Just under two weeks to go until the Kansas City Chiefs must decide to activate Dee Ford’s 5th year option. What are the pros and cons to the decision?
May 3rd is the deadline for teams to activate the 5th year team option for players selected in the 1st round of the 2014 NFL draft. The players who have currently had their option already exercised are or are expected to be:
- Jadeveon Clowney
- Mike Evans
- Aaron Donald
- Zack Martin
- C.J. Mosely
- Kelvin Benjamin
- Bradley Roby
Sammy Watkins of the Buffalo Bills who was selected 4th overall is also likely to have his 5th year option picked up, but the latest reports state the Bills are undecided. Chiefs brass has yet to give any indication one way or another on their interest in securing Ford’s 5th year option. With the 2017 NFL Draft scheduled to end before the deadline, the Chiefs may be waiting to see how their chips fall in the draft. Guys like Tim Williams, Takkarist McKinley, Charles Harris, and Tyus Bowser could all be potential targets. I don’t think John Dorsey is in any rush to pick up his option, and why should he? There is no penalty for picking up an option at the last-minute, especially for a player who has yet to fully prove themselves.
So what are the pros and cons to this decision?
Cons:
Figured I’d get the cons out of the way first. The most obvious negative surrounding Dee Ford is his inconsistency. For his first two years in the league, Ford was mostly relegated to spot duty behind Tamba Hali and Justin Houston. Ford did get some extra action in 2015 when Houston missed 4 games and was limited upon his return, but in his place Ford managed to only notch 1 sack.
In 2016 Houston started the season on the PUP list, and for the first 9 weeks of the season Ford was a terror. In 9 games started, Ford managed to notch 10 sacks including 2 against the top rated pass blocking team, the Oakland Raiders. However, once Houston returned and Ford was moved over to the right side of the defense. Ford finished the season with 0 sacks in his final 6 games.
As talented as Ford has looked at times in pass rushing his run defense is unimpressive at best. Ford will often miss the ball carrier from either being engaged too long or not being able to disengage from his man. Ford’s run defense ranks 86th among edge defenders by PFF.
After 3 years in the NFL and with only marginal improvements to his overall game Dee Ford may be best suited as a rotational pass rusher. Ford is just simply a liability in run defense, and can’t rush effectively from the right side. With Tamba Hali likely to retire after this season it may be time to start looking elsewhere for his eventual replacement.
Pros
Let’s face it: at the moment the Chiefs may not have a lot of options. Justin Houston has now missed 22 games in 4 years and is starting to earn the title “injury prone.” Dee Ford has proven to be an effective pass rusher from the left side of the defense.
Tamba Hali will likely retire after the 2017 season, and the only possible replacements currently on the roster are Dee Ford and Dadi Nicholas. However, it’s still possible that Ford will develop and grow into the ROLB position. One of Ford’s sacks against the Raiders came from rushing on the right side of the defense, so we know the potential is there.
Securing Ford’s services till the end of the 2018 season could also allow the Chiefs more time to find a potential replacement. Ford has looked better every year and could be valuable as a potential trade asset. At the very least it may also be possible that Ford agrees to sign a contract that is in-line with his skill set. There’s a saying that you can never have too many pass rushers. Ford has shown enough that he can be a valuable asset to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Overview
What are the Chiefs to do with Ford? While showing flashes of dominance in pass rushing his run defense leaves much to be desired. Ford doesn’t look like the same player when playing from the right side of the line. Which is where he’d likely be playing with Hali retiring. But do the Chiefs really have a choice? With Houston often injured and Hali potentially out the door the Chiefs will be thin at outside linebacker.
The best choice may be to bite the bullet and hope Ford develops into the player they need. The potential is there and well documented it’s up to Ford to produce. However, if I was John Dorsey I would wait until after the draft to see who falls to us in the 1st-3rd rounds. If the chips fall the right way Ford’s services may not be needed for much longer.
What would you do in Dorsey’s shoes?