Chiefs And A Super Bowl Draft p. 2
By Laddie Morse
Free Agency
In this draft scenario, the Chiefs would have to sign a top notch WR.
Jeremy Maclin, Michael Crabtree, Torrey Smith and Randall Cobb appear to be the best bets here.
Cobb seems most likely to return to the Packers. Who wants to leave the team that drafted you in the 2nd round just 4 years ago. The catch there of course is that Chiefs GM John Dorsey was with the Packers when he was drafted. Dorsey may be able to open a conversation with Cobb but it’s doubtful the Chiefs will have the cap dollars to tie up Cobb in Kansas City.
Jeremy Maclin is my personal preference. Maclin is not only familiar with Coach Andy Reid’s system and Reid is the one who drafted him but also, he attended the University of Missouri. The numbers to sign Maclin should be easier to make happen than Cobb and although Maclin would not serve as a #1 WR, Reid’s offensive scheme can survive without a true #1. Plus, if the Chiefs renegotiate Dwayne Bowe’s contract and then sign some good WRs in the draft, the WR corp will be much improved.
If the Chiefs look to bring any other free agents it will likely be a right tackle. Although many have speculated Bryan Bulaga could be that guy his signing will be limited by the cap space the Chiefs are able to create.
Although this kind of draft doesn’t solve all the Chiefs offensive line woes, like RT, it would go a long ways towards supplying the needed youth to make the competition much improved.
There are some realities about the way Andy Reid works with an offensive line that fans should be aware of.
- Reid likes to choose his line and stick with them for a long time, often throughout a whole season… even if they’re not performing well (e.g. Mike McGlynn).
- Reid will give a guy his shot. It usually comes in the preseason. Then, you’ll see Andy shift different guys in and out of the starting OL lineup for days at a time.
- Both Coach Reid and GM Dorsey like to develop and advance their players to the starting lineup. So, the next-man-up at RT may be Donald Stephenson.
Donald Stephenson is one of those players who Coach Reid had advanced to the starting lineup at right tackle last offseason. Stephenson looked like he was doing a good job at right tackle when his suspension was announced on August 22. When he returned to action on September 30th many assumed he’d be given his RT job back but it never happened. It’s safe to assume Stephenson will be allowed to work his way back into the starting RT position this offseason.
If that’s the case, and I’m not saying it’s an absolute, but if that’s the case, the Offensive line will probably look like this in September:
LT- Eric Fisher or Josue Matias- Reid and Dorsey are stuck with Fisher here for now. However, if he has one more year like the last two, he’ll be labeled a bust.
LG- Josue Matias or Jeff Allen (here’s hoping it’s not Allen), or LDT- Allen was not good when he held this job. Laurent Duvernay-Tardif may take another more year to develop but he’ll likely be in the conversation. Maybe Laken Tomlinson here.
C- Rodney Hudson or Eric Kush (here’s hoping it’s Hudson)- If the Chiefs decide they can’t afford Hudson, Kush will be the choice. The only good Centers in this draft are rated to high for the Chiefs to use a pick on one of them.
RG- Zach Fulton or Laken Tomlinson- the improvement Fulton showed at the end of 2014 hopefully carries over to 2015. If not, Tomlinson would be able to step right in and make the most of his own opportunity.
RT- Donald Stephenson or Derek Sherrod- If the Chiefs can finally get Donald Stephenson to maximize his potential… something many expected last offseason… then either he or Derek Sherrod will likely make RT an improved position over 2014 when late free agent signee Ryan Harris manned the spot.
I’m afraid that with the salary cap being what it is and the Chef needing to make significant cuts just to sign Justin Houston, that signing more than one “big time” free agent will be out of the question. Consequently, if the Chiefs can draft a similar set of prospects as has been suggested here, then they would merely need to sign someone like WR Jeremy Maclin. Which, all things being equal, they have a much better chance of doing because of Coach Reid prior associated to him in Philadelphia.
Execute this draft… and sign WR Jeremy Maclin… and the Chiefs WR corps looks like this:
Jeremy Maclin, 6-0, 198
Dwayne Bowe, 6-2, 221
Albert Wilson, 5-9, 200
Phillip Dorsett, 5-10, 195
Dres Anderson, 6-1, 187
Tre McBride, 6-1, 205
So, what do you think Addict fans? What if this was the Chiefs offseason? What other changes do you see as possible considering the Chiefs cap limitations?