Mock (10/29)

[Direckshun]

Assumptions:

1. The Chiefs do very well in the 2024 season. HC Andy Reid and GM Brett Veach are retained.

2. During the 2024 season, the Chiefs trade a conditional 2026 pick to the Rams for CB Tre'Davius White.

3. TE Travis Kelce retires.

4. The Chiefs re-work QB Patrick Mahomes contract, partially extending him and lowering his cap number from his currently-gargantuan $66.2m cap hit.

5. The Chiefs re-sign: WR Marquise Brown 1 year, $5m; DE Charles Omenihu 2 years, $20m; DE Josh Uche, 1 year, $5m; LB Nick Bolton 4 years, $72m.

6. The Chiefs re-sign to minimal deals: QB Carson Wentz, WR Justin Watson, WR Mecole Hardman, DT Mike Pennel, P Matt Araiza

7. The Chiefs tender the following RFAs: LB Jack Cochrane, OG/C Mike Caliendo, CB Nazeeh Johnson

8. The Chiefs let walk: RB Kareem Hunt, RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB Samaje Perine, WR DeAndre Hopkins, WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, TE Jody Fortson, OT Lucas Niang, OG Trey Smith, DT Tershawn Wharton, DT Derrick Nnadi, DT Marlon Tuipulotu, DE Malik Herring, CB Tre'Davius White, S Justin Reid, LS James Winchester

9. The Chiefs sign the following free agents: RB D'Onta Foreman (Browns), WR KJ Osborne (Patriots)

10. The WR DeAndre Hopkins pick qualifies as a 4th rounder.

11. The Draft:

1. OT Wyatt Milum, West Virginia
2. TE Luke Lachey, Iowa
3 (Sneed). RB Omarion Hampton, North Carolina
3. DT Shemar Turner, Texas A&M
5. S Hunter Wohler, Wisconsin
7 (either Smith-Marsette or Hardman pick swap -- the other was traded for Cam Thomas). DT Jay Toia, UCLA
7 (compensatory). QB Kyle McCord, Syracuse
7 (compensatory). LB Jack Kiser, Notre Dame


The roster:

QB: Mahomes, Wentz, McCord
RB: Pacheco, Hampton, Foreman, Steele

WR: Rice, Worthy, Brown, Osborne, Watson, Hardman, Remigio
TE: Gray, Lachey, Wylie, Hendershot

LT: Suamataia vs. Milum
LG: Thuney, Nourzad
C: Humphrey, Hansen
RG: Morris, Caliendo
RT: Taylor, Suamataia/Milum

DE: Omenihu, Uche, Thomas
DT: Jones, Turner
DT: Pennel, Lovett, Toia
DE: Karlaftis, Danna, Anudike-Uzomah

WLB: Tranquill, Jones, Kiser
MLB: Bolton, Tranquill
SLB: Chenal, Cochrane

CB: McDuffie, Watson, Williams, Johnson, Roland-Wallace
S: Cook, Conner, Hicks, Wohler

K: Butker
P: Araiza
LS: some guy

[Direckshun]

I'm sorry but if the Chiefs win the Super Bowl this year, we'll know why: the defense was fantastic again, and Mahomes and the offense did just enough to cross the finish line.

If that's the case, you don't spend 20+/year on a guard. You spend it on the QB of your defense, Nick Bolton.

With the departure of Kelce, the hope is that Gray/Lachey can make up for that, with Wylie hopefully coming on.

Some badly needed depth is needed at RB, and the Chiefs drop C-level coin on a decent RB for a year while drafting another RB in the 3rd. Hopefully they'll have more explosion out of the position.

The WR corps will be playing left handed yet again for a year, with Rice continuing to return from injury and then facing a suspension. But by December, a Rice/Worthy/Brown combo will get you across the finish line. Osborne, Watson, and Hardman can help keep the WR room afloat until Rice returns.

I do elect to bring Omenihu and Uche back, to give the Chiefs a ton of juice off the edges. This does mean demoting FAU, but he'll get snaps anyway as the season progresses.

Jones is the only real proven passrusher along the interior, but the Chiefs like to rotate Danna in at DT on passrushing downs.

[Couch-Potato]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

I'm sorry but if the Chiefs win the Super Bowl this year, we'll know why: the defense was fantastic again, and Mahomes and the offense did just enough to cross the finish line.

If that's the case, you don't spend 20+/year on a guard. You spend it on the QB of your defense, Nick Bolton.

With the departure of Kelce, the hope is that Gray/Lachey can make up for that, with Wylie hopefully coming on.

Some badly needed depth is needed at RB, and the Chiefs drop C-level coin on a decent RB for a year while drafting another RB in the 3rd. Hopefully they'll have more explosion out of the position.

The WR corps will be playing left handed yet again for a year, with Rice continuing to return from injury and then facing a suspension. But by December, a Rice/Worthy/Brown combo will get you across the finish line. Osborne, Watson, and Hardman can help keep the WR room afloat until Rice returns.

I do elect to bring Omenihu and Uche back, to give the Chiefs a ton of juice off the edges. This does mean demoting FAU, but he'll get snaps anyway as the season progresses.

Jones is the only real proven passrusher along the interior, but the Chiefs like to rotate Danna in at DT on passrushing downs.

I agree with your assessment of our winning approach, defense is the key and offense will keep us ahead, no need to blow anyone out.

Absolutely, we should bring Bolton back...What do you think he’ll cost?

Ideally, Veach gets creative with those contacts and brings back Bolton, Smith, Hopkins, Brown, Uche, Hunt AND maybe even Perine. I’m pretty sure all will be quality contributors.

I like our current backfield depth with Pachecco, Hunt, Perine, Steele, & CEH, but I’ve always wanted a star RB to pair with Mahomes and there’s several in this upcoming draft. Damn you CEH for wasting our shot at a top tier RB!

Good takes!

[Direckshun]

Originally Posted by Couch-Potato

I agree with your assessment of our winning approach, defense is the key and offense will keep us ahead, no need to blow anyone out.

Absolutely, we should bring Bolton back...What do you think he’ll cost?

Ideally, Veach gets creative with those contacts and brings back Bolton, Smith, Hopkins, Brown, Uche, Hunt AND maybe even Perine. I’m pretty sure all will be quality contributors.

I like our current backfield depth with Pachecco, Hunt, Perine, Steele, & CEH, but I’ve always wanted a star RB to pair with Mahomes and there’s several in this upcoming draft. Damn you CEH for wasting our shot at a top tier RB!

Good takes!

https://overthecap.com/position/linebacker

You probably don't pay him Fred Warner money.

You probably pay him more than Matt Milano, however. $18m/year probably gets it done.

Here's what Tremaine Edmund's contract looks like.

There's just no way he brings back Trey Smith if he elects to bring back Bolton.

In my mock offseason, I have them sliding in Wanya Morris into RG.

There's no reason to bring back Hunt -- he's going to be done with football once this season is over. Dude is run down. The rest of your players would be reasonable.

[kccrow]

My top two free agent targets at DE would be Azeez Ojulari and Patrick Jones II, long before signing Omenihu or Uche back.

I'd think it was a major mistake to re-sign Bolton at that level. Zaire Franklin is virtually the same player and just signed for 10.5 per. Not only that, paying LBs that kind of coin is usually a mistake. If he goes over 11 per, I'd bow out.

I'd be pretty irritated signing Foreman, especially letting Perine walk in the process.

You know already I have my eyes set on Milum.

I'd be legitimately pissed if we took a TE at all unless Kelce retires and, even then, not before middle of day 3.

I'd be content with the rest.

[Direckshun]

Originally Posted by kccrow

My top two free agent targets at DE would be Azeez Ojulari and Patrick Jones II, long before signing Omenihu or Uche back.

I'd think it was a major mistake to re-sign Bolton at that level. Zaire Franklin is virtually the same player and just signed for 10.5 per. Not only that, paying LBs that kind of coin is usually a mistake. If he goes over 11 per, I'd bow out.

I'd be pretty irritated signing Foreman, especially letting Perine walk in the process.

You know already I have my eyes set on Milum.

I'd be legitimately pissed if we took a TE at all unless Kelce retires and, even then, not before middle of day 3.

I'd be content with the rest.

In my mock offseason, Kelce retires.

[Couch-Potato]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

In my mock offseason, Kelce retires.

No thank you.

[Tribal Warfare]

Emeka Egbuka will be the dude

[O.city]

Look at it like a game of ping pong. The ball has been on the defensive side, but with guys getting expensive, they've already started drafted for it to be back on offense.

[RunKC]

I love Lachey. Wouldn’t mind him at all. However we need a corner early. Watson will likely be in his last year next season

[OKchiefs]

I know so much of this is bad luck and not indicative of the work that was done by the team but I'm tired of WR constantly being an issue - I don't trust Brown to stay healthy, Worthy is still a question mark at his size, and Rice is a question mark due to his upcoming suspension and questions on how he returns from the injury. All that being said, I'm not suggesting taking a WR in the 1st again. But I do think with two 3s this year that would be an ideal spot to take another WR.

[pugsnotdrugs19]

I consider myself a Bolton fan but he has gotta stop getting dinged to be worth that coin.

Also it's becoming apparent that he doesn't play as well against offenses that move the QB around. You can almost predict the weeks he is gonna shine or struggle before the game is even played. Hard to pay a guy like that more than $12m per year, intangibles be damned.