It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what positions the Chiefs need to address during the draft and eventual free agency and that is a good thing.

In years past, the Chiefs could have taken on any position and found a need.  Such is not necessarily the case anymore.  We have talent on this team, and just a few spots that need upgrading. Those spots, however, are glaring.  You would have to be an idiot not to see them. (Are you reading this Scott Pioli?)

A Second Wide Receiver

In my humble football opinion, it would be absolute professional malpractice for the Chiefs not to sign a free agent wide receiver or at least spend a top pick (first or second round pick) on a wide receiver.

A quick run down of the second wide receiver position tells you why.  Chris Chambers is toast; Terrance Cooper is a special teamer; Verran Tucker a fourth receiver at best; save one or two plays, Dexter Mccluster was unimpressive in his time (definitely not a second receiver);  Quinten Lawrence (why is he still on this team?), and Kevin Curtis (aging, slowing and injury prone). Dwayne Bowe is the only real deal we have, and without help he tends to disappear in games.

More after the jump…

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A couple of things:

• Adam Schefter was talking about how many players and front office personnel in New England believe that Matt Cassel is one of the best five to eight quarterbacks in the NFL. If that is so, isn’t it almost a certainty that Scott Pioli will make a power play for him?

• Bart Scott is still out there. Jason Brown is still out there. But both guys are apparently headed to St. Louis. It doesn’t seem like we are in the running for either player right now.

• The good news is that pretty much everyone — well, besides DeAngelo Hall and a few others — is still out there. Antonio Smith. Derrick Ward. Nate Washington. Stacy Andrews. All the other guys on my Blueprint are still available.

I don’t think we’ll hear anything until the late morning, so I will check back in then. I’ll also have you covered throughout the weekend with news and analysis.

Boldin requested a trade following the 2007 season when his fellow wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald signed a four-year, $40 million contract extension with Arizona [2] and the Cardinals declined to renegotiate Boldin’s contract. He has two years with $12 million remaining on his current contract.

So, Boldin will not  be coming with Todd Haley to the Chiefs. If we want to add another elite receiver, our only two options are really either drafting Michael Crabtree or signing T.J. Houshmandzadeh, who in my opinion is a lot like Dwayne Bowe.

Donte’ Stallworth, who had a solid first season in New England with 46 catches for 697 yards, will almost certainly be released, when you look at these details of his contract:

the deal includes a $6 million option bonus, due to be paid on February 25. Stallworth also is set to earn a $2 million roster bonus on February 29.

There’s just no way the Patriots are going to pay Stallworth $8 million in bonus money, meaning that unless they can agree on a new contract in the next week, Stallworth is about to become an unrestricted free agent

When you look at his stats from last year, they don’t necessarily scream at you at first. Then you remember that he played third banana to Randy Moss and Wes Welker — who both had record-breaking seasons — all season long. And look at his stat averages from the past four seasons: 53 catches, 784 yards and five touchdowns. The old knock on him was that he couldn’t stay healthy enough to be productive, but those stats show that he has clearly been a productive wideout. He also has the game-breaking speed we should be looking for in a No. 2, as evidenced by the fact that he’s had a catch of over 43 yards in each of his six seasons (not to mention catches of 69 and 84 yards, respectively, in his past two seasons)

I think we have to take a look at Stallworth. He’d be a perfect fit.