Free agent defensive linemen that could help Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs have had a productive offseason. Between free agency and the NFL Draft their 2023 roster is nearly complete, and just last week, I made an attempt to predict their 53 man roster.

While no team is going to be loaded at every position on the roster, the area where K.C.’s roster still looks a little short on players is on the defensive line. Chris Jones apparently feels the same way because this week he began publicly campaigning for the Chiefs to bring back Frank Clark.

The Chiefs have George Karlaftis, Charles Omenihu, first round draft pick Felix Anudike-Uzomah, and Mike Danna as the top four in their edge rotation. They also spent a 5th round pick on B.J. Thompson, but Thompson could be a long term project because of his lean build and coming from Stephen F. Austin to the pros. With Omenihu also likely kicking inside plenty it would make sense to add one more veteran to the rotation, but with the Chiefs wanting to get their young guys reps they probably aren’t looking for a starter at this point.

Defensive tackle could be a different story. Chris Jones is an absolute star, but beyond that its a bunch of role players and unproven options. Derrick Nnadi would probably start next to Jones on early downs, but he disappointed overall last season. Tershawn Wharton is a nice rotational interior pass rusher, but he can’t hold up on the inside on early downs versus the run. The next best option after those guys is Keondre Coburn. While I like Coburn as a run stopping rookie, he was taken in the 6th round. How much faith can KC have in him to play meaningful snaps this season?

The Chiefs recently cut Byron Cowart who they signed earlier in free agency and then proceeded to bring in Matt Dickerson and Chris Williams. It appears that the Chiefs are churning their bottom of the roster defensive tackle options and hoping to find something. While there’s a chance one of those options could help, a bigger name option should still be on the table. The Chiefs are limited on cap space right now, but things could be done to make room enough for a veteran or two to be added to the defensive front four.

So what players are still available? Let’s start by looking at the edge players available who already have ties to the Chiefs.