NSLU: Great Moves, Level Setting and a Shift Beyond the Post F/A Frenzy

The moves that Brett Veach has made since assuming the mantle of General Manager for the Kansas City Chiefs bear witness to the vision he appears to have had from the start of the offseason. It is quite obvious that he recognized the team’s weak points on the roster. Veach operated from ahead of the curve and this abutted his actions in free agency and the frenzy. He has had some ace’s in his selections so in preparation for the Post-Free Agency Frenzy, acknowledgement of what Brett Veach has accomplished sets the table for what is to follow.

1. Replacing a Place Kicker – was necessary in 2017 due to injury. Cairo Santos was replaced – this was of great import because our South American friend was a very good kicker who was knocked out of the game. Immediate help was needed due the injury to Santos and Dave Toub knew about the right player – and Veach immediately went to pull Harrison Butker in from the Carolina Panthers practice squad squad in what turned out to be an ace of a decision. Butker took over, missed a FG out of the gate but settled into the role with aplomb.

Santos suffered his injury by week three but had captured the Chiefs fan base which was a very nice bonus to his arrival and play at the Kingdom. Most fans were sorry to see him released but after going to the IR at the end of September he went on to play for the Bears but again suffered Groin problems and was released. He has been signed the Jets for the 2018 season and I am sure the Chiefs fans wish him well.

2. Shoring Up the LB Corp – the first trade made by Brett Veach brought Kevin Pierre-Louis to the Chiefs from the Seahawks in exchange for DJ Alexander. Alexander was a role player for KC and KPL filled the same role for Seattle. Both teams were to benefit but KPL is a player who can provide depth to the interior LB corp and Alexander, though owning speed, was unlikely to handle the game-to-game thumping and thus was not going to be a fit for a hard hitting defense. It was a good move by Veach to provide adequate depth which was also a need for the ILB Corp.

In August, 2017, Veach traded a draft pick in obtaining Reggie Ragland, a former 2nd round pick by the Bills. This move was what became modus quo (the manner in which he does business) for Brett Veach, finding high draft picks on other rosters where they had not ascended as originally anticipated. Veach thus traded the 2019 4th round pick to obtain Ragland who turned into an immediate replacement for Josh Mauga, who was then released. This move was a highlight of “success” as Ragland immediately superseded the play of Mauga and then some.

The Interior line-backing corp had Ramik Wilson, Ukeme Eligwe, Terrance Smith and perhaps Dadi Nicolas in the background for depth. They still needed a replacement for DJ who was released by the Chiefs this spring. For two seasons of Dorsey’s drafting and signings, I had hollered to high heavens that DJ’s replacement and a player of stature opposite him needed to be acquired. Nothing was done in 2016 or 2017—yeah, Eligwe may be an NFL starter one day – not yet though.

Enter the signing of a top quality Free Agent ILB starter from the Dallas Cowboys: Anthony Hitchens. Yes, the player acquisition was costly to the cap but he offers a solid replacement for DJ – he has the feet, speed and hard hitting play that DJ had and is a perfect compliment to Ragland playing the role of “thumper.” Both players are very good against the run ranking 19th and 21st among all inside linebackers which is going to make the Chiefs run defense far better than the past two seasons. In addition, Hitchens is a very good player against the pass either in man coverage or zone. His feet and speed allow him to cover tight ends with the only weakness being his “length.” I very much like this tandem of starting linebackers. This was an ace of a choice.

3. Acquiring Cornerbacks – one of the drastic needs that was evident in 2016 and 2017 was the need for corners and perhaps a safety. Enter two player additions and the loss of Marcus Peters. I am not going to belabor the loss of Peters whose talents are obvious. Equally obvious is the trouble that he brought the feast. A decision was made by Veach to make a trade for Peters with the LA Rams. The loss of high quality cornerback like Peters caused first, dismay, but as we learned more, and something which I must accept, it was the best thing for the Chiefs.

Enter the trade for Alex Smith. Smith was traded to the Redskins for CB Kendall Fuller, trading 6th round picks and obtaining a 3rd round pick from the Redskins at the same time.

After acquiring Fuller, a true high quality Cornerback who excelled in the slot, the Chiefs also acquired David Amerson, a 5-year pro, good length at 6-foot-1 and he is 26, fitting the age profile that Veach is using to get the team younger. Amerson is a good fit to the Chiefs roster. I am unsure of how this all sets up and hope the Chiefs make one more acquisition and/or draft pick for the position. The Chiefs already have Steven Nelson who plays well in the slot so it may be that the Chiefs plan to use Fuller and Amerson outside with Nelson inside. I highlighted an opportunity for a CB in the draft that descended due to legal problems for which he was acquitted: JC Jackson of Maryland. I think he could be a starter type selection, perhaps a #22 pick in the 3rd round. His value will increase from the the level of expectation you might see now, which is 4th to 6th. Of course, proper vetting is going to be absolutely necessary but Jackson would have been a late 1st round pick and at least round 2 before all the turmoil. Maryland’s coaching staff indicate the player has no problems nor issues since arriving from Florida.

4. Offense: shifts and additions – starting in 2017, John Dorsey traded up to obtain a “QBOTF”, selecting Patrick Mahomes as the future replacement of Alex Smith. It appeared to most of us that Mahomes made his bones in a pre-season start last years and that the Chiefs Front Office and Coaching staff were pleased enough after the departure of Dorsey who was replaced by Veach. Regardless, it was a direction which was set no matter how you viewed the move by John Dorsey. No matter what, the money has been laid on the line. Mahomes is the starter from here on out unless he cannot live up to the hype.

Meanwhile the Chiefs signed Chad Henne to be the #2 QB. Total deal will average $6.7m for 2 years but the initial cap hit is only $1M. This would leave the Chiefs with about $16M in the kitty.

5. A Wide Receiver of High Talent – from that point on, Brett Veach had focused on Defense – Until the Signing of WR Sammy Watkins. I had to give thought to this choice when the defense remained in sore need of continued effort to find a starter at multiple positions. Since first looking at this, I have changed my view in light of the Chiefs inability to match offense drives of offending opponents, something that appears to show up in post season play dramatically.

I am now giving this an ace move by Brett Veach. Why? You have Hill, Kelce and Watkins who can all go over the top for the long ball and Watkins is a player who can run tight routes and get open when with interior patterns and all three are players who are going to give you a tremendous YAC power. Paired with Ty Hill, these two players are top WR’s. I see Hill isolated as the X receiver on the backside of the Chiefs strength on offense with Sammy fulfilling the other side. The Slot Receiver when used will likely be a sorting out deal but I will venture that Chris Conley will handle that role probably intermixed with Watkins as standard fare. This is a very strong 1-2-3 corp, with the question of how to fit in Demarcus Robinson and perhaps Jehu Chesson. In the process? Bert Wilson was allowed to depart which demonstrates the confidence the Chiefs Coaching staff has in the latter three players.

My final view of the Watkins acquisition is that it gives Patrick Mahomes another aerial threat that will force opposing secondary’s to pay constant attention to the receivers which should open up the run game and play action play-calling – you simply cannot cheat and this brings into play Akeem Hunt and his ability to run the ball, backed up by xxx Ware. Too, Hunt is an excellent receiver in his own right. From there? It’s a high price tag but I will answer with Veach’s excitement over obtaining Watkins:

“We’re fired up to have Sammy join our roster…We believe he was the best wide receiver on the market with an incredibly high ceiling. He’s got a good supporting cast around him here, and with his size and speed, he can be a threat for us.”

6. Shoring up the Offensive Line – Brett Veach used his high draft pick construct to acquire another high draft pick player who had not ascended as anticipated. To obtain Cameron Erving, the Cleveland Browns former Round 1 pick(19th overall), Brett Veach engineered a trade of a 5th round 2018 pick to obtain the offensive guard from the Cleveland Browns. It appeared that the Browns had totally mishandled the play and development of Erving who was the 19th pick in the draft in 2015 by the Browns. They worked him at center, OG and OT and never settle on how to use him, rendering him to the trade in 2017. Erving remains a question mark but thus far the scouting and coaching staff, having input to the player acquisitions of the Chiefs. Something which Brett Veach has stated he would do—consult the staffs of both the front office, namely scouting and the Coaches under Andy Reid appears to be correct.

At any rate, Erving coming to the Chiefs had need to shift coaching staff and begin learning the playbook. He had people in front of him but he had spot starts due to injuries in 2017 and played well. I expect him to take over the role of starting Left Guard. Of course, observers must wait and see how this plays out in training camp and pre-season. IF this becomes the case, then we should see Parker Ehinger as backup OG along with Brian Witzmann who will work into the Back Up Center role. This gives the Chiefs, should my anticipations prove valid, a solid front five on offense with Depth and experience. The need for a backup center becomes more crucial with the departure of Zach Fulton.

Taking a Deep Breath – the Chiefs have added back their own Free Agents which has import, namely Jarvis Jenkins DL, Dustin Colquitt — Punter on a 3-year deal — they have tendered DL Rakeem Nunez-Roches with 6th round tender money (not yet accepted by RN-R). Other moves have been made.

I won’t highlight departures. They are a done deal. I will state that there are some moves that I question such as retaining De’Anthony Thomas as an example, though he can be cut pre-June 1 with no loss of monies.

Post-Frenzie Regrets? Yeah, I am the “Ghost at the Back of the Hall” – but I don’t scare easily….

I very much appreciate what Brett Veach has accomplished. If I have regrets this spring it would involve the tasks of resolving the remaining exposures on Defense. He has let us know that Ford is going to be retained. If he can, it is my view that Veach should be trying to obtain in the Post Free-Agent Frenzy time frame, at least one of the two top exposure weakness which remain, namely NT, FS and maybe another 34 DE. However, I was that “Ghost” for two straight seasons about the Line-backer Needs. Veach has answered that call. Maybe he is experiencing a Haunting at this moment.

It would be great to obtain a TE and I like to see teams always draft an Offensive Lineman each season to keep strengthening the front five. But that has got to be secondary to the true deficits noted in the above observations.

What I expect? Before we get to the Draft, Brett Veach will try to close one of the remaining exposures that existed and about which Laddie Morse addressed a couple of weeks ago with the following illustration.

In regard to the high cost of Free Agents as opposed to young players? Well it’s obvious: Money Talks, BS Walks… or in a more genteel linguistic description: “Pecunia non olet” (a Latin saying meaning: money does not stink), and we all must face that fact because when the money is there, most of us make the choice to roll with the dough, although Ladner Morse and I discussed the cost and consequences of our “Choices” a couple of days ago!

That’s more than enough to contemplate for any given Sunday.

David Bell – NSLU — No Stone Left Unturned