Laddie Morse
Yesterday, I published a piece called, “What the Chiefs Defense Looks Like Now” in which I reviewed the trade of CB L’Jarius Sneed. What I didn’t say is that Brett Veach, by taking that deal, did Sneed a great favor. Some fasn were upset that the Chiefs made that deal when they could have gottne the same 3rd round pick in compensatory value by just releasing him. Not only did Veach get a 3rd round pick (in 2025) back for Sneed but he was able to trade 7th round selections with the Titans. The thrid next year is a sure thing while the releasing of Sneed this season would likely get a third round compensatory pick back, it may not have gotten that kind of value back if K.C. turned around and signed a LT, for instance.
Now, were on to the Offense and so let’s take a look at what the Chiefs current group of players looks like on paper.
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In the graphic above, each of the defensive players is framed with a white box if there is no change in their position, and a red box if there is a change. Let’s take each, position-by-position, to see what has been altered so far this offseason:
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RB – Isiah Pacheco
Pacheco had a solid year at running back for the Chiefs. It as his second year and he was a 7th round selection in the 2022 NFL draft pick # 251. He came in saying he was going to take a grown man’s job away and that’s exactly what he did. In his rookie year Pop, as he is called by his tema mates, gained 830 yards and this past season he gained 935 yards. So, it won’t be surprising at all to him break the thousand yard barrier this season. Pop is know for being a hard runner and pounds the ground with his 4.37 – 40 yard dash speed (0:14):
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Here’s Pacheco picking up 83 yards on 11 carries against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Oct of 2022:
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QB – Patrick Mahomes
Mahomes has become the face of the NFL. He is greatness. Enough said.
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WR – Hollywood Brown
The Chiefs signed Marquise “Hollywood” Brown last week on Monday, a week ago today. He runs a 4.27 – 40 yard dash and this move has been praised by even the most negative of analysts. Why? Most likely because ever since Tyreek Hill took his speed to South Beach two years ago, the Chiefs have been looking for his replacement. While no one can fully replace Hill — he is one of a kind — Brown brings back a speedy, twitchy, element to the K.C. offense that has been missing ever since Hill departed. While we can hope that Hollywood can return that element of speed back to the Showtime Mahomes show, we’ll have to wait and see on that one. However, with Brown meeting with Mahomes in Texas already, things are looking up. The Chiefs are looking for a bump up in execution because Hollywood has a 3% drop rate while the man he replaces, MVS, had a 7.1% drop rate.
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TE – Travis Kelce
Kelce has established himself on and off the field. He barely missed gaining one-thousand yards (by 16 yards) for the eighth year in a row. While Kelce has begun to date the most popular musician in the world — Taylor Swift — he says he’s not retiring anytime soon, although his brother Jason and New Heights Podcast partner, has called it a day… as far as the game of football is concerned. Even though Kelce has established himself as the #1 TE in the league, and perhaps ever, we should still be able to count on him for one-thousand receiving yards in 2024.
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WR – Rashee Rice
Rice will start out in as a slot receiver because he has that experience and knowledge. Rice had 69 receptions in 16 games played and an 11.9 yards per reception average in 2023. While many fans are expecting him to reach the one-thousand yard line this season, having fallen just 62 yards short of that mark, with Hollywood Brown added to the offense, that may not happen. While Rie had an abysmal 17.7% drop rate in his rookie year, many Kingdom fans are looking for an improvement in that stat during his second season. That’s understandable since he improved as a rookie as that season progressed.
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WR – Justin Watson
Justin Watson had 27 receptions for 460 yards and a 17.0 yard per reception average. That average may mean he gets more target in 2024. He seems to be underrated to me.
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RT – Jawaan Taylor
Jawaan Taylor was signed last offseason to a four-year deal worth $80M. His take this season will be $19,500,000. Although I like Taylor and hope his play improves, what needs to improve the most are his penalties. He was called on 20 penalties last season by far the most among all players in the NFL. The next layer with a lot of penalties is Mekhi Becton who had 12. IOW, Taylor almost doubled the persom who had 2nd place in penalties. Still, Taylor is with the Chiefs and while they may have considered releasing him this offseason, it would cost way to much to do that.
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RG – Trey Smith
The only problem with Trey Smith is… nothing! I hope he doesn’t read this because K.C. needs to re-sign him next offseason and he doesn’t need any more ammunition when they sit down to haggle over future compensation.
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C- Creed Humphrey
When Jason Kelce retired, I heard that Creed Humphrey automatically became the best and undisputed Center in the league. I have to agree. Creed won’t be 25 years old until this June, but last offseason, Matt McMullen — Chiefs reporter — wrote a piece called, “Pro Football Focus Names Creed Humphrey to “Top 25 Players Under 25” List” and said the rankings:
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“… placed only five players ahead of Humphrey… Dallas Cowboys’ edge rusher Micah Parsons, Minnesota Vikings’ wide receiver Justin Jefferson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs, Cincinnati Bengals’ wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase and New York Jets’ cornerback Sauce Gardner….”
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Wow, that’s saying a mouthful. Those other players are all so outstanding… and so is Center, Creed Humphrey.
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LG – Joe Thuney
Thuney signed a five-year deal with K.C. in the 2021 offseason which means he has two more years on his contract. His deal was an $80M deal and there is no reason to think K.C. will be releasing him any time soon. Thuney helped the Chiefs win the last two Super Bowls and he also help the Patriots win two before leaving for Kansas City. That means Thuney has four SB’s to his name and I won’t be at all surprised if he gets another ring before he ever thinks of retiring. He’ll be 32 in November of this year.
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LT – Wanya Morris
If the season started today, Wanya Morris would likely be the starting left tackle for the Chiefs. Since we are still languishing in the shadows of the L’Jarius Sneed trade it’s hard to know what GM Brett Veach’s next move will be, but… it could be to sign a Blind Side protector to the roster. If he does that, it could mean Morris will be bumped to the Nick Allegretti role of backup OL.
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Here’s a look at the backups to the Offense (so far):
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The question mark over the Left Tackle is because we don’t know yet if Donovan Smith will be re-signed or not. There are many more players on the Chiefs roster right now, but there usually is this time of the year. Players like Nick Allegretti stick around and stick around and then finally… they get a bag of money, like he did from the Commanders. He signed for 3-years and $16M with $9.02M guaranteed with Washington. Prior to that, Allegretti was with K.C. for 5 straight seasons and not until 2023 did he break the $1M barrier when he made $2.4M.
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What do you think of the moves Brett Veach has made so far this offseason? I know there are not many of you who liked what he did with regards to L’Jarius Sneed, but I think Veach did Sneed a solid by trading him so he could get paid the $55M guaranteed.
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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
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