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The Kansas City Chiefs top five offseason needs

By Lyle Graversen

SEATTLE, WA - DECEMBER 23: Ed Dickson #84 of the Seattle Seahawks catches the ball against Steven Nelson #20 of the Kansas City Chiefs during the third quarter of the game at CenturyLink Field on December 23, 2018 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WA - DECEMBER 23: Ed Dickson #84 of the Seattle Seahawks catches the ball against Steven Nelson #20 of the Kansas City Chiefs during the third quarter of the game at CenturyLink Field on December 23, 2018 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /
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KANSAS CITY, MO – NOVEMBER 11: Dee Ford #55 of the Kansas City Chiefs begins to rush the passer during the second half of the game against the Arizona Cardinals at Arrowhead Stadium on November 11, 2018 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, MO – NOVEMBER 11: Dee Ford #55 of the Kansas City Chiefs begins to rush the passer during the second half of the game against the Arizona Cardinals at Arrowhead Stadium on November 11, 2018 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

2. Edge Rusher

While cornerback may be the Chiefs biggest need the position they have the most important decisions to make at is definitely with their edge rushers. The Kansas City Chiefs were tied for the NFL lead in team sacks last year in large part because of the play of Dee Ford and Justin Houston. Obviously Chris Jones was a force in the middle but the Chiefs had two of Pro Football Focus top rated edge rushers in Houston and Ford. Currently, Ford is set to hit free agency but is definitely a candidate for the Franchise Tag. Justin Houston is still under contract but could be a candidate to be cut as a cap casualty because of his bloated 2019 cap number.

Should the Chiefs tag Ford and keep Houston for another season the need here would drop down this list. Should they let Ford walk and cut Houston it would jump up as just as big of need as cornerback. Frankly, even if they do tag Ford and keep Houston around they still may want to draft a pass rusher to develop since its highly unlikely that both (or possibly either) will be around in 2020.

There has been a lot of discussion about 3-4 versus 4-3 when it comes to what new defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo will do next season. While there could definitely be some changes in the “base” defense the fact of the matter is that all NFL teams now spend the majority of their time in the sub package. The Chiefs need two players that can rush off the edge in the sub package. Period. How they line things up versus the run isn’t as big of deal when it comes to edge guys. They make their money rushing the passer and that primarily comes in the sub package. So if the Chiefs keep either Ford or Houston their primary pass rushing roles won’t change. If either should not come back they need someone that is a real force rushing off the edge on clear passing downs. Where they play in the “base” is secondary.

This will definitely be a position to keep your eye on all offseason. In fact, it wouldn’t shock me if news of the Chiefs tagging Dee Ford broke sooner rather than later. Regardless, it wouldn’t be a waste of Chiefs fans time to keep an eye on some mid round pass rushing prospects at the combine this week.

Next up let’s look at a need on offense.

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