Cornerback
I’m not sure any position group has seen more movement in the first week of free agency than cornerback. It was fairly short on marquee talent to begin with. Save former Chief Sean Smith and Janoris Jenkins, the going rate for starting-caliber talent at cornerback has been modest at best. Kansas City negotiated with Smith into the 11th hour and were reportedly interested in Casey Hayward once Smith defected.
It’s clear the Chiefs are looking to backfill the position, but at what cost? Hayward signed with the San Diego Chargers for just over $5 million per year. There ism’t much quality left that can be had cheaper than that, but Brandon Boykin and Nolan Carroll are certainly comparable corners who similarly won’t break the bank.
Guard
Quality offensive guards were in such short supply that Jeff Allen and Brandon Brooks were signed by new teams to the tune of nearly $80 million. The remaining players available at the position are as unimpressive a group as you can imagine. The best players are either on the wrong side of 30 or come with serious injury concerns.
The Chiefs have numbers at guard, but little consistency. Between Paul Fanaika, Zach Fulton, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, Jarrod Pughsley, and Jah Reid, there isn’t one clear front runner to replace Ben Grubbs at left guard. The spot at right guard appears to belong to Duvernay-Tardif for the moment, but he hasn’t proven reliable enough to have the starting job nailed down. While they’re both long in the tooth, the Chiefs should kick the tires on Evan Mathis and Geoff Schwartz (brother of recent signee Mitch).
With a few more quality additions, the 2016 NFL Draft opens wide up for Kansas City. This offseason may be one time where the team could truly take the “best player available” in every round. Dorsey won’t need the draft to fill holes, he’d only be upgrading the overall talent pool and adding valuable depth.
I suspect the Chiefs aren’t quite done yet in free agency. I’m not convinced they’ll make another big splash, but there are a handful of players, at various positions of need, where they could make moves.
Are you happy with the Chiefs free agent class thus far? Which transaction are you most fond of? What available players are you interested in? Should the Chiefs rely upon their draftees at corner, to mitigate the loss of Sean Smith, or do they need insurance there in case Gaines needs additional time? Use the comment section below to begin the discussion. As always, we appreciate your readership and support.
Until next time, Addicts!