Chiefs About To Go On The Defensive?

Scott Pioli prides himself on making smart free agency pickups that make sense for his team. He has worked like a surgeon this far this

offseason, methodically adding pieces on the offensive side of the ball to improve the Chiefs. I am beginning to think Pioli’s early moves in free agency are a clue that the Chiefs will draft heavy on defense.

Lets take a look at Pioli’s offseason moves thus far. He added Ryan Lilja, a likely starter at guard. He picked up Casey Weigmann who will either provide depth or start at center. He resigned Chris Chambers to team up with Dwayne Bowe as the Chiefs top 2 receivers. He brought in Jerhemey Urbam to likely compete as a slot receiver. Lastly, Pioli made a big splash by signing RB Thomas Jones to be the thunder to Jamaal’s lightening.

That is 5 moves on the offensive side of the ball. 2 receivers, 2 linemen and a running back.

On defense, Pioli has brought in Shaun Smith, likely as depth at the nose tackle position and has resigned the 36 year old Mike Vrabel.

That is it.

Here we are still about a month before the draft and I can honestly say, the Chiefs are significantly improved on offense. I feel OK with the Chiefs going into the draft with their current offensive players.

Next up has to be the defense. I don’t know if the Chiefs will make any moves in free agency to pick up defenders but as you can see, this offseason’s acquisitions have been very unbalanced. Since both sides of the ball need work, I would look for the Chiefs to turn their attention to the defense soon, especially in the draft.
We heard earlier that Pioli might have reservations about taking a safety as early as number 5 but that still doesn’t mean he won’t do it. It also doesn’t mean he won’t take one later. It is simple odds here. The defense has to improve. I know it. You know it. Pioli knows it.

If we don’t see any major acquisitions through trade or free agency in the next few weeks, there is only one place Pioli is going to get defensive starters and that is in the first 2 rounds of the draft.

There are still a lot of rumors out there that the Chiefs like OT Brian Bulaga and will take him with their first pick. While those folks may be right, I keep thinking back to something Scott Pioli said during the NFL Combine. When asked if the offensive line was an offseason priority, Pioli responded that it was a priority but he didn’t know if it was THE priority. If the Chiefs were to draft a LT they would essentially be adding 3 new starters to their offensive line in the rookie LT, Lilja and Weigman. I would say that would be making the offensive line a priority.

What do you think, Addicts? Are the Chiefs about to get defensive? Or is Pioli going to do the safe, predictable thing and take a LT?