John Dorsey and Andy Reid Clearly Have A Plan

Say what you will about the moves that new Chiefs GM John Dorsey and head coach Andy Reid have made since they took control of the team, but one thing is clear. They are men of action. Since taking control they have systematically been remaking the roster. If you step back and look at everything they have done and how they have gone about doing it, a clear game plan emerges.

Step 1 – Evaluate the current roster and decide who you want to keep and who needs to go.

Dorsey and Reid clearly wanted to keep Dwayne Bowe. They decided Eric Winston was disposable. They franchised Branden Albert, but what exactly they plan to do with him remains uncertain. Finally, they decided that their QB was NOT on the roster they inherited from former Chiefs GM Scott Pioli.

Step 2 – Find their QB.

If you believe published media reports, Andy Reid took the KC job with the idea of bringing Alex Smith to KC to be his QB. Rumors of Smith to KC surfaced early on, but there was nothing concrete at that time. That changed after the combine. Shortly after the combine ended, reports surfaced saying that KC had agreed to a deal that would bring Smith to KC. So it appears to me that Reid told Dorsey that he wanted Smith, but they decided to wait to finalize anything until after they saw the QB draft prospects up close at the combine. Apparently they didn’t see anything at the combine that changed Reid’s mind. They dealt for Smith after the combine and Dorsey said at the press conference that Smith would be their starter for the foreseeable future. If any further proof was still needed to show that they weren’t going to commit very much to a rookie QB in this year’s draft they went out and committed multiple years and millions of dollars to Chase Daniel to be the #2 QB. The latest draft reports (i.e., rumor or smokescreen) is that the Chiefs are still strongly considering Geno Smith. My advice to KC fans would be to put no faith in those reports. A QB that is worth taking #1 overall is a valuable commodity. It is in KC’s best interest to sell Geno as just that in hopes of getting someone to trade up with them to take him. I believe the Chiefs have the QBs that will sit at one and two on the depth chart already on the roster. Now the #3 spot? Let’s just say that I don’t think Ricky Stanzi should get too comfortable.

Step 3 – Fill roster holes with solid (but not “super star”) free agent signings.

Reid and Dorsey have added several solid players that have upgraded the overall talent on the roster without breaking the bank for any one player. These signings include: Dunta Robinson, Sean Smith, Anthony Fasano, Mike DeVito, Donnie Avery, and Geoff Schwartz.

Step 4 – Thoroughly evaluate the draft prospects and set their draft board.

This is where the Chiefs are right now. They have reportedly had private work outs with multiple possible first round selections. Including:

Ezekiel Ansah, DE, BYU
Eric Fisher, OL, Central Michigan
Sharrif Floyd, DL, Florida
Luke Joeckel, OL, Texas A&M
Lane Johnson, OT, Oklahoma
Jarvis Jones, LB, Georgia
Dion Jordan, DL, Oregon
Dee Milliner, DB, Alabama
Geno Smith, QB, West Virginia

It appears to me that KC is taking a good look at the top 10 prospects in the draft. This could be in part because they want to do their homework on just who they will take at #1, but it could also prepare them for a trade down within the top 10. It doesn’t appear that KC is spending a lot of time looking at prospects that are projected to go in the the second half of the first round. Since the only people that would move up to #1 are teams looking for a QB and all of those teams are picking in the top 10 that’s a smart move.

Step 5 – ???????

I’m really curious to see what comes next. Will the team wait to make any other major moves before the draft? What will they do with Branden Albert? Will they be able to move back in the draft? I think those last two are related. If the team’s top priority is trading Albert then I think it lessons the chance that they’ll trade back from #1. With Albert gone they would have to get a top LT prospect and even if they just traded back to around 8-9 there is a chance that the top LTs could all be gone. The only way I see them trading Albert and the top pick is if they can work a deal in the top 4 picks.

I also think that an Albert trade would need to be completed before the start of the draft. Albert made it known that he doesn’t want to play anywhere except LT, everybody knows that now. So if KC drafts a LT at #1 and then tries to trade Albert, teams will use that against them. Right now KC can tell teams that if they can’t get good value for Albert that they’ll just keep him to play LT and draft another position in the first round.

That’s why I’m anxious to see if anything happens in the next few weeks. If Dorsey and Reid REALLY liked one of the LTs that they visited and are set on drafting him at #1 I think we could see Albert moved in the coming days. If they weren’t really sold on the left tackles then they may focus on trying to deal the #1 pick and keeping Albert for another season.

If I were running the show I’d trade Albert right now to Miami for their top 2nd round pick. I’d then use the money I saved on dealing Albert to sign Andre Smith away from Cincinnati. With my RT taken care of I’d see if I could get a team like Jax or Philly to come up to #1 to take Geno in return for their 2nd round pick as well. If they would do it, great, we can still take a top tackle in the 1st to replace Albert and we have two early 2nd round picks. If not, we take a LT at #1 and still have both tackle spots filled and a 2nd round pick.

So what do you think Addicts? What is Dorsey and Reid’s next move? Will we get any more answers soon? They clearly have a plan that they’re sticking to. I just wish I knew what it was. I do feel confident that these guys do have a clear cut plan and that so far they have done a nice job of improving the roster. I’m anxious to hear what you think in the comments below.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!