Kansas City Chiefs: Changing Times

 

 

 

 

Kansas City Chiefs: Changing Times

 

by David Bell | March 24, 2019

 

Kansas City Chiefs: Changing Times — and Staff — and Players — and a complete Defense Swap-out. That’s pretty drastic but, it is not as drastic as a complete rebuild. I think we should take a hard look at what has occurred and then think about the tasks remaining for GM Brett Veach & Company.

 

 

Players were forced out because of: age, injured, and not performing because they are not on the field. We also went 43 base. I think we are a lot better off, vis a vis monies, esp without Justin Houston, Eric Berry, Dee Ford, and Allen Bailey and so on. That’s a big chunk of change saved and/or not spent.

 

 

• + Bailey was too much money for what we had to translate to a 43 DE.
• + Ford too, and he doesn’t carry the weight for the outside, nor the strength(he is suited for the 34 OLB).
• + Berry was 2 sequential years of being of non consequence.
• + Houston about 60% or a bit more over 2 seasons.

 

 

 

It’s time to make those changes for the future of the club. Sure. The decision to part with some of our favorite players hurts. Last year was sans Derrick Johnson and he was my favorite among all those who came to the fore in the past 10 years. Tamba Hali should have been released at least a year before he was. His last 2 seasons were of no consequence and the last 2 kept Ford off the field until Houston was injured. If you are catching the drift, each of the signings has been important and frees up Veach & Co. even further to close the holes and depth problems. I very much like what he has done so far.

 

Summarized Shifting

I like what we have right now up front and so far in the back end (defensively). If there are unknowns, it is how successful Breeland Speaks and Tanoh Kpassagnon will be. They have also added Alex Okafor to the DE mix. Veach has now made two moves for the secondary with the addition of Tyrann Mathieu and Bashaud Breeland as SS and CB. He has added Damien Wilson to the LB corp too.

 

 

So I see things as a big gain from additions so far. New Defensive Coordinator, Steve Spagnuolo, has three 43 DEs plus Okafor has been added now and they have youth up front which is a positive. Adding an experienced player, inside on the DL for a pass rusher to match Chris Jones, is my favored lineman to be added next.

 

 

Positional Changes and Players

• Safeties: They have added a top safety, Tyrann Mathieu, and that pairs well with Armani Watts and Jordan Lucas. They need to add another player there but it could be via the draft, and I could live with that. This is an incomplete group as the roster has no true Free Safety in the mix. This becomes a top need.
• Corners: We now have added a solid, experienced, vet with Bashaud Breeland, having Fuller in the slot and Charvarius Ward in the mix. If they start the off-season with a question, it’s in the two outside CB’s. Breeland fills one spot, so the question becomes, will Ward fill the other? If I start out with 3 photo frames and one is empty (ie, outside CB) but the other two are filled (slot and outside CB #1), then you can see why we need to evaluate our CB status to see if Ward fits the picture frame, or not.

 

 

My eyeball test of Charvarius Ward’s play late last year tells me that he is an NFL CB. He had little time to react to taking over the starting role, he played very well and in the AFC Championship, Ward had a game ending type of play… had Ford not been offside with his hand/head in the neutral zone, negating Ward’s interception. How heartbreaking a play. It was awful. The Chiefs had that play keep them out of the Super Bowl, but Ward made a good play.

 

To state where the defense really is, I think we have to take another look at what we have in house. One question arose in my discourse with Ryan Tracy — of Locked On Chiefs Podcasts — about what the draft should look like, ie: what do we really have, as opposed to why you would believe that we need to draft a position at the top of the draft. Let’s lay the outside CB to rest. Ryan responded to me that most teams don’t have a shutdown corner. So then said, what do we have:

 

 

 

• 1. Kendall Fuller — a top slot defender, no question about it. ==> Frame 1 photo – Kendall Fuller
• 2. Bashaud Breeland — enters the picture at a very reasonable cost. A prove-it deal and was a great addition by GM Brett Veach. He is the starter at one outside Corner. ==> Frame 2 photo – Bashaud Breeland
• 3. Charvarious Ward is the solution already in house. Brett Veach pulled this trade with the Cowboys sending an offensive lineman to Dallas and obtaining Ward in return. He was signed to an UDFA contract by Dallas. He had proven his worth very well in their training camp (see his INT below) and they stated he was a definite roster talent as a rookie. The Chiefs kept him on the roster and as noted above, he passed the eyeball test. ==> Insert toon of eyeball.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Charvarius Ward had a good article, and interview, written about him called, The Most Underrated CB in the NFL Draft.  The Middle Tennessee State Pro Day was where he had his work out for NFL coaches and scouts. His 3-cone drill showed extremely well. He’s 6-foot-1, 198 lbs. He ran a 4.44 – 40, and his arm length 32.9, Vertical Jump 37.5, 11 ft. Broad Jump and both would have placed in the top of those categories had he been invited to the combine. 3-Cone is demonstrably very good so for a 6’1″ CB weighing in at nearly 200 and he would rank in the top 5 in the combine for agility (SAQ).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don’t believe that Charvarius Ward will fail as a starter — in fact, I am providing you all you need to know besides the eyeball test you had to have had for yourself late in the 2018 season. He passed the test with his play and he passed his tests with the metrics and measurements as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ward fills a need and resolves an exposure. It doesn’t mean that we don’t need to draft a CB. It does mean that the Chiefs have this exposure resolved.

 

Here’s the image showing how I want to move Ward to the left most frame, followed by Fuller and Breeland. We have 3 capable starters but our Backup Chart needs resolution. Tremon Smith fills one of the 3 back up frames at this point in time.

 

 

 

Linebacker’s:  Anthony Hitches, Reggie Ragland, Dorian O’Daniel, and now Damien Wilson. On the PS in 2018 is Raymond Davison who might be added to the view of Linebackers.

 

I see Ragland in the middle, flanked by Hitch and Wilson with Dorian O’Daniel Sam and Hybrid but when we need speed, moving Hitch to the middle and flank him with DOD and Wilson. Versatile. In the background are Ben Niemann and Raymond Davison (PS ln 2018). Anyway I look at the LB’s, I am not satisfied. I include Ragland in the middle LB slot with Hitchens, and Wilson flanking him. Dorian O’Daniel is the 5th LB so it remains to be seen how they resolve at least 3 backups.

 

In Laddie’s Article on the 19th — The Chiefs New Defense, So Far — he had the following view of the 43 LBs. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If I had to fill in the blank frame, I could do so and it would be Raymond Davison.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is not a fantastic set of players. It is a room that will have question marks all season and it will be up to new Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and his new coaches to get these players to be effective. It might very well be that the blank frame should be a top pick in the draft.

 

 

 

There are several players to choose from after the 1st round pick, which I would use to obtain a top Free Safety. To plan this out, and get LB Mack Wilson, would fit the need and the role and emerge as a starter in 2019. That would be my aim, were I Brett Veach. Other LB’s are later rankings and more of a gamble still so it’s my view that the round #1 rated picks are going to have been drafted well before the Chiefs pick at #29.

 

I would be willing to trade up to get Wilson but only after getting my Free Safety… unless I know I can get that player at pick #61 in round 2, or that I can trade up from that position. I would be unwilling to sacrifice a top free Safety to get him. Currently, Mack Wilson is rated as a 2nd round pick and that is about right. However, drafting so late in each round might keep Veach from drafting him. In which case, Veach will need to look down the board to sift through the talent and see if there is a player to select.

 

Tight Ends – TE has moved up my priority list. The Chiefs can get a very good opportunity here to train a TE behind Travis Kelce and get meaningful snaps. There are 3 others on the roster. We’ll have to see what develops: rookies Deon Yeldon and David Wells are on the roster and it is my view that TE needs to be a top pick in the draft… so, in the first 3 rounds. I’d use 3 frames here: Kelce and two blanks to the right. You add Yeldon and Wells photos, but to that, I would add photos of Hockensen and Sternberger as examples from the draft.

 

 

 

 

 

Wide Receiver – I mean really: the Chiefs have Robinson, Gehrig Dieter and Byron Pringle. Both the latter 2 have had good flashes of talent and that is internal development right there. In fact, I think with one more of the more prestigious players at any position it opens the draft up to getting a top TE as a possible, ie: not top 2 tiers but, end of round 1 down through round 4. Plus, there are guys who show well enough to project success down that list. To be truthful? I don’t think we need to draft to the WR role. I think the depth exists and is on the roster or PS from 2018.

 

Offensive Line – Most Crucial on Offensive Side? Yes, I think that. Maybe we just need to examine where the bang for the buck is crucial for one. Aerial game success and keeping PMII upright with no blood on his breaches. Fisher, Erving, Center (Unknown), LD-T, Schwartz. Need some real talent backing it all up. Young and inexperienced but, some good possibles:

 

• Austin Reiter
• Andrew Wylie
• Kahlil McKenzie
• Dillon Gordon
• Ryan Hunter
• Jimmy Murray (C)
• Tejan Koroma (C)
• Pace Murphy

 

 

Must they draft a Center or OT? No. It would be great to find a starting Center later in the draft. Certainly I can find a potential player. An OT is a desire of my own in order to reduce cap investment and that means the cost of keeping a player at LOT who has not lived up to his round one draft position in 2013. It is not required that he be replaced. However, it should be done over the next two seasons.

 

Lastly, consider Punter Dustin Colquitt’s replacement, and adding a RB. Still too much for one draft but I see a lot of headway being made in Free Agency. Another addition could shift emphasis in the draft… BIG TIME!

 

 

Chiefs Free Agents: Players who are not tendered (mostly sad departures)

 

• Safety – Eric Berry: Released, not yet signed.
• OLB – Dee Ford: Traded for 202 2nd round draft pick; Signed 5 year contract for $87.5M with the 49er’s
• C Mitch Morse: Not tendered; signed 4 year $44M contract with the Bills
• OLB – Justin Houston: Released, UFA not yet signed.
• CB – Steven Nelson: Not tendered; signed 3-yr $25M contact with Steelers.
• TE – Demetrius Harris: Signed 2-Yr $6M contract with Browns.
• WR – Chris Conley: released; signed contract with the Jaguars (details forthcoming)
• OL – Jordan Devey: signed with the Oakland Raiders
• FB – Anthony Sherman: re-signed with Chiefs, a 1-year deal.
• DE Allen Bailey: UFA, Released, not yet signed.
• CB – Orlando Scandrick: UFA, not yet signed.
• RB – Spencer Ware: UFA, not yet signed.
• S – Ron Parker: UFA, not yet signed.
• OLB – Frank Zombo: UFA, unsigned.
• WR – De’Anthony Thomas: UFA Unsigned.
• TE – Alex Ellis: UFA, unsigned
• LB – Terrance Smith: UFA, unsigned

 

New Faces, New Hope!

 

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