The complications and luxuries of the KC Chiefs’ path to improvement this offseason
Over the course of several days, the Chiefs fill the aftermath of disappointment with evaluation of what went wrong — but also an assessment of what went right. They analyze players and schemes, primarily, forming the groundwork for the looming offseason.
The results are sure to be more complicated this time than they were one year earlier.
Twelve months ago, even as Chiefs general manager Brett Veach says the offseason plans were multi-faceted, they all settled in the same direction — fixing the offensive line. That’s how the season ended. That’s why the season ended, short of a Super Bowl title.
It’s just not that simple this time.
The Chiefs played a bad half of football that cost them the AFC Championship Game against the Cincinnati Bengals. They were not blown out. They were not so thoroughly dominated at one position group that it must be overhauled. They were 5 yards shy of a late-game touchdown that would have sealed their spot in a third straight Super Bowl.
Heck they were once winning the game by 18 points.
The offseason blueprint, therefore, must be dictated by a broader picture. It must include the sour ending, to be sure, but it must also incorporate the 3-4 start to the year, along with the early-season defensive struggles and the confounding offensive hiccups that encompassed parts of the year.
Those answers point in a flurry of directions.
“I think last year it was pretty obvious that we had been decimated by injuries up front and then we had two veteran tackles — one retiring and one we didn’t really know the medical status. In addition to that, we’re talking about a position group that protects your franchise player, so there was no question we had to do whatever we needed to do to protect (Patrick Mahomes),” Veach said.
And now?
“We’ll always prioritize the offensive and defensive lines. We’ll have some decisions to make and have more dialogue with our coaching staffs about our defensive line and making sure that line is as equally deep and talented. We’ll prioritize that side of the football I’m sure, but any time you can add weapons for Mahomes is something we’ll think about.”
Part of this is a luxury. More complicated does not necessarily mean more difficult. The Chiefs had no choice last season but to use every method possible to address their offensive line — from giving Joe Thuney the largest contract for a guard in free-agency history to trading draft capital for left tackle Orlando Brown to using draft selections on center Creed Humphrey and right guard Trey Smith.
All those assets remain in play — but with options on how to use them and not necessarily needing to use them all to address one specificity.
The offense around Patrick Mahomes
For most of the season, the Chiefs offense and Patrick Mahomes encountered two-deep safety shells. Defenses elected to neutralize their speed and force them to move the ball in shorter spurts.
The Chiefs mostly figured out an answer by late season — patience, namely — only to have the problem re-emerge in the AFC Championship Game.
Teams banked on the Chiefs beating themselves, as Veach framed it. That’s what the Bengals did. It’s part of what complicates the evaluations. How can you assess the will to be patient? How much do you adjust the roster to account for it?
Those shell defenses are unlikely to just suddenly disappear in 2022. If teams are going to force the Chiefs to run 5- and 10-yard outs, as top wide receiver Tyreek Hill described it, wouldn’t it be nice to find a receiver who specializes in the underneath route-running? A receiver who can beat press coverage and find creases against overcrowded secondaries?
When Veach mentions weapons for Mahomes, in other words, there’s a very specific type of weapon that would be most beneficial.
“I think you guys know how we’re wired — if it makes sense to us and it doesn’t put us in any long-term binds in regard to future caps and structure, if there’s any way we can get better and there’s a way we can get Pat Mahomes more weapons, we’ll do that,” Veach said, adding. “I don’t think we’ll ever shy away from trying to get a 1-percent advantage. That’s kind of how we approach things. If it makes sense for us, even if it’s just a little better, we’ll pursue it.”
What about the Chiefs’ defense?
And then there’s the defensive side — the side of the football likely to garner the most attention. The Chiefs actually finished eighth in the NFL in points allowed this year, but they’ll need to assess how much of that is fool’s gold.
The defensive line has more questions (Frank Clark’s contract, whether Melvin Ingram wants to play another year, Derrick Nnadi’s free agency) than answers. The production did not match the financial investment, and that will demand a long look.
But to the larger point, did scheme or personnel contribute more to the in-season improvement, and how much can they rely on that repeating itself in 2022?
The defensive and offensive questions settle on the same notion — that the best teams in the league don’t set priorities based on the peaks or the valleys of the season but rather the overarching trends within one.
The Chiefs’ hands were forced a year ago.
They will need to — or get to —take a deeper look this time.