Would You, Could You, Chiefs Fans? 9.13.2019 – It’s the season for speculation, even more than it is the offseason… and because it is the offseason, it is the season for speculation. Like any other fan at ArrowheadOne, I dream dreams for the Chiefs of free agent super signing sessions and offseason dream drafts coming true, simply because I once went to Disneyland as a kid.
Yes, my brain has spent a lot of time in the land of “If only?” Like, I used to think about… if only the Chiefs had kept Rich Gannon and started him at QB instead of “what’s-his-name?” So, let’s take a look at some of the choices facing the Chiefs right now.
Would You, Could You… be comfortable starting Safety Juan Thornhill? While I’m a big believer in starting rookies who have proven they can take over a game and are comfortable with the scheme. I don’t think placing a young player in a high level position just because they were a high draft choice, is wise. Now, I’m not saying I would not start Juan Thornhill at Safety. Dan Sorensen is going to get a lot of snaps regardless, and the same is true for Thornhill, so the question of who starts seems to be a moot point. I’ve been tracking Juan Thornhill’s INTs in training camp this year and I believe the total is 6 INTs (could be more). That fact alone should make the coaches sit up and pay attention in their meeting room. From where I sit, Thornhill looks ready to take on that role. I also think both Jordan Lucas and Armani Watts are ready to step into heavy minutes as contributors at Safety, and consequently… I’m also in favor of trading away Daniel Sorensen (and his contract: $4,693,750). That would allow the Chiefs to use that dough to lock up Chris Jones or Tyreek Hill for a long time.
Would You, Could You… deal Demarcus Robinson away and receive only draft picks in return? To answer that question, you may need to know that the Chiefs 2020 draft picks look like this: Round 1, Round 2, Round 3, Round 4, Round 4 (Compensatory), Round 5, Round 6 (from Chiefswire.usatoday.com), in other words, they currently don’t have a 7th round choice in next year’s draft. The Chiefs are in the rare position of having a room rapt with riches… meaning the wideout room. If they don’t trade away someone, they will certainly lose the opportunity to promote and develop younger talent that deserves that opportunity. I just hope they don’t get that opportunity with another team. Demarcus Robinson is in a contract year and will make $2,154,293 this season. So, not only would they save that amount on the cap, but be allowing their other talented youth to move up the depth chart. Besides, I doubt there’s any way the Chiefs re-sign DRob next offseason, not with all their other player-contract priorities. Now, it appears the Chiefs will be fine with 7 picks in the first 6 rounds but, if Robinson could get the Chiefs a 3rd, 4th, or 5th round choice, that would give Brett Veach a wonderful assortment of picks to deal up and down the board… the way he really likes to barter with an edge on draft day. Anything less than that, and… I’m out.
Would You, Could You… be comfortable cutting Carlos Hyde? So far this offseason, Carlos Hyde has shown me next to nothing. I was a big supporter of the move to bring Hyde in this offseason but that was before Darwin Thompson was drafted and then has blown up since then. However, this is not so much about Thompson as it is about the lackluster performance of Hyde in camp and in Saturday’s first preseason game. Sure, he was able to run the ball in between the tackles once for a TD but, he was unable to do that while in Jacksonville a year ago and probably the reason they didn’t re-sign him. While I think Andy Reid’s system can make almost any back look better — Spencer Ware and Charcandrick West are good examples — the Chiefs need to field a RB who is dynamic and can create yards on his own. While that describes Darwin Thompson, it doesn’t, Hyde. Hyde’s yards per carry (ypc) have gone from a high of 4.6 ypc in San Francisco in 2016 to 3.9 in 2017 to 3.3 in Cleveland and Jacksonville in 2018. I was hoping for a re-birth of the Hyde in SF but it appears his best days are done.
Would You, Could You… trade for CB Josh Norman? At first glance, adding Norman looks like it would be a great move for K.C. and really solidify their defensive backfield. After all, Norman played with Fuller in 2016 and 2017 as well as Bashaud Breeland. So, that kind of familiarity would be great. He’d fit right in. Right? While that may be the case, Norman carries a $14.3M cap hit this year and a $15.5M hit in 2020. The bigger problem is, Norman’s play has fallen off a bit since 2015 and 2016 when he had 18 and 19 passes defensed. Last year, that number went down to 9. Now, some may reason that he was not thrown at a lot because he was dominant. If Morris Claiborne works out, the need for Norman is minimalized considerably and there’s not reason to believe Mo Claiborne won’t succeed in K.C.. For me, the real problem is his contract. At a time when the Chiefs are needing to re-sign their own potential free agents between now and next season, it would be great if they could get those extensions done now, when it will most likely be cheaper to lock them up, if that’s their intention, which, so far, they’ve said that it is.
What do you think?
Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
If you are viewing this in Apple News and would like to join the Discussion, [GO HERE.](http://arrowheadone.com/would-you-could-you-chiefs-fans-9-14-2019/#disqus_thread)