The Chiefs’ offense was untouchable when Sammy Watkins was healthy last season. Could Brett Veach look to improve it with the addition of another WR?
It will be easy for some to read the headline here and immediately dismiss the idea.
The Kansas City Chiefs defense, after all, was a complete trainwreck this season, and the entire unit needs some serious help to ensure this team makes it’s to the Super Bowl with Patrick Mahomes at the helm—especially while he is still on his rookie contract.
Trust me I understand how fans feel regarding the abysmal defense Kansas City fielded this season. Fortunately, the Chiefs have already begun to retool the defense with the firing of Bob Sutton less than 48 hours after the loss to the eventual Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots.
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The fact that Mahomes and the offense found a way to drag the 31st worst defense in the NFL to the AFC championship game was a miracle in itself. Head coach Andy Reid wants to ensure Mahomes does not become the next Aaron Rodgers. The fact Reid recognized this and hired Steve Spagnuolo, who was outside of the organization, is a testament to how much he has grown with his young quarterback. Previous to hiring Spagnuolo, Reid had always made his hires within his staff—something we have seen repeatedly with the offensive coordinator position during Reid’s time in Kansas City.
While the defense needs considerable work, general manager Brett Veach cannot forget to improve the offense as well. One area the Chiefs could dramatically enhance their future is by taking a wide receiver with one of their first three picks of the draft this season. There is plenty of talent at the position with names like D.K. Metcalf, N’Keal Harry, Kelvin Harmon, Riley Ridley, JJ Arcega-Whiteside, and Deebo Samuel entering the draft.
Why should the Chiefs invest in a wide receiver? To ensure there is no drop in offensive production. When Sammy Watkins was active for the Chiefs this season, they averaged 39 points per game—an insane total. Without Watkins, the team points per game dropped to 35, which is still a very high number. Those four points may not seem like much, but they are the difference between Kansas City going 12-4 and 14-2. The Chiefs lost to both the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers this season by a total of four points. Watkins only played five snaps against the Rams and didn’t participate at all against the Chargers due to a foot injury, which lingered for the last six games of the season.
Chris Conley and Demarcus Robinson were unable to pick up the slack or become a threatening enough decoy to make much of a difference throughout the season. Looking beyond the offensive production, being able to replace Watkins with a younger player after next year potentially would save Kansas City a boatload of money. Watkins is due to make $21 million in 2020; the Chiefs could cut him and only take $7 million in dead cash while gaining $14 million in cap relief.
Remember, post-2019 is when Kansas City is going to be looking at making Mahomes the $200 million man, a.k.a. the highest paid player in the NFL. The $14 million would go a long way to making it easier to pay Mahomes the ridiculous amount of money required to pay quarterbacks these days, which isn’t to say Kansas City couldn’t find a replacement without having to use draft capital.
Undrafted free agent Byron Pringle is still an unknown heading into next season. There was a reason he went undrafted though, so I wouldn’t be expecting him to make a splash next season. There is also veteran Kelvin Benjamin who could become a key contributor if given the opportunity to go through a full offseason with Reid’s notoriously difficult playbook.
Mahomes can make the players around him better, that much is true, but if Veach gets the opportunity to pair him with another talented player at the wide receiver position, he should pull the trigger. The more weapons this offense has, the harder it is to stop, and sometimes the best way to win is by making your strength even stronger until it’s an overwhelming force.