PFF’s free agent predictions for Chiefs will make you depressed
By Matt Conner
If you woke up today in a good mood, you should stop reading at this point. Or at the very least, don’t head over to read the free agency predictions for this spring from Pro Football Focus—at least if you’re a fan of the Kansas City Chiefs.
PFF just released their projections for where they believe the top 50 free agents will end up when the dust settles on the looming NFL offseason, and the results are not pleasant for the Chiefs—that is, unless you were hoping the team would clean house and decide to save money on anyone recognizable.
When it comes to the top 50 free agents this offseason, the folks at Pro Football Focus have the Chiefs coming away with a single player of the lot and that’s only because they are retaining their own with a lucrative extension for left tackle Orlando Brown Jr.
If Pro Football Focus is right about their free agency predictions, KC Chiefs fans should be prepared for the worst.
While we would certainly agree that retaining Brown for the long-term is an important business item for this offseason for the Chiefs, the team also has a lot of work to do at other positions. From safety to cornerback and defensive line to wide receiver, fans are hoping their favorite team will at least show some real effort in one or more of these categories.
PFF believes the opposite will happen, however. Take star safety Tyrann Mathieu, a man who has been voted the team’s most valuable player in two of the last three years. While both sides have said very positive comments publicly about wanting to work something out, PFF has the Ravens grabbing Mathieu away from their conference rivals for a steep price over three years.
The same can be said of other positions. Charvarius Ward is predicted to leave for a much bigger paycheck than what he was making over the last few seasons in Kansas City. Melvin Ingram is expected to get double what he did last year for a single year, which puts him with the San Francisco 49ers instead of K.C.
Even new players are expected to sidestep Kansas City for the money available in other places. Pass rusher Haason Reddick would look nice in red and gold, but PFF has him slated for the Big Apple with the New York Giants. JuJu Smith-Schuster has already been rumored to have interest in (finally) joining the Chiefs after flirting with the idea last spring, but PFF believes the Patriots will win his services. And you can forget about Von Miller, Odell Beckham Jr., Emmanuel Ogbah, and Allen Robinson.
Of course, none of this means anything in the end and the Chiefs have proven to be major players in the recent past with the ability to clear up solid money once again. Brett Veach is a big-game hunter and the Chiefs could use some seismic additions. That said, the major cap increase for the league in 2022 and beyond is going to make a lot of people happy who have been waiting for this payday.
Can the Cheifs compete? PFF doesn’t seem to think so–at least not for top-of-the-market free agents.
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