Chiefs: The Lucas Niang Double Whammy Pickle – This past year I’ve been excited to see Lucas Niang return to action following his opt out last season. I, for one, have agreed with his taking the year off, not so much because he chose to do that in response to the pandemic, but because he’d been hurt late in the previous season and it would give him a recovery year. We often see that happen with players (i.e., Juan Thornhill) and it usually takes more than a year to fully regain their previous dominance. Which is what I hoped to see from Niang in 2021. There is one glaring problem with that scenario… now that I’ve become aware of his workouts.
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So, what is it in his workouts that concerns me? He’s taking all his reps as a… Right Tackle. While that may not concern many, I see it as essentially problematic. While I’ve been aware of Left Tackle Eric Fisher’s Achilles for some time, I’ve also assumed that Niang would step in at Left Tackle in the event that Fish could not go this coming season. What is it they say about the word “assume”… it makes an ”ass” of “u” and “me”…. and that appears to be the case now.
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In reference to Eric Fisher’s Achilles tendon injury, from an article by Lower Extremity Review called, “Return to Football After Achilles Tendon Rupture” it states,
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“Of the 31 players who sustained an Achilles tendon rupture, 21 (64%) returned to play in the NFL at an average of 11 months after injury. In the three seasons following their return, those 21 players saw significant decreases in games played and power ratings compared to the three seasons preceding the injury.”
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That would put Fisher’s earliest return around January 1st of 2022, and he is likely not going to be the same player. So, counting on Eric Fisher returning to action this fall, may be disappointing on two fronts: 1) if he is able to return, he’s not nearly going to be the same guy we saw make the Pro Bowl after the 2018 and 2020 seasons, and 2) it’s highly likely he’s not going to play at all this year with his Achilles injury happening in the AFC Championship — the game vs. the Bills — on January 24, of this year.
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Let’s get something straight here: the Chiefs are on a mission to build their Offensive Line for the long term. Not just for 2021. Sure, they want to be able to get back to the Super Bowl this coming year, but for many years to come, as well. Plus, building a mountain in front of franchise man, Patrick Mahomes, matters to them, as well it should. So, make a note of it: LT Eric Fisher is not in those long term plans… and neither is Mitchell Schwartz.
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On Monday, Brett Veach outlined his plan for this draft, and presumably, beyond. Charles Goldman quotes Veach from Monday’s preser as saying:
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“Again, from a 1,000-foot view when you look at our roster composition, I think that we certainly want to build back our offensive line… but just in general, looking forward is the blueprint for the offseason, we’re certainly going to look on the offensive line and defensive line and the linebacker position to get better.”
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“Build back our offensive line”… hmmm… and, “we’re certainly going to look on the offensive line and defensive line and the linebacker position.” That narrows it down. If you’ll recall, in my piece on Tuesday, I identified the Chiefs Target Options in the Draft as being: DT, Edge, OL, LB, so it appears the Chiefs will be going that direction. In that same piece, I revealed the history of the Chiefs previous 20 drafts and their top choices including: DT (6), DE (4), OT (2)... highlighting the number of players selected at each of those positions. This also supports the idea that Brett Veach will be doing all he can to focus on the up front guys first, on both sides of the ball, and making sure he builds for the future at Linebacker as well.
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In the case of Lucas Niang, he’s showing in his Twitter feed, videos of his workouts with a trainer. Although this tainer is not a Chiefs trainer (btw, he can’t be, because Niang has opted out for a whole year which technically doesn’t end until this league year ends) and you can bet both Niang and his trainer have been in touch with the powers that be in K.C. to make sure he’s getting the right kind of work in. The point of pointing that out is… his workout is specific to a position… and… the position he’s been working out for is… Right Tackle. Right Tackle. Notice for yourself:
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If I have to point out the obvious here, I will. Mitchell Schwartz is the Right Tackle for K.C. in 2021 and after minor disc surgery to his back, the Chiefs are counting on his return. So, what’s Lucas Niang doing working out at Right Tackle? He must be doing so with plans on being the Chiefs 2022 Right Tackle, right?
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Both Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz are in the top nine money makers for the Chiefs in 2021. Fish is scheduled to get $11.25M and Schwartz is to get $4.9M. In his piece called, “Chiefs: Restructured 2021 Salary Cap,” Alan Haupt has shown that offering the Chiefs bookend tackles an injury settlement would save them more than $16M. However, it looks like Schwartz will be ready this Fall… but I have only doubts about Fisher’s recovery, in time to play any kind of role this Fall. So, I can see the Chiefs offering Fish an Injury Settlement, but not Schwartz. Note: this is the last contract year for both Fisher and Schwartz.
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Money issues aside, if Niang, who played Right Tackle in College, is not going swing to the Left Tackle position in 2021, that leaves the Chiefs with a great backup at Right Tackle, and no one at Left Tackle, and no one to backup that no one at Left Tackle. Meaning = Zero Left Tackles. That’s the double whammy part of this equation.
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In a failed Super Bowl attempt, many have pointed to the Chiefs failure as being due to playing mostly backups along the OL. I can’t argue. Showing that you have competent backups has never been more important to a season. Now, as K.C. readies themselves for another run to glory, the offseason story of the decade may be the absence of even one player who can fill in at Left Tackle, and, do the Chiefs really want “fill-ins” at Left Tackle anyway?
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That’s where the 2021 NFL Draft becomes critical. The Chiefs have to take multiple Offensive Linemen in this draft and those linemen must come early. Consequently, I can see an Offensive Tackle being taken in the first four rounds, as well as an Interior Offensive Lineman.
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One of the features of this draft is the lack of truly great OL at the top of the draft. An evaluation of the Offensive Tackles in this draft is more like: very good ones… then… a lot of solid and good ones… then okay guys later in the draft. That only means, Veach will have to be adept at moving around, and moving around early in the draft — possibly even trading backwards — to get the guys he really wants, and yes, that’s the word “guys” with an s. Below is a Trading Backwards Mock, done at First-Pick.com, to show what is possible:
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Also, here’s a Mock done at TheDraftNetwork Draft Machine without any trading backwards.
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While I’d love to see some of these prospects drafted by K.C. I’m not saying this is what will happen, only that this shows that Veach could trade backwards if he so wishes, to pick up more top 100 picks… and what he could accomplish if he does. Whether he does or doesn’t, either way, the Chiefs still need to come up with multiple OL studmuffins who can step in early, as well as develop into very good offensive linemen… for the future. As Merlin says, it could take three offseasons to get er done. BTW… I do like — a lot — what I’ve found out about each of these mocked prospects! Go Chiefs!
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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
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