Despite the expectation, pressure and need, it’s important for the Chiefs to know they have options besides having to draft a quarterback early in 2017.
As the days and hours tick by as the draft approaches, the smoke linking the Chiefs to a first round quarterback thickens by the day, nearing a blinding point for fans. Fans are certainly anxious and want to see a quarterback drafted, and even Alex Smith senses what’s coming. However, is it a disaster if the Chiefs don’t land a signal caller in round one?
This goes without saying, but the most important factor for the Chiefs and the quarterback position is finding the right one, not just taking the next man up because they (or fans) want the position to be drafted. That said, the Chiefs must, at a very minimum, have a clear understanding of the path they are going to take in addressing the position. The organization can no longer simply view the position on a see-what-happens basis.
As the draft gets going, fans should not be stunned if the quarterbacks they want are not available. In what should be a surprise to no one, reports and rumors of quarterbacks going earlier and earlier will accelerate. Desperation is a stinky cologne, and teams will make such selections anyway. The Chicago Bears, New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns and Arizona Cardinals are all teams that appear to be gaining steam in terms of aiming for a QB in the first round. While not all those teams will select a signal caller, some of them undoubtedly will.
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What do the Chiefs do at No. 27 then? K.C. is a young and talented team with a lot of depth but a massive hole at back-up quarterback. Despite what some people, especially in this town, will tell you that doesn’t matter, it’s a huge deal and very important. What should the Chiefs do?
As I mentioned above, the Chiefs must have a road map to address the position, either in this draft, or next (or possibly both). I had mentioned in a previous piece that while the Chiefs don’t have to come out of this draft with a quarterback, they must have a plan and a process to achieve that process and quickly. If the team can’t or doesn’t want to attack the position early, they must put themselves into a position to get a signal caller next year in which the 2018 pool of quarterbacks appears to be very strong.
Teams like the Bears and Jets are teams desperate to win now, and they may be willing to part with high level 2018 draft assets in exchange for 2017 assets those organizations believe can help them win.
We will have to wait to see what the Chiefs do through the draft obviously to fully understand their plan at quarterback and the process they are undertaking to achieve their plan. This is a draft that in many ways Dorsey and company have to separate themselves from their predecessors, or we can begin the talk of Carl Peterson, part two.