bust project, like Golden. He may turn into a good receiver… someday... but there’s way too much work needed to spend a mid round pick on him, which some team will probably do.
RB, Anthony McFarland
When you compare a prospect to Jamaal Charles, you have my attention. Primarily because I want to see just how wrong you are. McFarland has some nice fluidity, and elusiveness to his game. If he slips to the 5th round, I think he’d actually be an ok option for the Chiefs. He’s light years away from being Jamaal Charles though, and taking him earlier would be a mistake. McFarland is fast, but he’s doesn’t have elite speed. He’s physical, but he doesn’t have uncanny contact balance. Perhaps the biggest concern, from his combine performance, is a general lack of explosiveness. McFarland is a good guy to take a flyer on, but if Chiefs are planning on him being their feature back, I think they’ll be disappointed.
Replacing Chris Jones
The Chiefs are in a bit of a pickle if the CBA doesn’t pass, as it may turn the prospect of keeping Chris Jones from a long shot, to an impossibility. If K.C. does end up trading Jones though, don’t go out and mock them DTs in the first round. Steve Spagnuolo generally likes to use big, physical, DTs on normal downs, and then move DEs inside, on obvious pass downs. You can see it in the roster construction. Not only do Chiefs not have another player like Jones — who does? — but they don’t really have a player who’s even a similar type.
If Jones is no longer in Kansas City, expect the Chiefs to make a big push to re-sign Emmanuel Ogbah. When Jones got injured, against the Indianapolis Colts, Week 5, both Ogbah and Tanoh Kpassagnon saw a significant uptick in their snaps. The loss of Jones would be far more likely to push Chiefs into drafting a guy like AJ Epenesa than a player like Neville Gallimore.
Veach’s Wild Week
The CBA going down to the wire has got to have Veach pulling his hair out. The vote had already been perilously close to the legal tampering period. During that time, general managers are allowed to negotiate, with player’s agents, but can’t officially sign deals until the official start of free agency (March 18th at 4:00 PM ET).
Most of the best Free Agents will have deals hammered out before the league year starts. If the CBA fails and the Chiefs have to trade Jones, they’ll have just two days to pull it off, or be stuck sitting on their hands while potential replacements sign elsewhere. Veach has been adamant that the Chiefs have a plan for either outcome with the CBA, but that doesn’t change the fact that the time table will be very tight.
With no strong rumors about K.C. trading Jones, it’s doubtful they have a partner for such a trade in place. Fielding offers will take time, as will a contract extension for Jones, which would undoubtedly have to be in place, as a part of any trade… unless your GM is Bill O’Brien.
Conclusion
General Manager Brett Veach has brought the Chiefs their first Super Bowl title in 50 years. What he does next — in just the next week — will be incredibly important. If the Chiefs can get a handful of moves made, in a short window of time, it will set the foundation of their dynasty for years to come. Conversely, a misstep, here or there, could limit the team’s ability to remain competitive.
Making the right decision at the right time about Chris Jones, should allow the Chiefs to bring in the necessary pieces, either to replace him, or to replace the other Free Agents they won’t be able to keep. Any delay in that process could cost the Chiefs, one way or another. As they go into the draft, hitting on as many picks as possible will be hugely important. Does Brett Veach have another championship performance in him? We’re about to find out.
Ransom Hawthorne — ArrowheadOne
P.S. Now that the Compensatory picks have been issued, the Chiefs Draft picks are currently: #32, #63, #96, #138, and #177.
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