NSLU Sunday: Chiefs Potpourri -

Starting off with an Aside

On Thursday, 3 Chiefs made the top 25 player list for players under age 25 at ProFootball Focus. They were Kareem Hunt, Chris Jones and Tyreek Hill. Hunt was #13, Jones was #14 and Hill was #18 with extracts from that piece to follow.

13. Kareem Hunt, RB

“Another third-round pick a year ago, Hunt burst onto to the scene and saw immediate success. Simply put, Hunt was hard to tackle in 2017 as he forced a league-high 77 missed tackles. No surprise to see Gurley (92.0), Kamara (90.2) and now Hunt (88.9) round out the running backs on this list considering they finished first, second and third among running backs in overall grade.” – PFF

14. Chris Jones, DL (3-4 DE)

“Since arriving on the scene in 2016, Jones has provided the Chiefs with the interior pass-rush they had been missing. Over his first two years, he’s put up 80 total pressures and 21 total combined sacks and hits. Jones has graded well in each of his first two seasons and his 2017 88.2 overall grade was a nice jump up from his 84.4 rookie campaign.” – PFF

18. Tyreek Hill, WR

“One of the most electric players in the league, Hill racked up a league-leading 628 yards on deep catches in 2017 and scored six touchdowns on such receptions. He was also incredibly efficient as quarterbacks had a passer rating of 130.5 when targeting him, the second-highest mark among receivers.” – PFF

Two of the players recognized play an important role in the upcoming Chiefs aerial game with Patrick Mahomes under center, so it is apropos to the subject matter at hand to add this in as a “qualification” for two of the targets that follow.

Dividing up Targets And Winning

With the Aerial Game

Patrick Mahomes is going to find it difficult to divide up targets among the receivers. Think about it: Ty Hill, Travis Kelce, Sammy Watkins, who will now be the #2 WR, Chris Conley, the former #2 who is now going to be a slot receiver and Kareen Hunt.

Not to mention other players who will or might figure in. For example, the two Williams RBs (Darrel and Damien) are both capable receivers along with Hunt. Demarcus Robinson, the apparent #4 struggled early but settled in and caught the balls that came his way. Jehu Chesson’s case has not gone to trial yet.

The Newcomers on the Block

An addition to the roster of other players discussed below, are UDFA’s who made the 90-man roster this spring. I think each of these young men should at least be added to your list of young players who should have garnered the reader’s attention.

If you are not following closely what occurs in spring with the new talent who play a role in Spring Training, this at least provides a brief intro of six of them.

Darrel Williams (RB-LSU)
Gehrig Dieter (WR-Alabama)
Byron Pringle (WR-KSU)
Marcus Kemp (WR-Hawaii) and
Blake Mack (TE-Arkansas St.)
Davon Grayson (WR-East Carolina)

Both Dieter and Kemp seemed to easily get on the same page with Patrick Mahomes in camp in 2017. Blake Mack is a TE that would fit KC’s hybrid looks with multiple TEs and Byron Pringle (KSU) made some noise on the Rookie Mini-camp Weekend. There are others but these 4 are players that I think have a solid talent. On 5/16, the Chiefs made room to add another WR, Davon Grayson (WR-East Carolina). Grayson immediately caught my attention. He is 6-foot-2,187 lbs. and has speed, good hands and catches well in traffic.

So there it is. The players are prepped. The competition in camp for pass catching should prove intense.

The players can see that it is going to be a challenge and as Sammy Watkins observed when queried about it: “… all athletes, we can only control what we can control: that is your effort, your attitude and how you come to work every day…” One thing to note that is where he will play off Tyreek Hill as a possession receiver is that his YPC is an outstanding 15.2.

Chris Conley is also quite aware: “Obviously, as an offense, there’s one ball that has to go around to everybody… we’re going to work and do our best so that when the ball’s not coming to us and it’s in someone’s hands, we’re still out there working, and we’re going to make this offense run.”

Perhaps the best observation about the dearth of WR talent is entailed by Tyreek Hill’s thoughts. “I feel like this is what (organized team activities) are for. We’re all sitting in the meeting rooms. We’re all communicating to each other to put our egos to the side because we all wanna win. We all want the ball. All of us can score.”

*quotes taken from Chiefs.com and from Sam McDowell’s article in the Kansas City Star

A System to… Over-rate?

This past week were two reviews with I take exception due to the players listed in both articles. Not that I disagree with all of them because, for example, both authors have Demetrius Harris, DAT and Dee Ford in their 5 player lists. I would add Charcandrick West to that group. The problem I see is that observers mix up money and injury seasons with the players previously proven history where age is not the factor. Both authors listed Sammy Watkins and Justin Houston. Both have significant hits in cost. Both players have had big contributions to their teams. To see Watkins, you have to view him with the number of targets he had with the LA Rams. With Houston, you have to first see his injury season and then put in perspective the overall situation in 2017.

In Kansas City, Watkins is not going to get much more in targets than he had last year. About 5 per game would be my guess. He will have to make the best of it because K.C. has true receiving talent that goes deep and across the positional board. At the same time, I don’t think either player will shirk or pout. Both players are over the top on the will to win and toughness.

Tyreek Hill was a top receiver in 2017 and earned the distinction of KC’s #1 WR. Travis Kelce, TE certainly is a threat. Last year, both he and Hill had 1,000 yard plus seasons. Watkins adds something in addition. Out of the backfield RB Kareem Hunt was also a huge threat, not just on the ground but as an integral part of the aerial game. The Chiefs added RBs Williams, Williams and Williams (Darrell, Damien and Kerwynn). All three of these RBs are also good pass catchers out of the backfield as is Spencer Ware who was lost to the 2017 season and his recovery time-frame must be questionable as the #2 RB — certainly a question for opening day.

Ford and Harris are far more appropriate to the rating of being over-rated. They both have a spot due to need on the 2018 roster as starters.

I see DAT and West as players who will not be retained past June 1 and one of the young guys will replace them. Maybe more but that is the “W&S.” Harris has earned the rep of a player that should have great hands, but instead his position should be less solid by far hence, the import of Mack, for example, might become a mitigating factor.

Retooling the Secondary

First, the Chiefs needs were to address Cornerbacks. There was the lack of a CB to play opposite Marcus Peters and then the need to replace him. In the Alex Smith trade, the Chiefs picked up Kendall Fuller in return, a top CB who was tops in the NFL In the slot in 2017. They added David Amerson to man the other side and had Steven Nelson in-house, who has the talent to handle the slot as well.

At Safety the Chiefs expect Eric Berry, the true captain of the defense to return to full form. The Chiefs knew that Eric Berry, sorely missed for his leadership and play on the field, would return. All indications have been that his rehab is ahead of schedule and he will be ready for Training Camp. If this were not to be the case, I am sure we would have seen a different player selection in the draft or another Free Agent acquisition.

Enter Stage Right: Armani Watts- a major task of GM Brett Veach was to cull talent in the secondary while at the same time, acquiring players who fit the persona of the Chiefs as frequently stated by the new GM. He wants players who are… tough, can finish; players who are not problematic but who are going to play every snap with a will to win.

This started with the release of two players: Marcus Peters and Ron Parker. Without fomenting any further controversy, it was apparent that Peters was going to command a very high salary, and at a “cost” that Brett Veach and Co felt was not acceptable and hence a trade was made (other issues aside). It is understanding that the Chiefs would have lost Peters to a west coast team anyway. That move was merely pushed up though the Chiefs lost a huge amount of talent when Peters went west.

The situation was quite obvious that Peters did not fit the player profile of Brett Veach. At the same time, Ron Parker was an above average talent as an aerial Defender at FS, but whose run defense support was lacking was released as well, apparently due to cap considerations and weak tackling in the FS role. I have no rumor or innuendo about Parker being a club house problem, so the dismissal had to be due to his cost/performance value was not worth, apparently, what Veach was looking for.

Armani Watts, a 4^th round pick dropped in valuation and the Chiefs obtained a top talent in the draft whose valuation diminished due to a perceived weakness in defending against the run. The word from the scouting community was that he had poor technique and also gambled on making a big hit, not wrapping up the opponent’s ball carrier. This exposure can be coached out with hard work and Watt’s attending to instruction in this training period and if you look at the film available, you will see a polished defender who has speed and closing ability which is exactly what the Chiefs need and a perfect compliment to Eric Berry’s skill at Strong Safety.

I buy into the fact that tackling can be a problem and that it can be resolved with coaching and instruction. After all, tackling was not Parker’s forte either so the trade off is bringing in Youth v Parker’s salary and that appears to me to be the value in Watts at the least point of consideration.

Depth at Safety is in the persons of Eric Murray and Daniel Sorensen.

Also do not forget that in the background of all of the players just written into this view, are Leon McQuay, Will Redmond, Keith Reaser and Malik Reaves. If Will Redmond actually as a season and stays healthy, he could fulfill the expectations of his ability and do it on the field for the Chiefs in 2018.

In Wednesday’s Notes and Quotes I provided a good look at Will Redmond. He is my pick to surprise everyone for playing a significant role at Cornerback in the 2018 season. I think his talent is good enough that he could play outside or in the slot and certainly skillful enough to earn a starting role, especially if another player falters or goes out with injury. This is, as noted Wednesday, my long shot for a player coming out of nowhere to make a significant impact for the 2018 Chiefs.