Chiefs Free Agent Prospects: Joel Dreessen

Throughout the offseason we will be looking at various prospects that the Chiefs might be able to pick up in free agency.

We already broke down the class of centers but for other positions we’ll mostly be looking at players on an individual basis. Today, I want to talk about one of the top TE’s set to hit the market.

Joel Dreessen of the Houston Texans.

According to Pro Football Focus, Dreesen is the top TE available. They graded him at +10.0 on the season.

Dreesen was Houston’s second tight end in 2011 but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t valuable. He logged 722 snaps on the season, reeling in 28 receptions for 353 yards and a team-leading six touchdowns.

Along with being a decent pass catcher, Dreessen can also block. PFF graded him at +3.8 in pass blocking and +5.1 in run blocking on the season, including Houston’s two playoff games. In that span, Dreesen was called to run block for over 400 snaps. He was a major part of Houston’s lethal rushing attack.

With Tony Moeaki coming back, Dreesen would be a perfect second TE and would be a huge improvement over the likes of Leonard Pope and Jake O’Connell.

Dreesen is 29 and will turn 30 in July. While he is no spring chicken, the former sixth-round pick likely still has a few good years of football left in him.

Roto World has reported that the Texans likely won’t “break the bank” to retain Dreessen, citing that the team will already be up against the salary cap as they have to resign Arian Foster and Mario Williams.

We all know that salary cap issues don’t exist in Kansas City (other than the issue of not using any of the cap space) so the Chiefs could certainly afford Dreessen. They also aren’t spending much on TEs, with Tony Moeaki being just a third-round pick.

What do you think, Addicts? Should Scott Pioli pursue Dreessen?