2020 KC Chiefs Roster Analysis - The Offensive Line

[onejayhawk]

Prior to the draft, the interior of out OL was a topic of discussion. We did not select an IOL and the OL we did select has a potentially serious injury. Lucas Niang was once considered a fringe 1st round talent. We obtained him at #96. Most likely the team will groom him to play swing OT and eventually replace either Fisher or Schwartz. For now Remmer is the swing guy, and if Niang does not play a snap this season, it might not be considered a bad thing. 

All that said, the Chiefs did bolster the IOL with a couple of new players. Both UDFA, Yasir Durant and Darryl Williams are capable of playing OG and Williams also has time at C. Both are considered draftable and rosterable, as indicated by the size of the signing bonuses we gave them. Add these two to our injured players, Rankin and Wylie, and last year's rookie Allegretti and things could get interesting in camp. 

J

[Chiefer]

If Niang heals up right he’s a future RT for us. At the very least he should settle at guard nicely all else fails.

[kingseanjohn]

2 hours ago, Chiefer said:

If Niang heals up right he’s a future RT for us. At the very least he should settle at guard nicely all else fails.

I wonder if he won't replace Fisher. Schwartz is top 1-2 RT. Even if he starts to slow down, he's still top 10 unless it's a major fall off.

[Chiefer]

1 hour ago, kingseanjohn said:

I wonder if he won't replace Fisher. Schwartz is top 1-2 RT. Even if he starts to slow down, he's still top 10 unless it's a major fall off.

Could happen, Niang didn’t work the left side at TCU but I don’t see why he can’t be trained for it till he needs to step onto the field. LG has been a problem child of ours since we skipped on David Decastro for Dontari Poe so it’d be great if he could slide in there.

I’d love to keep Fish but we can’t keep everybody with Mahomes contract looming on the horiZon. 

[onejayhawk]

2 hours ago, kingseanjohn said:

I wonder if he won't replace Fisher. Schwartz is top 1-2 RT. Even if he starts to slow down, he's still top 10 unless it's a major fall off.

Schwartz is two seasons older and has more wear on the tires. He may choose to retire. Remmer is a stopgap with little future. 

49 minutes ago, Chiefer said:

Could happen, Niang didn’t work the left side at TCU but I don’t see why he can’t be trained for it till he needs to step onto the field. LG has been a problem child of ours since we skipped on David Decastro for Dontari Poe so it’d be great if he could slide in there.

I’d love to keep Fish but we can’t keep everybody with Mahomes contract looming on the horiZon. 

Unless he is not up fully recovered, Rankin plays a solid LG.

Williams has played more OG than C. Starting three season in the SEC is a lot of preparation, so he may contribute immediately. If he plays LG, his athletic limitations will be disguised. 

J

[Chiefer]

1 minute ago, onejayhawk said:

Schwartz is two seasons older and has more wear on the tires. He may choose to retire. Remmer is a stopgap with little future. 

Unless he is not up fully recovered, Rankin plays a solid LG.

Williams has played more OG than C. Starting three season in the SEC is a lot of preparation, so he may contribute immediately. If he plays LG, his athletic limitations will be disguised. 

J

Schwartz is getting up there for sure and Niang was a RT in college🤷‍♂️
 

There’s really not a lot of evidence that Rankins will continue to be solid. Wish we could’ve kept Wiz, He really solidified the OL with his arrival.

I never account for UDFAs to contribute honestly. If they do that’s a bonus honestly 

[mayanfootball]

Watched MNF replay of KC at Denver 2018. Still an amazing game.  PM was his normal self. Remember that was the game he threw left handed to get a first down.

C.Erving played LG. I kinda watched him. He was letting guys get passed him to harass PM, forcing him to escape too much. Fisher had a lousy game. Offsides so many times. Maybe the crowd noise? They should use a signal to for the OL to see, when the ball is nearly hiked. I thot they had such already?

[onejayhawk]

That game was Mahomes' coming out.

It was the first time that he faced real adversity, personified by one of the best edge rushers the game has ever seen, Von Miller. He served notice that he would not be going down without a fight. Hence the left hand pass. 

Denver is a year away. They have a QB to build around, a raft of shiny new toys, but they have some of their own adversity still before them. By 2021, they should be a real adversary. 

J

[KC_Guy]

Brandon Thorn, whom I consider an absolute OL nerd, did an OL ranking by position and tiers. Guess what: Chiefs are not his favorite.

His tiers: 

1 Elite
2 Very good
3 Good/above average
4 Solid/average
5 Adequate
6 Marginal

His verdict:

1 - RT Schwartz
5 - RG LDT
4 - C Reiter
6 - LG Wylie
5 - LT Fisher

Uggghh .. 

 

 

 

[kingseanjohn]

39 minutes ago, KC_Guy said:

Brandon Thorn, whom I consider an absolute OL nerd, did an OL ranking by position and tiers. Guess what: Chiefs are not his favorite.

His tiers: 

1 Elite
2 Very good
3 Good/above average
4 Solid/average
5 Adequate
6 Marginal

His verdict:

1 - RT Schwartz
5 - RG LDT
4 - C Reiter
6 - LG Wylie
5 - LT Fisher

Uggghh ..

Not far off but I'd put LDT at 4 and Fisher at 3. I think Rankin comes back as the starting LG at a 3 or 4.

[onejayhawk]

Putting Reiter at 4 is about right. Before the draft a lot of posters wanted one of the C in the draft, but this was not a weakness. We did not draft a C, but UDFA Darryl Williams could push Allegretti for the backup spot. If Yasir Durant sticks, it will be at OG. I see him as PS.

The other elephant in the room is Lucas Niang. We don't know how ready he is to play, but he was clearly drafted to play OT. With both Fisher and Schwartz nearing the end of their contracts, the smart money is that one will re-sign and Niang will take over for the other. But, that's after the 2021 season. Where is LN playing this year? Will he play a year at OG with Remmer as swing OT, or will he be the swing man and Remmer out in a number crunch?

J

[kingseanjohn]

1 hour ago, onejayhawk said:

Putting Reiter at 4 is about right. Before the draft a lot of posters wanted one of the C in the draft, but this was not a weakness. We did not draft a C, but UDFA Darryl Williams could push Allegretti for the backup spot. If Yasir Durant sticks, it will be at OG. I see him as PS.

The other elephant in the room is Lucas Niang. We don't know how ready he is to play, but he was clearly drafted to play OT. With both Fisher and Schwartz nearing the end of their contracts, the smart money is that one will re-sign and Niang will take over for the other. But, that's after the 2021 season. Where is LN playing this year? Will he play a year at OG with Remmer as swing OT, or will he be the swing man and Remmer out in a number crunch?

J

Reiter is on the final year of his deal, hence wanting to draft a center/cheaper replacement. Ideally to me, Niang is the swing OT. I think Wylie is the first up inside followed by Williams. 

[onejayhawk]

I would agree with that, unless you wanted Niang to play. Moving the Dr to LG and putting Niang at RG has some possibilities, but LG to RG is non-trivial. Reiter may be in his last year, but he is going to be inexpensive to re-sign if that's the way they want to go. Alligretti/Williams looks more like player development to me. There is no such thing as too much depth.

J

[Chiefer]

On 7/22/2020 at 2:36 PM, kingseanjohn said:

Not far off but I'd put LDT at 4 and Fisher at 3. I think Rankin comes back as the starting LG at a 3 or 4.

Ldt is a 6 until he proves he’s past the injury honestly 

[kingseanjohn]

25 minutes ago, Chiefer said:

Ldt is a 6 until he proves he’s past the injury honestly 

6 is too low. He's average but he isn't a liability outside of not being able to stay healthy. I think he plays out his contract with us but becomes more of a backup after this year.

Cap hit wise -- 2020: 9.5mil - 2021: 4mil - 2022: 2mil (dead cap, he's a FA after 2021)

We're taking that 9.5mil cap hit this year for sure. He's worth keeping around at 4mil as depth and insurance. Hopefully the young guys get up to speed and can take over in '21 or '22.