One thing I like to do before the season is look at the holes on the team with an eye on player development and what the 2009 draft needs may look like.
We have several questions going into the 2008 season. With such a young team, player development is the most important aspect of this season. This is even more important than the wins and losses. Let’s take a look at some of the positions and young players whose development will be crucial this year. For the sake of discussion, assume that Dorsey, Albert and Flowers are all at least solid and show promise. OK, onto the position questions, in order of importance.
1] Quarterback
Brodie Croyle’s development is going to be probably the most important and talked about aspect of 2008. Can he develop into a good or better QB? Proponents point to his arm and poise, detractors point to his injury history, decision making and build.
Player to watch: Brodie Croyle
My take: I like him. His arm is NFL caliber. I like his poise. I see him as a leader. If he refines his decision making and stays healthy, he could be a very good QB in this league.
2] Offensive line
Did we do enough to put a solid O-line together? How well we play here goes a long way to creating the conditions for Croyle to develop and getting LJ back to his 1500 rushing yards a year production. Can someone outside of Albert, Waters and D-Mac step up?
Players to watch: Rudy Niswanger, Herb Taylor, Barry Richardson
My take: I am still nervous about this line. I expect Albert and Waters to be solid on the left side. D-Mac should be OK at RT, Niswanger is a question mark. I would like to see him develop into a solid center and see either Taylor or Richardson show that they can be a good Tackle in 2009. I still regret that we waited until round 6 to get another O-lineman after we took Albert in the first round.
3] Defensive line
How do we replace Jared’s sacks and disruptive force? Do we have a good DT rotation?
Players to watch: Tank Tyler, Turk McBride, Brian Johnston
My take: The rookie season of the TNT show was more like a dud bottle rocket. However, it often takes a year or so for D-lineman to develop. The move of Boone to LDE is a troubling sign. I expect Dorsey to really help everyone out by inside penetration and/or commanding double teams. A Dorsey/Tank combination inside could be very tough against the run. I am curious to see how Brian Johnson looks in preseason. He has my attention, that is very positive for a 7th round pick.
4] Cornerback
Who can replace Surtain in 2009? Can we get away from so much soft zone?
Players to watch: Brandon Carr, Tyron Brackenridge, Maurice Leggett
My take: Right now in the NFL, you need three solid corners. I am cautiously optimistic on Carr. Surtain is on his last legs. I am not counting on him for 2009. We really need young players to step up here.
I would like to have a top five list for you. Five is a good number, so is ten. However, I see these four areas as far and away our big areas of concern. However, they are not the only areas. Lesser questions, in no particular order are as follows:
Can we find a reliable NFL Kicker? We need someone who is reliable, has good range and can produce consistent high kickoffs that land between the five yard line and the back of the end zone.
Can we find a decent blocking Fullback?
Is there a good second WR to compliment Bowe?
Do we have a good blocking TE?
Is there an heir apparent to Donnie Edwards at OLB?
Will someone step up as a KR/PR?
Right now, my ranking of needs for the Chiefs 2009 Draft are:
1] OL (Probably Guard)
2] DE
3] CB
4] LB (Probably OLB)
QB is obviously missing on the list. I expect Croyle to show enough this year for the Chiefs to believe he will be the QB for the next several years. Should he crap out, that would probably vault QB to number one on the list. Right now, I am expecting our O-line to be improved, but still not good. I think our left side will be good and our right side to be below average. I haven’t seen enough from our DE’s to give me a warm and fuzzy. We need three good corners. Right now, we have one we can count on after this season. Of course, that assumes that Flowers is good. This list is very fluid. Player development this year will certainly result in adjustments to the list.
OK Addicts, what do you think? Who do you expect to develop? Do you expect Surtain or Donnie Edwards to play well in 2009? What positions are you looking at for player development this year?
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Nice writup. That was a money post. Total agreement on all fronts from my part.
On a side note I initially assumed that Adam wrote this piece. I saw the Croyle comments and thought he went all bipolar batty on us. Ah ha! Not so.
P.S. – Brian JohnsTon. I think your ‘T’ key needs replaced my friend.
Passwords? when did we start doing Passwords?
Anyways, I think we should go hell bent for leather for Oher next year.
I also think we should pass on Tebow
Thats all I can say definitavely till Jan. 09′
Not only is your ‘T’ missing in Johnston, you threw in an ‘E’ in Tyron. But that’s totally beside the point.
The O-line worries me. I’m really hoping to see something out of Herb Taylor and/or Barry Richardson. Those are the guys I like. Just get Adrian Jones and Damion McIntosh OUT of there.
I really hope our young guys at CB can show us something too. And I think they probably will. But I’m really glad we’ve kept Patrick Surtain around.
LB needs to be looked at for sure, but it’s not the most pressing thing at the moment.
D-line isn’t too bad I don’t think. Yeah, losing #69 hurt; but I have some confidence in the guys we have. The key here this season is going to be rotation, and lots of it, which is good since it will keep our guys (especially fat Tank Tyler) fresh.
WR I’m not too worried about either, to be honest. I’m actually really excited about watching our WRs this year. Bowe in his second year is almost a sure thing to break 1000 yards. We still have Tony Gonzalez to help out our passing game, as well as Jamaal Charles who is a really good pass catching RB. But what I really like about our WRs this year is that some of the younger guys have to step up and play. Kennison is gone, and Samie parker is (FINALLY) gone, so now get to actually see what players like Bobby Sippio can do.
Master Blaster – You aren’t reading every post, shame on you!
http://arrowheadaddict.com/2008/06/20/comment-threadslog-in-update/
I agree with pretty much everything, except saying that LB is a point of concern NOW. Key word in that sentence being now. Donnie is assuredly past his ‘peak’, (I still think he belongs at MLB!), but he’ll be able to hold tight for at least a year or two more, giving us time to work on the offense and keep supplementing the defense before we have to take a swing at a 1st day draft choice at LB. O-line is definetly a concern, but not at G, in my opinion. RT is what I’m worried about. D-Mac is definetly not young anymore, and even when young, he wasn’t a stud Tackle. He was a so-so guy to begin with, and we’re supposed to be getting younger, so let’s let the (I think he’s 32… not sure) year old start when we have a few promising guys? Yuck. We’re in a rebuilding year, not in the playoff hunt, like we started out being last year. I just think it’s another mistake on the right side of the O-line, cough cough Turley cough Welbourne.
xxxlp:
Where did I say LB was a point of concern now? I did say we need an heir apparent for Donnie Edwards at OLB. That is a future need. I would like to see someone who could take over for Donnie, maybe as soon as next year.
Are you thinking that Taylor or Richardson would play Guard? Are you comfortable with Adrian Jones at Guard?
I meant for your ranking of needs in the 2009 draft. I still think Donnie has a few years in the tank, especially if we move him to MLB where he can be more of the traditional ‘leader’ of the D (he already is, though.) I mean hell if Junior Seau can play till he’s 84 years old Donnie can pull out 2 more years, IMO. In the middle he wouldn’t be matched up with the speedy slot WR’s which would help him (he IS getting old, and losing a step comes with that, unless your name is Joey Galloway.)
And I still think at some point Herb Taylor will play RG. He looked awesome when he played at the end of the year, and he was only a rookie. I see a ton of potential in him, especially if he learns alongside Waters. I think he’s listed as a tackle now, so who knows, but I’d like to see him play. I really don’t know that much about Adrian Jones, but if he’s a young guy, and sucks as much as Welbourn did, it’s ok, because he still has the CHANCE of being better, whereas Turley and Johnnie the ‘Roided Wonder were on the extreme downsides of their careers. I’d even be happy with a Albert/Waters/Niswanger/Taylor/Svitek line. It wouldn’t be as bad as last years.
xxlp:
I can see where you are coming from. My point is that is you move Donnie inside, you then have a hole at OLB. I would like to see a younger player step up there. This year, we will get a line on Williams. Is he someone you can count on at OLB? Taylor at Guard? I just don’t know. Tackles and Guards are not generally interchangable. However, some can play well at both positions. If I had to guess, I would guess that the 2009 line would be something like Albert/Waters/Niswanger/rookie/D-Mac or Richardson. At this point, we don’t really know. However we get there, I want a top 5 O-line to protect our QB and open lanes for our RBs.
Then why not throw Taylor and Richardson at tackle and Branden Albert at guard (his rightful position). Just a thought.
SeamB:
You could. Though the feeling among the coaches appears to be that Albert is best suited among the group to be a LT in the pros.
If Donnie is in the middle, Nappy or Demorrio would have to step up and start on the outside: My money would be on Demorrio. With two fast OLB’s (with one up and coming superstar in DJ) and a crafty old vet who has been there, done that, and done it at a high level, our LB corps is set for a couple years. We might even be able to squeak a late round draft pick out of Napoleon Harris, should we choose not to have him replace Donnie when he’s done. On a sidenote about linebackers, since we’re on it… The Bronco’s picked up a young LB named Niko Koutivedas. He’s going to hurt us. Maybe not this year, maybe not the next, but as some point down the road.. watch out for that kid.
And yes, guards/tackles are not usually interchangeable, but you’re missing the point.. Herb Taylor started out as a guard last year, his rookie season. He’s only listed as a tackle because he played sparingly at LT at the end of the season when we were basically throwing anyone and everyone out there to try to find SOMETHING that would work, and work he did. He just impressed me, I dunno if he impressed the coaches. He may not be playing this year, but I’d sure like to see it. Even if he did play and wasn’t that good- as I said, it’s going to be his 2nd year in the league, nearly everyone struggles their first couple years, especially the first year they start.
xxxlp:
I really don’t see Harris playing OLB. I think he either starts at MLB or rides the bench, looking for a ticket out of town. If Demorrio develops, he would be the OLB replacement for Donnie I was talking about.
Taylor at Guard. Maybe and that could be a good development and change my needs list.
I think this has been a good discussion with alot of good contributions. Hopefully, several of these young players will step up and put locks on several positions so we can build this team to be a champtionship level team.