Brett Veach has already impressed this offseason with the few moves he's made in free agency as the Kansas City Chiefs general manager. The bleeding wound known as the backfield has been completely healed with Kenneth Walker and Emari Demercado in the fold. Khyiris Tonga is the most help they've offered Chris Jones in a while. Alohi Gilman is a nice arrival with Bryan Cook moving to Cincinnati. And, of course, keeping Travis Kelce around is a big win.
With one week of free agency down, there's still work to be done for Veach. The Chiefs have major issues at cornerback, pressing concerns at defensive end, and further needs on offense. Some of these issues will be addressed in the draft. Others take time as free agency slows and other team's roster moves create unforeseen developments.
With all of this in mind, we have a few moves we'd like to see Veach make. Not that he's asked for our help, but some unsolicited advice can be helpful from time to time.
1. Kick the tires on L'Jarius Sneed
The dots are easy to connect here. The Chiefs' former lockdown corner isn't what he used to be after two more years of wear and tear with the Tennessee Titans. But the Chiefs need bodies in a secondary decimated by free agency, and the potential marriage makes too much sense. The Titans already set him free, which means a reunion can happen at any minute. Given the rocky last two seasons in Nashville, we're only advocating for some due diligence here, but if the medicals check out....
2. Sign a blocking tight end
The Chiefs are all in on a ground game resurgence. Eric Bieniemy is back as OC, and he hired DeMarco Murray to serve as his running backs coach. From there, the Chiefs watched last year's holdovers walk in free agency and spent big money in free agency to make the biggest upgrade possible. Kenneth Walker III is the new star in town, and Emari Demercado is a potential third-down back to go with Brashard Smith.
That's why a blocking tight end should be on the Veach's honey-do list. The Chiefs haven't had one since Blake Bell and it's time to remedy that problem. A few remain in free agency, but Mo Alie-Cox, formerly of the Indianapolis Colts, makes the most sense. The former basketball player turned tight end is a formula that's worked well in K.C. before, and Alie-Cox has been a nice end-zone target for the Colts over the years as well.
3. Restructure Creed Humphrey's contract
The Chiefs already made plenty of cap-clearing moves, but there's still work to do here to absorb the draft class's costs and other free agent odds and ends. That's why a simple restructuring of Creed Humphrey's long-term contract is a switch to flip. The Chiefs would gain nearly $9M in cap space for a player who is clearly going nowhere.
4. Lure Cam Jordan to town
The one position that's proven difficult to improve in free agency is on the edge, where the price tags are rather ridiculous for flawed products. This is why more money is needed. It's possible K.C. lands the likes of Rueben Bain Jr. in the first round at No. 9 overall. Maybe David Bailey falls. But Veach can't count on that happening so late into free agency.
Jordan is an interesting player in that he just registered 10.5 sacks last year, but he'll also be 37 years old when the season begins. Does he want to get paid like Khalil Mack, who just got $18M for a single season? The Chiefs have to sit that one out, because they just can't stomach those costs on the books. A multi-year deal helps finesse things, but the age question is there.
If the Chiefs can make this one work, free agency will look so much sweeter for a team that's already done some good work filling holes on the roster.