First off, I’d like to offer my apologies for not dropping in with my column for the past two weeks. Things were a bit hectic, and given the Chiefs absolute inability to do anything right on the field, I decided to not pile on any more negativity with my own thoughts.
It’s with that in mind, that I decided to take the Fanatic Focus in a slightly different direction for the remainder of the season. Instead of posting a editorial piece on the Chiefs and/or their players, I want to begin to look ahead to what the Chiefs will do in the off-season; most importantly what they will do during the NFL Draft.
As you all know by now, the Chiefs season is essentially finished. There will be no miraculous late season run to playoffs or anything of the sort for Herm Edwards’ kids. So Adam, Zach, and I all think it makes sense to start analyzing potential draft prospects for the Chiefs and focus on how this team is going to improve by next year, instead of cracking down on every negative, which is something we’ve all done for the past year or so.
I’m going to start this week off with the most important position on the field for the Chiefs – quarterback - and then work my way through the position groups as the season progresses. Hopefully by season’s end, we’ll have a complete bible of sorts that outlays what the Chiefs strategy should be headed into the off-season at each position.
So without further adieu, let’s get this party started shall we?
Quarterback
Current KC Chiefs roster
- Tyler Thigpen
- Quinn Gray
- Ingle Martin
- Brodie Croyle (IR)
- Damon Huard (IR)
Top Five 2009 Free-Agents
- Jeff Garcia (Tampa Bay)
- J.P. Losman (Buffalo)
- Kyle Boller (Baltimore)
- Kurt Warner (Arizona)
- Matt Cassel (New England)
Top Five Draft Prospects – * signifies underclassman
- Matt Stafford (Georgia) *
- Sam Bradford (Oklahoma) *
- Tim Tebow (Florida) *
- Curtis Painter (Purdue)
- Cullen Harper (Clemson)
Analysis
This has been a tough year for the Chiefs at the quarterback spot, as they’ve watched both Brodie Croyle and Damon Huard go down with season ending injuries. Tyler Thigpen played extraordinarily well last week in New York, at times looking more like Brett Favre then Favre himself, but looked completely lost in week 3 against Atlanta, so he’s going to need to show more consistency if he wants to win a starting job outright.
The Chiefs will likely take a long look at the possibility of signing a veteran free-agent QB to manage the offense for them next year, however I expect them to continue on with their mantra of sticking with young players over signing high-priced vets. That narrows the playing field significantly when it comes to which free-agent targets they may go after, knocking both Jeff Garcia and Kurt Warner out of the mix.
The most logical free-agent signing at QB for the Chiefs would be Buffalo Bills QB J.P. Losman. Losman has played very well for most of his career in Buffalo, however he has had a fair amount of injury concerns, which led the Bills to go with Trent Edwards as their young QB of the future instead of Losman. He may come with a steeper asking price then the Chiefs would prefer to pay given his age, other intangible skills, and the lack of quality players at the position available on the market. That being said, the Chiefs will almost certainly explore a deal with him in the off-season, as he would provide significant experience as well as talent at the QB spot, which is something they’ve truly lacked in recent years.
Kyle Boller and Matt Cassel also provide similar amounts of experience, but their talent level falls far short of what Losman brings to the table in my opinion. Both QBs could be on the radar for the Chiefs though, given their youth and cost to sign, so I’m not counting them out just yet.
As for the draft, the Chiefs will most definitely have their eyes firmly focused on improving the QB position by using one or more draft picks on a top-notch signal caller come April 26-27, 2009. The most popular opinion is that the Chiefs will use their likely top five selection to grab a player like Matt Stafford, who projects to be top 10 pick and could go as high as number one overall.
The Chiefs could also package their top five pick and trade down in order to select a player like Tim Tebow late in round one, or go with senior QBs like Curtis Painter and Cullen Harper in round two. I expect that to happen for sure if the Chiefs are successful in signing one of the aforementioned free-agents to play QB for the next two or three seasons. That move would also set the team up for future success, as they would be able to acquire a sigificant amount of draft picks in the process, allowing the Chiefs front office to stockpile talent at key positions instead of focusing on one spot at a time.
The real intriguing possibility would come if Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford decides to declare at the end of this season instead of returning to school as most believe he will. Bradford would easily shoot to the top of the list if he did declare, as he has every single attribute teams crave when it comes to drafting a quarterback. If he is available when the Chiefs select in the top five next spring, you can put the money in the bank that they’ll snatch him up immediately, as he is a legitimate QB prospect that will undoubtedly become a fixture in the Pro-Bowl very soon for one lucky team.
All in all, I think the Chiefs will likely go to camp next year with a bevy of new faces in the QB spot. Whether it’s through free-agency or the draft, the Chiefs know full well that they have to make a major move this off-season to improve their QB play if they’ll have any shot at taking the next step towards a reappearance in the playoffs anytime soon.
Simply standing pat with Tyler Thigpen, Brodie Croyle, and Quinn Gray at quarterback won’t cut it any longer, and I think the Chiefs are wise to the concept that by adding a premier talent at QB via free-agency or the draft, the fans will come back to the team, driving up excitement and lining the pockets of the team with large amounts of cash.
As they say, money talks, so expect a major move by the Chiefs this year to get it flowing once again at Arrowhead next fall.
Chris Kolb is the owner and lead writer for KCChiefsFanatic.com
FanSided Sports Blog
Kings of Kauffman
NFL Mocks
Stock Car Spin
Bolt Beat
Just Blog Baby
Predominantly Orange
Ramblin' Fan
Loading ...
While I appreciate the hard work that went into this article. I really cannot stomach the fact that we are begining to talk about the draft now. We will have all of the long, very long, offseason to do so. It is always and exercise in futility.
Sure we suck and will have a very high draft pick, but at least we can focus on discussing what we can do now to become better. I believe we need better coaching.
Nice article though, just a bit premature.
I say that Tebow is not ready for the NFL and will not be entering. The same for Bradford. I’d almost bet we keep what we have unless we pick up a qb late late in the draft. I don’t think we have seen the best days of Thigpen.
What about McNabb? He is not a free agent, but he will be on his way out of Philly if they don’t make the playoffs. He does not exactly fit the KC mold of young, but he would definitely be an upgrade.
What? No mention of the Vick experiment? Nice read but with all the variables left to this equation, it is impossible to see what April holds. But I have my wish list. And I will say that QB is not at the top of it.
I’m with MarcusAllen32 on this one. I think Tyler Thigpen will prove himself in the way Derek Anderson did last year and win the starting job outright. Let’s just hope he starts next season better off than Anderson started this season. The best part of Thiggy winning the job is that we can use these early picks on glaring defensive needs like LDE and MLB.
As far as seniors go, I personally would put Hunter Cantwell (Louisville) ahead of both Painter and Harper. None are 1st round material though. Later round Sr prospect would have to include Rhett Bomar (Sam Houston St). None are worth more than a mid-to-late second round pick as far as I’m concerned.
Among Juniors, I would currently rank Mark Sanchez (S Cal), Colt McCoy (Tx) and Josh Freeman (K St) as potential day 1 picks in addition to Tebow and Stafford. Frankly, I’m not too high on either of the latter btw – from what I’ve seen, Stafford telegraphs just about every pass he throws and neither seem to handle pressure very well.
The best of them all is Bradford. As a rSo, I wouldn’t get my hopes too high that he’ll come out in ‘09.
Finally, trading down out of the top 5 is nearly impossible. With CP calling the negotiation shots, I’d say it’s an even bigger stretch.
Great points Double D. I personally am not a huge fan of Cantwell but I’ll agree he’s going in the 2nd or 3rd. I also doubt Bradford will come out, but damn if he did, we should jump all over him.
I think that depending on where we draft, we should be able to trade down a few spots at the least and pick up an extra pick or two. Obviously if we draft #2 or #1 overall, that’s not going to happen, but I think that we’ll probably be drafting #5 or #6 if Thigpen can pull together 3-4 more wins this season.
Thanks for the solid thoughts though.
I think everyone knows how I feel about Stafford. I did NOT see the game this weekend, and heard good things though so I’ll need to keep tracking that. I don’t care much for Harper, but I think that Painter is god awful. That guy is horrid. I haven’t seen much of Cantwell so I can’t speak on that. If Bradford comes out, and we’re able to get him, I’ll be the happiest young lad in all the world. Unfortunately, I seriously doubt that happens. I have in recent weeks gained interest in McCoy (as most people have) and have always felt that Sanchez is pretty steady. The only one of all of the aforementioned names I personally feel is a first round talent is Stafford.
Here’s where I feel each of the people I mentioned above should be drafted (if they’re there)
Bradford (early first)
Stafford (late second; yes, I know he’ll go higher)
McCoy (late second)
Sanchez (early third)
Harper (early sixth)
Painter (XFL)
Get real. Either the Notorious Thee Eye Gee will not duplicate his fine efforts or our coaching staff will not utilize his skills. Either way Thiggy is a Chiefs QB so he is doomed.
seems this page is just like the KC royals, Talent in the own back yard (albert pujols) and let it slip away, lets not forget about a good leader in chase daniels, I say we spread it out and throw to the number one pick we have D Bo and Light up the scoreboard. Atleast we know he can take a hit and he can run if need be, Would love to see him and our new future running back Jamal Charles have a hayday on the nfl. TRADE LARRY JOHNSTON
YEA, TRADE JOHNSTON haha…
I agree with alot of you guys that this is too early…it is depressing indeed. But since you brought it up, I love Bradford, it SUCKS that we are not likely to get him. My hope is that we either get the number 1 pick and take whatever QB or we win some with Thiggy Smalls and get either Maualuga or the Best OL available…then again, if it were up to me I would probly take OL, DL and LB all through the draft…the style of offense we are trying to run, we need linemen more than another QB, no matter how good he is…the game is won in the trenches as the saying goes…
I have no doubt that Daniels is a good QB but I’m not for sure if he can play the NFL game. Bradford if he leaves is by far the best in the draft but I doubt he goes and probably the best beside McCoy in all of college. We do need OL and a good linebacker to help DJ out and trading LJ is probably one of the worst things rite now i know we have cap room but that would be way to big of a hit plus if he gets straightened out and wants to play he will put up good numbers we need the double headed monster with he and charles.
Everyone is talking about Daniels and he is a system QB how come no one is talking about Graham Harrell? Way better numbers than Daniels or even trading for another first rounder and getting Crabtree do be a dual threat with Bowe like Boldin and Fitzgerald. That would be amazing but I know we need an Oline for that but I expect them to actually spend some of that cap money this year.
Graham Harrell is a whiny little mary. He’ll never survive the NFL.
Great piece, Chris. You are now our resident draft guru! It is never too early to talk draft, especially when you are 1-6 and have a sizable staff. We’ll see if Bradford is available. I was saddened by no mention of Vick, though. That hurts, man.
I really dont see any QB talent in the 2009 draft, that is worth a first round pick!! We shouldnt reach and waste such a high pick on a QB. Remember that the better your offensive line is, the better your QB/RB/WR will be!!! We need a “Power Right Tackle” , a “Power Right Guard and the Center Mr. Mack from California. Lets quick messing around and use the 2009 draft and fix our O-line up!!!! If we can due that, i promise you Quinn Gray can keep us competative until we find us a franchise QB. thats all i have to say about that!