This is where we lose people.
The offseason is upon us. The sting of a playoff loss is still festering and on a lot of people’s minds. They are tempted to allow themselves to be distracted by other interests… Jayhawks Basketball, Gates vs Joe’s debates, Boulevard’s new creations, etc.
You have to fight that feeling. Now is not the time to let up. This is the time of year when championships are forged.
90 days. That’s all the time there is until the next iteration of the Kansas City Chiefs is set (primarily anyway). Just 90 days until the NFL Draft.
A lot has to happen in that time, both for the Chiefs and across the rest of the league.
There are so many moving parts that Chris Clark and I went into some depth this week on the Check With Me podcast. We also had part two of our conversation with guest Benjamin Allbright on free agency and the quarterbacks in the 2016 NFL Draft.
Here’s the show.
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There’s no time to slow down. The critical offseason events are getting going. Here are the major milestones:
Right now – The college All-Star games are giving the teams’ scouts and executives a chance to see draft prospects up close. For most the team general managers and other execs, this will be for the first time. The East-West Shrine game was last weekend, while the Senior Bowl is tomorrow.
Feb 22nd – Teams can designate Franchise players. There has been some speculation about the Chiefs using the Franchise tag on cornerback Sean Smith, but don’t expect that to actually happen. The projected 2016 franchise tag value for cornerbacks is $13.08 million. That’s more than a third of the team’s current cap space.
Feb 23rd-29th – The NFL Scouting Combine. It will be on television. It will be talked about ad-nauseam and in absolutes. Just grin and bear it. This is where teams can confirm what they have seen on film. They even find some surprises from time to time.
March 4th – A decision must be made on Tamba Hali’s future with the organization by this day. His contract voids and will incur a $4 million cap charge if the contract is not addressed (per Joel Corry)
March 15th – Its a new year at 4 p.m. Eastern time. Start your engines! Free Agency will officially begin (after the official free-to-tamper, just don’t talk about it 72 hours). John Dorsey made a bug splash quickly last season when he signed Jeremy Maclin.
March-April – College pro days occur across the nation. Teams finalize their draft boards.
April 28th-30th – The NFL Draft. The new draft class is selected.
May 3rd – Last day to exercise the fifth-year option on Eric Fisher.
John Dorsey likes to set a draft board and follow it, but The 2015 rookie class can give some hope for the 2016 draft.
Next: What can Chiefs All-Rookie team selections tell us?