Offensive Line
Players currently under contract:
Eric Fisher
Mitchell Schwartz
Laurent Duvernay-Tardif
Austin Reiter
Cameron Erving
Martinas Rankin
Nick Allegretti
Ryan Hunter
Jackson Barton
Greg Senat
Need for a starter: 8
Need for depth: 7
The Chiefs are poised to lose both Andrew Wylie and Stefen Wisniewski to free agency. Those two split time starting at guard and now the Chiefs will need to do something to fill that void. It could simply be re-signing one or both of them or looking to replace them through free agency or the draft. Martinas Rankin looked promising at guard too, but his health going into training camp could still be in question after suffering a season ending injury last year. You could also make a decent case for cutting both Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and Cameron Erving to create more cap space due to their production not meeting their salaries. Some Chiefs fans have even argued that KC should look for an upgrade at center over Austin Reiter. All of that adds up to a strong need to add starting level talent to the interior of the offensive line. If they keep LDT and Rankins is healthy they could field a solid offensive line without any additions, but that’s a big if.
While the Chiefs have a little depth at line, there isn’t currently enough to make me feel comfortable. Then if the Chiefs were to make any cuts for salary cap reasons it would only increase the need for depth. The bottom line here is that the Chiefs are in need of at least one starting caliber lineman and another for depth purposes.
Now let’s move on to the defensive side of the ball.