General manager Brett Veach has to make moves before the end of the season to help ensure a deep playoff run. What free agents should he focus on?
The Kansas City Chiefs, once considered Super Bowl favorites, are now firmly on the rails after being exposed in weeks 4-6. They’ve rebounded to a degree (especially on defense) against the Denver Broncos on Thursday night, but they also lost starting quarterback and league MVP Patrick Mahomes to a severe knee injury.
After cruising through their first three games, the Chiefs narrowly escaped defeat at Detroit in Week Four before pulling off the victory with a late touchdown, 34-30. They weren’t so lucky the next two weeks, losing to the Colts (19-13) and then the Texans (31-24) in back-to-back home games. As a result of this three-week funk, Kansas City and their fans developed a rather lengthy wish list heading in to the second half of the NFL season.
After failing to stop the run in comically bad ways for four consecutive games, it’s clear that Kansas City needs to improve the run defense if they’re truly going to stop teams in January. This means not only improving the defensive front seven, but also improving on their ability to control the clock and lengthen drives to help the time of possession—all in an effort to help the defense stay fresh.
While the game against Denver was a breath of fresh air, both in terms of running the football and in terms of the overall defensive effort, it should not deter the team from aiming to improve its depth and roster as they position themselves for the playoff push in December. And, while the Mahomes injury is devastating, if Mahomes is to return around the bye week, as is being reported, it should not change the team’s plans for the trade deadline or adding to the roster.
What positions should general manager Brett Veach focus on?
While it’s quite a wish list, it would be ideal if Kansas City could add a linebacker, an interior defensive lineman, a running back, and an interior offensive lineman.
I believe that the team has addressed the interior line position with the addition of Stefen Wisniewski. It may be a couple of more weeks before this is realized, but I believe adding the former Philadelphia Eagle to the lineup, coupled with the return of Pro Bowl left tackle Eric Fisher, will make the offensive line a top ten unit in the NFL. Instead of looking at an interior offensive lineman, let’s instead look for a reliable tight end #2.
In addition to these four, we’ll also continue to speculate on the potential acquisition of a cornerback. Though, surprisingly, this seems like a secondary (pun intended) concern at this point.
We have already looked at one player for each of these positions that Veach may look to trade for, but the Chiefs are not making five trades before the deadline. This time, let’s take a look at one free agent player for each of these five positions who Veach could target heading in to the playoff push. While adding five players seems like a stretch, adding two or three of these five would make a world of difference for the team.
An important note as we dive in to the list: we’re talking about veteran minimum, one-year contract signings here. As such, there is no concern in this list about breaking the bank, not having enough money for Chris Jones or Patrick Mahomes, etc. Any player who is still a free agent at this point in the season is signing the first veteran minimum offer they receive, with very few exceptions.