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The Chiefs wanted to help Brodie Croyle stay upright by fixing up their offensive line — but first-round draft pick Branden Albert is the only newcomer of impact up front.
With every sack, every feeble rushing play, every three-and-out series, the Chiefs resolved they would take this offseason to fix their forlorn offense.
They would repair their decrepit offensive line, they would give Brodie Croyle the tools to succeed as an NFL starting quarterback, they would take some of the considerable burden off their overtaxed defense.
Despite the Chiefs’ elation over their recent 12-player draft, their efforts are coming under question.
“You can only do so much in the draft,” said former Washington and Houston general manager Charley Casserly. “It’s still a work in progress. They got better where they could get better.”
Yet it’s difficult — if not impossible — to argue the Chiefs will be better on offense. They do have some reasons for optimism. They traded an offensive coordinator learning on the job, Mike Solari, for a proven veteran, Chan Gailey.
Running back Larry Johnson won’t be a holdout again and — if the law of averages prevails — won’t miss half the season because of a foot injury. Wide receiver Dwayne Bowe could be even better than he was as a rookie.
Elsewhere, the Chiefs appear held together with a lot of wishful thinking. Croyle has yet to win a game or prove he’s a high-quality NFL starter. The offensive line still has holes. The Chiefs are relying on a boost from two third-round draft picks, running back Jamaal Charles and tight end Brad Cottam.
“Can you get everything you want in the draft? No,” Chiefs coach Herm Edwards said. “But we got a lot. We got some tight ends. We think we’re better there. We’ve got another runner. The problem is they’re all young, but that’s OK.”
The offensive line, the source of many ills last year, was to be the focal point. But Branden Albert, the second of two first-round draft picks, is the only newcomer of impact.
Albert will join Brian Waters and Damion McIntosh in the starting lineup. The two other starters will come from a group of journeymen and young players that includes Wade Smith, Herb Taylor, Anthony Alabi, Adrian Jones, Rudy Niswanger and Will Svitek.
They hoped to draft several linemen but wound up with Albert and sixth-round tackle Barry Richardson.
“The best thing they did was stay disciplined in the draft,” Casserly said. “They could have gone and drafted five offensive linemen right off the bat, but if they did that, maybe four of them can’t play. What good does that do for them?
“There was an elite group of offensive linemen in the draft this year. The Chiefs got one of them. That group went faster than anybody thought. So if they would have drafted an offensive lineman in the second round, they would have been getting a third- or fourth-round offensive lineman. They didn’t do that, and they should be commended for that.”
Since late last season, the Chiefs also added Smith as a free agent and Alabi and Jones off waivers. Two of those players could wind up starting.
“It’s not like we haven’t signed some guys that are pretty decent football players,” Gailey said. “Nobody’s proven it yet, but we think they have a chance to help us.
“The one thing Herm and Carl (Peterson, president/general manager) and Bill (Kuharich, vice president of player personnel) didn’t want to do was reach for somebody just because it would have been nice to have another one.”
Bowe, meanwhile, is the Chiefs’ only proven wide receiver.
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