Chiefs: The Seasons of “Wait-and-See”

This offseason is an ongoing continuation of the 2016 season. One in which the potential of the Chiefs could be summed up in one phrase, “I guess we’ll find out soon enough.” If you recall, the past offseason was a call of the wild for offensive linemen who could keep Alex Smith stay vertical in the pocket. While many fans still would like to see the Chiefs improve the offensive line there are also a number of other positions they’re hoping Chiefs general manager John Dorsey will address in this draft. When the season began and all the Chiefs had done was to draft OT Parker Ehinger, who they converted to OG, the common sentiment was, I guess we’ll find out soon enough… a wait-and-see groundhog day.

The same could be said for wide receiver Chris Conley. I wrote a piece last offseason predicting a breakout year for Conley with the feeling that it’s a wait-n-see situation. And… we’re still waiting for Conley to breakout.

In years past… in the good old days of Jamaal Charles and Tamba Hali and Derrick Johnson in their heydays… we knew what we had. There was no “Wait-and-See about them. Now, it seems that so many of the Chiefs — even the starters — are in a place of suspended questioning about how well they’ll play in 2017. Now, we know we can count on players like Eric Berry, Marcus Peters, Chris Jones, Mitch Morse and Mitchell Schwartz but there are so many other players with question marks by their names simply because we’re in a wait-and-see situation with them. A year ago, you would never have thought WR Jeremy Maclin would be on this list today but, I’m waiting to see if he returns to his 2015 form in 2017.

Some players are just in the process from recovering from injuries. I’m waiting to see if Justin March-Lillard is the next Sanders Cummings who couldn’t stay healthy long enough to have any meaningful impact on a season over the course of two-plus years. One more season ending injury to JML and the Chiefs will likely cut ties there. We’re also waiting to see how Allen Bailey and Jaye Howard come back this year. I’ll also be waiting to hear whether or not LG Parker Ehinger will be the designated starter when training camp begins or if he’ll be in a battle with another, yet to be named, young talent.

CB Sean Smith left for the Raiders last year too, so we were all in that wait-n-see mode about Phillip Gaines. Now, we do know that Gaines is limited in his ability to stay on the field and when he does, his best position may not even be on the outside but defending in the slot instead.

When this offseason unfolded, “waiting to see if the Chiefs would throw down big bucks for Eric Berry” had reached epic proportions, especially considering that the issue wasn’t resolved last offseason. Once that happened we turned out wait-n-see devotion to Dontari Poe. At least we know now that NT, run stopper, Bennie Logan will be taking up space in the middle of the Chiefs defensive line but now we’re wanting to know if there will be help at ILB… not only for this coming season with Derrick Johnson returning from an Achilles injury but in the future and beyond the DJ era.

With the NFL draft scheduled for the end of April, the month of April is perhaps the biggest want-and-see month of the entire NFL calendar year. I don’t necessarily count the owner’s meetings as a wait-and-see event because while I don’t like many of the changes they institute in the game, I also don’t spend any time during the year awaiting those meetings.

While you might think that winning it all would lessen the amount of wait-and-see angst that fans have for the Chiefs, in all probability it heightens the expectations. Take the Royals for example. Last year, the year after their World Series victory, many fans wanted eagerly to know… could they duplicate their Series success two years in a row?  Would their recipe for winning work again in 2016? Now, fans want to know if first baseman Eric Hosmer will be hanging around next year?

Here’s a list of the biggest Wait-and-See aspects in the Chiefs roster and organization.

• Waiting to see if Albert Wilson learns to hold on to the ball in games instead of just at training camp. Head coach Andy Reid still believes in him — God knows why — but I don’t, so I’m also waiting for the Chiefs to cut him.
• Same goes for TE Demetrius Harris but with his possible suspension and the signing of Gavin Escobar my wait-and-see-radar is heightened.
• Will DJ be DJ and for how long?
• When will Clark Hunt get around to locking up general manager John Dorsey and head coach Andy Reid? There shouldn’t be a higher priority but… here we are guessing if Dorsey will be back next year… even though he says he “intends” to be here.
• Will the running back situation get fixed this offseason?
• Is another top cornerback in the cards or is Terrance Mitchell the real deal?
• Is the OLB/edge rusher situation one that needs healing? Is Dee Ford going to ascend in his contract year? Is Justin Houston going to ever be the Justin Houston he was previously? Will Tamba Hali be effective playing bone-on-bone?
• I’ll be waiting to see if Laurent Duvernay-Tardif will take the next steps to becoming a top ten RG (otherwise, I’m not sure his contract will be justified).
  
• Just how big will the role for Tyreek Hill be in Andy Reid’s offense in 2016 and will that role mean less time returning kicks?
• We’ll also be waiting to see if the offensive coordinator roles changing — Brad Childress to Assistant Head Coach and Matt Nagy now the sole OC — will help to simplify the offensive play calling process and make the offense more efficient?
• Will the Chiefs be able to repeat in the AFC West?
• Still waiting for two home playoff victories to secure a Super Bowl bid.
• SB victory? Been waiting since January of 1971.

Of course, the current Mt. Everest of all wait-and-sees is what the Chiefs will do in the coming draft and more specifically, what will they be doing with their first round pick? So, here are a few “up to date” predictions. First, instead of saying, “with their first round pick…” I’ll be saying “with their first pick”… because that first pick may not be IN the first round, just like last year. So, with their first pick:

• If they go ILB it will be either Zach Cunningham or Haasan Reddick.
• If they go OLB it will be either Charles Harris or Takkarist McKinley.
• If they go CB it will be either Quincy Wilson, Jourdan Lewis, Adoree Jackson, Gareon Conley, or Teez Tabor.
  
• If they draft a QB it will be someone they are in love with who has fallen, most likely Watson or Mahomes II.
• If they go RB it will be Christian McCaffery or Dalvin Cook because they have fallen and they can’t get up.
• If they take a DL it will probably be either Montravius Adams or Chris Wormley.
• If they go OL then it will be Garrett Bolles or Forrest Lamp.

There’s a real possibility that a premium prospect who is ranked in the top 15 by popular ranking services will fall to the Chiefs at pick #27… or nearly that far. That’s the one caveat to trading back in this draft. Of course, John Dorsey should have a potential trading partner waiting in the wings if he does decide to trade down and the same might be said if a premium prospect falls low enough for Dorsey to jump up a few spots and snag him. Either way, those trade partners will be set up in advance.

I could be completely wrong. We’ll just have to wait-and-see.

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