Is Chiefs general manager John Dorsey the best?
By John McCarty
As we take stock of the 2016 season , lets take a look at the job performance of Kansas City Chiefs general manager John Dorsey.
Dorsey has done a remarkable job in assembling this team to this point. We will go year by year, starting with the 2013 season when he was hired, and some of the good and bad (yes, there are a few) decisions that have been made.
2013
Whenever you have complete and total overhaul of an organization, like we saw after the amazingly awful 2012 season, many changes will be made. With a quarterback class that indeed was awful as many of the experts predicted, the Chiefs appear to have been wise in their decision to trade for Alex Smith as opposed to going forward with Geno Smith or EJ Manuel.
In free agency, the Chiefs were able to find Sean Smith from the Dolphins, Husain Abdullah and Mike DeVito was a solid members of the defense for multiple seasons. Geoff Schwartz would instantly become a fan favorite for the one season he would spend playing for the Chiefs, and in fact, that season would help lay the ground work with the Chiefs signing of his brother, Mitchell Schwartz from the Cleveland Browns this past offseason.
On the waiver wire, the Chiefs added seven players, including starters Ron Parker and Jaye Howard, and got contributions from Marcus Cooper and Dezman Moses. Sean McGrath was a sensation while here with his beard, and guard Rishaw Johnson would later be used in a trade that would net the Chiefs safety Kelsie McCray.
The draft is where Dorsey did rather well, especially in a class so devoid of talent. If you want to find a good general manager, go find what they are able to do in a bad draft. (The Packers, with Dorsey in the front office in 2009, another weak draft, found three starters, including all pro players B.J. Raji and Clay Matthews).
In the first round, Eric Fisher was selected ahead of the much-loved Luke Joeckel. While Fisher certainly hasn’t been a star, he’s a significant upgrade over Joeckel, who went second overall to the Jaguars. Without a second round selection, the Chiefs grabbed Cincinnati tight end Travis Kelce at the top of the third round. After missing his rookie season due to a knee injury, Kelce has emerged as a playmaking threat at tight end and versatile weapon. Knile Davis has been a valuable returner. The rest of the draft provided a limited to no impact, but there are big impact contributors early in the draft.
Misses, yes, there was a miss. The Chiefs front office decided Dwayne Bowe was someone they had to hold on to and gave him a contract extension. His contributions, which began to wane at this point, would only get worse until his release soon after the Chiefs signed Jeremy Maclin in the 2015 offseason.
Notable un-drafted free agents that season include backup tight end Demetrius Harris, third-string quarterback Tyler Bray, and backup linebacker Josh Martin was a valuable contributor for two seasons. While it certainly holds true you can’t fix all your issues in one offseason, the groundwork was laid.