Kansas City Chiefs: Under-the-radar free agents to consider
By Kody Latham
The Kansas City Chiefs have already had an exciting offseason—from the trade of Alex Smith for Kendall Fuller, which had fans on cloud nine, to the Marcus Peters trade, which had many fans ready to burn down Arrowhead Stadium.
Brett Veach took over the general manager position for the Chiefs and immediately started shaping the team to match his vision. Looking at Veach’s past actions, it looks like he will continue to be very aggressive in free agency. I tried to put together a list of players that are not all the big names we see floating around. These players would not be big splash signings, but guys Veach may use to try and fill out the roster.
Donte Moncrief, WR
Donte Moncrief racked up 156 receptions, 2,371 yards, and 20 touchdowns during his college career at Ole Miss. Those stats ranked as third all-time in the school’s history. Putting that type of production in a body that is 6’2 and 224 pounds and runs a 4.4 second 40-yard dash will get the attention of a lot of NFL teams. Consequently, Moncrief got drafted in the third round of the 2014 draft by the Indianapolis Colts.
There were people out there who believed at the time that the Colts had gotten a steal. In Moncrief’s second season he was starting to come into his own, as he finished the season with 64 receptions, 733 yards, six touchdowns, and had nine plays of 20 yards or more. In week two of the 2016 season, Moncrief went down with a fractured scapula. This put him out for four to six weeks that season, yet even with this injury Moncrief managed to attain his highest rating yet by Pro Football Focus at 78. This past season Moncrief’s lingering ankle issue and shoulder issues seemed to affect his play, as his play dropped significantly resulting in a 49.1 grade.
Moncrief is in prime position to have a bounce-back year if he is paired with the right team. With Albert Wilson most likely departing in free agency, Moncrief would be an adequate replacement as a third receiving target behind Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce. His presence would also allow the team to let Chris Conley slowly work his way back into the lineup after his Achilles tear last season. It almost seems like a no-brainer that the Chiefs should go and sign him.