Mock Draft: Ranking The Kansas City Chiefs Offseason Needs

Nov 16, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Sean Smith (21) and free safety Husain Abdullah (39) celebrate after a goal line stand during the second half against the Seattle Seahawks at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs won 24-20. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

ROUND FOUR: Safety

Figuring out the situation at safety this season is going to be tricky.

Ron Parker is a free agent and his early financial demands are not encouraging. Eric Berry’s health situation has put more than just his 2015 season in jeopardy. Kurt Coleman was a quality player in 2014 but he’s looking for a starting gig elsewhere. Sanders Commings has all the tools but can’t stay healthy. Husain Abdullah was solid in his role but he alone will not be enough to fill the gaps in the secondary.

So what do the Chiefs do?

Dorsey has proven so far in his early tenure with the Chiefs to be able to finds some quality guys off the street that he can plug in and play for a season. Bob Sutton has taken those guys and, for the most part, extracted as much as he could from them. The result has been a very solid secondary that seems to playing a level higher than the quality of talent that is on the field.

One thing Dorsey cannot allow is for the safety position to regress back to what the Chiefs had in 2013. Yes, fate has dealt the Chiefs a bad hand with the injuries and the Berry situation, that makes Dorsey’s job much more difficult. But if the Chiefs are going to take the next step they at least need to maintain the quality of play they received from their safeties this season.

Aside from Commings potential return, there are some other interesting options for the Chiefs already on the roster. First is Marcus Cooper, who may benefit from a move to free safety the way Ron Parker did this season. Cooper has a lot of similar physical tools as Parker does, though he’s not quite as strong as Parker. If the pressure is off of Cooper to lock down the other team’s best receiver but instead ball hawk and protect the certain areas of the field then maybe he can regain some of the promise he flashed in 2013.

Daniel Sorensen has issues in coverage but he’s a quality special teams player and can help in stopping the run. A year of NFL experience plus a year to get a little bit bigger could propel him into a position to be a more valuable contributor in the secondary in certain situations.

The problem with Cooper and Sorensen is they are not good enough to fill the void that may exist with the absence of Berry. Kansas City simply does not have a guy on the roster who can fill his role as the strong or free safety and command things in the secondary.

Dorsey needs to find a guy who can play next Abdullah and put Sorensen (and maybe Cooper) in roles where they can be successful. No, you’re not going to find someone of the quality of Berry, but you can at least find someone who is going to keep the secondary from imploding. One would think a veteran acquisition would be the best way to fill that spot, but Dorsey may want to consider using a draft pick just in case Berry’s absence is longer than just the 2015 season.

P.S. Get better soon, Eric!

Next: Round Five