Here’s what the Kansas City Chiefs will prioritize in free agency and the NFL Draft
The catch phrases and Run-It-Back tag lines are absent from the Chiefs’ facility this offseason, and it’s not simply because they’re no longer the defending Super Bowl champions.
This team will see its roster change, at least more than the last one did, due to a number of factors that include salary cap restraints and a different set of players having their contracts expire. But above all, the Chiefs will embrace the change for one primary reason.
It’s necessary.
They have more obvious needs than they did one year ago. As general manager Brett Veach spoke to the media Monday ahead of the opening of free agency later this month, it became clear the front office has identified three priorities. Let’s take them in order.
1. Offensive line
The primary culprit of a Super Bowl loss will supersede all other needs. The Buccaneers beat the Chiefs up front so consistently that it left quarterback Patrick Mahomes running the length of nearly five football fields to find time to throw the football.
Yes, the Chiefs are urgent about addressing the problem.
And they might have some good news here. They anticipate having both right tackle Mitchell Schwartz and left tackle Eric Fisher back in time for training camp. Schwartz had surgery to repair a disc in his back last week, and Fisher had Achilles surgery at the close of January.
Now, whether a return means they will be game ready is a different conversation, but the Chiefs are operating under the plan that both will at least be part of the conversation moving forward. Add to that, Veach also mentioned the planned returns of starting guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and 2020 draft pick Lucas Niang, who opted out of the season.
But even accounting for that — four names who were unavailable in the Super Bowl — at least some of the solutions on the offensive line will come from outside the Chiefs’ walls.
“Our focus will be to bring in some new talent,” Veach said. “We like the way this draft looks. From the offset, the draft looks to be really talented on the offensive line. I think it will be a combination of what we have in-house and blending that in with some new talent — potentially in free agency, potentially in the draft, but we certainly like the way the draft in shaping up.
“I think it’s safe to say we’ll be addressing that in any and every way we can.”
The Chiefs are pleased with the development of some of their younger linemen — Veach singled out guard Andrew Wylie and Nick Allegretti — but feel that counting on continued growth alone won’t be enough.
When speaking further on this year’s draft depth, Veach mentioned the offensive line is particularly strong in players graded in the first three rounds. The Chiefs, however, pick late in those rounds. Thus, they will look at free agency options, should there be any in the price range for a team dealing with salary cap restraints, before the draft arrives.
“I think in general, your philosophy is always to build up front,” Veach said. “I’m sure we’ll do that this offseason.”
2. Defensive line
There’s some history here. The Chiefs have already prioritized the defensive line, with Frank Clark and Chris Jones occupying two of the top-three cap charges in 2021.
But they finished just 19th in the NFL with 32 sacks. Jones and Clark were the only two players to record more than three sacks or 10 quarterback hits, and because of that, Jones worked against double teams most of the season.
The best way to change that? Add an edge rusher. Alex Okafor and Tanoh Kassagnon are free agents. The Chiefs will likely seek an upgrade.
“Just the general Football 101 is get a quarterback and then build through the offensive and defensive lines,” Veach said, adding, “I think you can make a case for that on the defensive side and continue to throw money and resources on the defensive line.”
3. Linebacker
This is third on our list because we envision it being third on the Chiefs’ wish list.
But it’s here for a reason. Anthony Hitchens is the lone starter under contract for 2021, with Damien Wilson a free agent and Ben Neimann a restricted free agent. And it’s already a spot in which the Chiefs felt they needed to improve.
They can do that internally with the development of second-round pick Willie Gay, and they can do that with external options. Both are in play.
“I think depth at the linebacker position and defensive line will be something that we’ll try to address, either through free agency and/or the draft,” Veach said, before taking the broader view of the offseason.
“This can go in many different directions. But just in general, looking forward and the blueprint for the offseason, we’re certainly going to look on the offensive line, the defensive line and the linebacker position to get better.
“That’s not to say we can’t get better at every position. Getting Travis (Kelce) a backup tight end. Getting the wideout. Identifying more young corners (like) we’ve been able to do. And certainly the draft will always be on our radar, and you may find value that you didn’t expect.
“You may be thinking one thing, and all of a sudden another position that you didn’t anticipate having access to becomes available, and you just have to have different game plans in place.”
The Chiefs, in other words, will be ready to adjust.
But those three priorities — offensive line, defensive line and linebacker — comprise Plan A.