Free Agency Mock Draft: The Seven Most Impactful Free Agents For The Kansas City Chiefs

Jan 11, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos guard Orlando Franklin (74) in the 2014 AFC Divisional playoff football game against the Indianapolis Colts at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

Round Three: Orlando Franklin

Part two of fixing the Chiefs’ offensive line issues comes in the form of potential free agent Orlando Franklin. The Denver Broncos have several critical free agent moves to make in addition to trying to figure out what the situation is with Peyton Manning and his future. One may suggest a general overhaul of the offense is about to happen in order to either prepare for the post-Manning era or to compensate for the regression that is happening with Manning’s skill set. This may leave Franklin out on the market.

Franklin makes a ton of sense for the Chiefs because of his versatility, athleticism, and likely contract. Franklin posted a +16.4 overall PFF grade in 2013 as the Broncos right tackle before switching to left guard in 2014 and posting a +15.4 grade. The flexibility a Franklin signing would create for the Chiefs in terms of the draft and creating depth on the roster would be huge for the Chiefs.

Some will argue presumed free agent left guard Mike Iupati would make a lot of sense for the Chiefs, and, no, he wouldn’t be a bad signing. But Iupati will likely command more money on the open market in addition to basically being restricted only to left guard. Iupati is also at his best in a power rush offense and may not be quite as effective in the Chiefs’ west coast scheme.

Signing Franklin and Hudson to contracts could put the Chiefs in an excellent position on the left side of the offensive line in addition to providing a massive upgrade over Mike McGlynn. The combination of stability between Franklin and Hudson could go a long way towards the development of Eric Fisher, who will have a guy playing next to him who actually knows what the hell he is doing.

With Franklin and Hudson the Chiefs would move from having ‘zero guarantees’ on the offensive line to at least two. Add in a potential high draft pick to play either right guard or right tackle and maybe that number jumps up to three. And, of course, there is always the hope Fisher is able to use a healthy offseason to become the player many thought he could be coming out of the draft.

But none of that stability is likely to happen if the Chiefs don’t invest money into the offensive line. Hudson and Franklin are two good places to start.

Next: Round Four