The K.C. Chiefs Fix Scenarios
By Laddie Morse
Fixing the Draft
By fixing the draft, I’m referring to trading a draft pick… or, trading up or down to acquire the player they desire.
First let’s establish that trading draft picks… is like the three day stock exchange currency for NFL directors of player personnel. Mostly. There were only two organizations that did not participate in any trades in the 2015 draft (the Steelers and the Bengals). In fact, many teams were involved in over half a dozen draft pick trades.
With the excitement that is being generated around this year’s crop of draft picks, the possibility exists for the Chiefs to trade up and acquire the exact player they want or… trading down to gain more picks. In fact, if the Chiefs are willing to trade down with their first or second pick, they could come away with four picks… possibly even five… in the top 100 players drafted.
However, if what the Chiefs are attempting to accomplish this offseason is to prepare the team for a championship run in 2016, I’d be more in favor of a trade up to get a stud.
The overall “plan” or the fix for each position is an interdependent process. What the team is able to accomplish at one position is dependent upon what they’re able to accomplish at other positions… because of cap limitations.
Having gone through most positions… look back at the Chiefs 2015 offseason and you’ll find their re-signing and drafting as a co-dependent process:
+ Wanting to fix the WR position but knowing they would not be in play for one of the top three wide receivers in the first round, wideouts that went #4 (Amari Cooper), #7 (Kevin White) and #14 (DeVante Parker), the Chiefs proceeded to trade the up in the third round past three teams, Cleveland, New Orleans and San Francisco, teams that they likely believed could take a WR, and so they selected Georgia WR Chris Conley, who blew the doors off the combine even though he didn’t have great college tape.
+ In the second round, many believed the Chiefs took C Mitch Morse too early and didn’t get the value correct. I believe K.C. took him right where they planned to take him. A plan they created weeks before the draft.
+ In the first round, Dorsey “threw the dice” and took a big risk o CB Marcus Peters, right?
The point I’d like to make about all those moves is that they were highly predictable for John Dorsey. A general manager’s job is made incredibly difficult because free agency precedes the draft. However, if he can focus on specific draft picks and plan to secure them with a high degree of predictability… that GM is way ahead of the curve.
In that sense John Dorsey’s 2015 offseason plan was a kickoff return for a touchdown. Knowing Marcus Peters would probably fall… and knowing he could secure his Center of the future… and knowing he had his #2 WR in the third… made his plan… a golden ticket to Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory.
So, what are we really talking about? We’re talking about a well managed risk (Peters)… a superior evaluation and valuation method (Morse) and knowing your competition so well that you trade around them (Conley).
Tomorrow at noon I will have another post for you and present the 2015 Draft Trades
graphic depicting every trade in that draft. I’ll be exploring the role of trades in
the draft and you’ll be shocked at what you find there.
What do you say Addict fans? Do you have an offseason fix scenario you’d like to see come to fruition?