John Dorsey’s offseason to-do list: Eric Fisher

Mitchell Schwartz – Chiefs – 5 years at $33 million/$12.6 million guaranteed:

Many pundits thought that Mitchell Schwartz was in line for a big time pay day that would put him up there with the top left tackles in the league.  So it was quite the shock that not only did he sign with the cap strapped Chiefs, but that he did so relatively cheaply.  Schwartz is considered by many to be the top right tackle in the NFL.

Schwartz isn’t a direct comparison for a Fisher contract because they don’t play the exact same position.  However, the Chiefs can point to the clear difference in talent level.  Schwartz is the best at what he does.  Fisher probably isn’t even in the top half of the league at his position yet.  That will be a strong argument for John Dorsey at the negotiating table.

Lane Johnson – Eagles – 5 years at $56.2 million/$20.8 million guaranteed:

This was the big deal of the offseason for NFL offensive linemen.  Lane Johnson, who was drafted just a couple spots after Eric Fisher, played right tackle the last two years.  That scared many outsiders thinking that this may set a new trend for right tackles.  However, the Eagles quickly confirmed their intentions to move the young star to left tackle which maintained the status quo.

Without a doubt, Fisher’s agent will point to the guy who was drafted the same year as the basis for his client’s new contract.  He can point to it all he likes, but there is no way the Chiefs should pay this kind of money to Eric Fisher…and that’s regardless of what kind of year he has.

Lane Johnson has shown himself to be one of the better young offensive linemen in the league and has the potential to be even better.  Fisher has the potential, but he hasn’t shown anything close to what Lane Johnson has thus far.  But this will stand as the big hurdle for John Dorsey to get past.

Next: A Wild Card