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Predraft Situation - Offense


onejayhawk

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The offense is currently the core of the Chiefs identity. Unfortunately, the last taste was bitter as Tampa Bay's defense hounded Patrick Mahomes throughout the Super Bowl. it's important to remember that we were in the Super Bowl for only the fourth time in history. That said, there is work to be done. We have a whole thread on the OL.

Starting with the losses, both Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz were released, Damien Williams will not return from COVID opt out, while Austin Reiter and Sammy Watkins are free agents, Sammy signing with Baltimore. That's five starters gone from an NFL Champion, six if you count FB Anthony Sherman, who retired.

New players are also significant. OG Joe Thuney started every game of his career and has two SB rings with the Patriots. Kyle Long is a three time Pro-Bowler with the Bears. Returning from opt-out, so essentially new, is OT Lucas Niang. All three are discussed at length in the OL thread. Not exactly new, but not with the team last year are OG Laurant Duverney-Tardiff and TE Blake Bell. The team also re-signed Mike Remmers and Demarcus Robinson

The OL currently has a lot of pieces, both new and returning, bot no clearly defined starter at either C or LT. The possibility of drafting one or both is high. The loss of Sammy Watkins has been anticipated by the various times he was injured. However, there is a need to define who will be opposite Tyreek Hill. With Robinson back in-house and Mecole Hardman entering his third season. With three experienced players on roster and six WR on futures contracts, this may not be a draft priority. Neither would a draft pick be a surprise. The Blake Bell signing gave us a better blocking TE, though the situation is fluid. The team used Travis Kelce in the backfield when Sherman was injured, so more snaps are available. The team may seek a new TE in the draft or among UDFA. 

As the draft approaches, the largest need appears to be LT, though Niang may address that position. The situation is similar at C, though there are players known to have experience available. The loss of Watkins is less damaging, because he was hurt so often. There are literally ten WR on the 90 man roster, so the FO may not be planning a draft pick at all. Similarly, at QB, TE and RB, the team may draft a player only if value falls in their lap.

J

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Fun facts for 2022:

We only have 4 OL under contract: Niang(2025), Allegretti(2023), Durant(2023-RFA), and Thuney(2026).

Only 2 WR under contract: Hill and Hardman - both expire in 2023.

Good thing this a deep draft for both those positions. I'm hoping for two of each. I wouldn't mind trading next years 5th or 6th to move into the back end of this draft for WR depth.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Now that FA has lost some steam, a recap is in order.

We re-signed Mike Remmer and signed three FA, Joe Thuney, Kyle Long and Austin Blythe. It's unclear where they will play, because all are position flexible. Throw in LDT and Lucas Niang who opted out last season. It will be a very new look, possibly with only Remmers carrying over from the end of last season. 

We had two signings relevant to TE. Blake Bell re-signed after a year away. Michael Burton signed at FB. 

At WR, we had the very important re-signing of Demarcus Robinson. While not a household name, Robinson had the third most receptions and third most snaps among the receivers, ie RB, TE, WR. In all the team has 10 WR under contract.

J

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