Let's talk 2025 roster build (12/7)

[pugsnotdrugs19]

I know we got a threepeat to complete, but I'm thinking ahead today... let's take this position by position:


QB: I'd bring Wentz back. Perfect backup and IDK where else he can go and find a better job unless (God forbid) he plays this year.

RB: I'd bring Hunt back on a minimum deal. Go into the draft with Pacheco and Hunt, find a speed back in the draft who is capable of taking the job post-2025.

WR: If not for Rice's impending suspension, I'd feel good here. I'd look to bring Hopkins and Hollywood both back on 1-2 year deals. If the group will stay healthy, I think we will find they're really good. Rice and Worthy will be perfect complements to one another as WR 1 and 2. But you need to get by while Rice is out and you need depth for injury. I'd be fine with Hardman and Watson as WR 5 & 6.

TE: Does Kelce retire? If he doesn't, this can be left alone probably unless they think Wiley sucks. If Kelce does retire... I'd think you need to at least slap a solid vet bandaid on and see if Gray can take the TE1 reigns. I think he can simply because he's so steady. Not Kelce, but damn solid.

OT: Biggest need obviously. We will see if Humphries earns a new deal. Scares me with his injury history but if he looks good... we can't let a good LT walk away. Hopefully Kingsley can become a legit swing tackle at minimum with a shot to take over a starting job in 2026. Taylor is here another year, perhaps two more.

IOL: I'd give Thuney a short extension to alleviate his cap hit if he plans to play much longer. Let Wanya, Nourzad, and Hanson compete for the RG job. If someone falls to you in the draft, take it and run. Protecting Pat is always priority #1.

---

DL: Need another legit pass rusher with juice. I'd hope that also retaining Omenihu is a priority. I'd prefer that over Trey Smith and maybe even Bolton at this point, especially if it can be a one-year deal that he takes to try and get paid in 2026. Need to bring our big run stuffers back on 1-year deals per usual.

LB: Tranquill hasn't been as good this year, which makes keeping Bolton seem a bit more important. I hope he can be retained at a reasonable cost, and if he can, we can roll with the same trio into 2025.

CB: Have to get another slot corner who can be there in case Trent can't -- which only takes a single injury to the room. Get another young guy or two in the room for in the inevitable departures of some of our 2022 Fab Five guys. Preferrably mid rounds.

S: I think Hicks is ready to take over Reid's role by next year. Not an urgent need at the position, especially if you add another viable slot corner that lets Conner stay at safety.

Specialists: Bring Araiza back on RFA deal, everything should stay the same there.

Rough stab at what a 53-man could look like in '25:

QB - Mahomes, Wentz
RB - Pacheco, Hunt, draft pick
WR - Rice, Worthy, Hopkins, Hollywood, Hardman, Watson
TE - Kelce, Gray, Wiley
LT - Vet (Humphries?), Morris
LG - Thuney, Nourzad
C - Humphrey, Nourzad
RG - Kingsley, Hanson
RT - Taylor, Driscoll

-

DE - Karlaftis, Danna
DT - Jones, Wharton or an early draft pick
NT - A couple cheap fatties, vets or rookies
DE - Omenihu, FAU, draft pick (first two days)
LB - Bolton, Tranquill, Leo
CB - Trent, Watson, Williams, vet slot corner, draft pick
S - Hicks, Cook, Conner

Feel like I'm probably leaving out a fairly nice FA signing or two but hard to project there until we see what the market will be.

[O.city]

Say the Cowboys do in fact want to move Parsons

Would you do our 1 this year, the 3rd from the Titans and a pick next year?

[RunKC]

I would rather go after Chase Young who on the surface had 5.5 sacks but had 59 total pressures this year. And I don’t think he’s gonna cost a lot. That’s if Omenihu walks.

He’d be a great FA addition

[Sassy Squatch]

Originally Posted by O.city

Say the Cowboys do in fact want to move Parsons

Would you do our 1 this year, the 3rd from the Titans and a pick next year?

It would cost significantly more than that.

[O.city]

Originally Posted by RunKC

I would rather go after Chase Young who on the surface had 5.5 sacks but had 59 total pressures this year. And I don’t think he’s gonna cost a lot. That’s if Omenihu walks.

He’d be a great FA addition

I've wanted him multiple times here, they just never seem interested.

[O.city]

Originally Posted by Sassy Squatch

It would cost significantly more than that.

A 1, 2 and a 3? I dunno.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by pugsnotdrugs19

I do think you gotta pay Bolton OR Reid. They're the communicators of the defense. You lose both in the same offseason, you're playing with fire.

And let's be honest, Reid is the older guy, and there's a replacement already waiting in the wings.

Bolton is still only 24. There's just a lot going in favor of paying him.

Yeah, and the run defense being as good as it is has a lot to do with Bolton.

And as you noted, there's really nobody behind him.

The staff does seem to love Reid and what he does in terms of communication on the defense, but at a point you run out of money. If we want to address OT with a veteran presence, we can't keep Reid. And we do appear to have a replacement for him in Hicks.

The issue with Bolton is just price. He can make things really onerous for us because I think we're gonna pay him. Will he go the Creed route and get every dime he can? Or can we do some creative contract work to make that more palatable for the next couple of years?

But ultimately I think Bolton's coming back and I'm gonna have a hard time being to upset about it. I really like the player and the guy. I just hope he's not gonna break the bank. Realistically $15 million is the floor for him but if he wanted to break our balls, he could probably push that nearer $18 million or more. Or just take it to FA and make us pay out the nose.

I really hope it doesn't come to that.

Fastest way to be a whipping boy on a football team is to demand that massive contract. Because unless you end up in DPOY conversations, you're never going to satisfy most people. And I don't want Bolton to sour the fanbase on him - he's just a damn fun guy to root for.

[smithandrew051]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Yeah, and the run defense being as good as it is has a lot to do with Bolton.

And as you noted, there's really nobody behind him.

The staff does seem to love Reid and what he does in terms of communication on the defense, but at a point you run out of money. If we want to address OT with a veteran presence, we can't keep Reid. And we do appear to have a replacement for him in Hicks.

The issue with Bolton is just price. He can make things really onerous for us because I think we're gonna pay him. Will he go the Creed route and get every dime he can? Or can we do some creative contract work to make that more palatable for the next couple of years?

But ultimately I think Bolton's coming back and I'm gonna have a hard time being to upset about it. I really like the player and the guy. I just hope he's not gonna break the bank. Realistically $15 million is the floor for him but if he wanted to break our balls, he could probably push that nearer $18 million or more. Or just take it to FA and make us pay out the nose.

I really hope it doesn't come to that.

Fastest way to be a whipping boy on a football team is to demand that massive contract. Because unless you end up in DPOY conversations, you're never going to satisfy most people. And I don't want Bolton to sour the fanbase on him - he's just a damn fun guy to root for.

If it wasn’t for Anthony Hitchens, I’d probably be out on paying Bolton.

The difference between the two is so damn obvious. Knowing what we have in Bolton is hard to pass on. Because we know we can spend a good amount of money on a far worse linebacker. Bolton is a bit too important to replace in the upcoming draft with our other needs.

Bolton, flaws and all, is probably worthwhile to bring back. My only concern, as someone else said too, is that it always seems like he’s dinged up a bit.

[gordonelloyd]

We went into this year, knowing that Veech had to solve our WR problem and he did a great job at that. Let’s hope he can do the same with our LT problem for 2025. We really do need a long-term solution there. I am hoping Humphrey will magically Provide it. But if not, we’re going to have to save cap room to sign the best free agent available or to get somebody in a trade like we did for Orlando Brown. I think it’s unrealistic to expect we can solve the LT problem in the draft, although we can hope Kingsley takes a giant step forward . But that is not something we can count on.

[gordonelloyd]

Originally Posted by O.city

Say the Cowboys do in fact want to move Parsons

Would you do our 1 this year, the 3rd from the Titans and a pick next year?

Even if we could get Parsons for that amount of draft capital, which I doubt, we could not afford the cap space he would take.

[RunKC]

A few other lower key FA’s I would love here:

Mike Gesicki TE-if Kelce retires I would go after this guy. Perfect fit. Have loved ever since he was a prospect
Ty Johnson RB
Elijah Moore WR-if Hollywood doesn’t return

[RunKC]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Not a fan of paying Smith. He's gonna get a huge bag.

I saw that Hunter Nourzad gave up zero pressures/sacks in Denver. He played C but could play RG IMO.

Will be an interesting camp battle next year if Trey leaves

[Couch-Potato]

Defense has been stout all year without Omenihu, I love him on the roster but don’t see any need to pay him big money after missing a season due to injury and would prioritize Bolton or Smith instead.

[pugsnotdrugs19]

I wonder what Reid is going to be worth on the open market.

He's met if not exceeded expectations here, but the safety market is a mess. Constantly good players getting cut at the position. You'd think he could get more than his $14M AAV from the prior deal, but if the market/draft has any depth to it, he may not.

[Chris Meck]

All I know is that we've got 4 picks in the top 100, and we need to land 4 good football players. I don't even give a shit what positions they play. We need good, controlled cheap young talent, period.

[In58men]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

Re-visiting this thread.

QB: Mahomes will need to be extended, and have his contract reworked. Wentz we can re-sign, I don't really care. They need to have a reliable vet in the position. I don't think that's Wentz, but who knows. They have two 7ths this year, so they can drop one of them on a reserve QB.

RB: Pacheco is entering the last year of his deal, and I'll be interested to see if Steele develops. But this team needs to drop C+ money on a RB2. If there's good value at RB on the 2nd day of the draft, then pull the trigger there. Let Hunt walk.

WR: The Rice/Worthy combo is going to be lethal, and Brown should be affordable on a prove-it year. If Hopkins wants back cheap, I'm okay with that. Watson is cheap, bring him back. With Rice/Worthy/Brown/Watson, I'd be okay with a lower-level investment in FA. Maybe Hardman. No draft picks necessary, because the top three WR positions are all taken.

TE: The second biggest question mark of the entire offseason is Will Kelce Retire. I personally think he will. Noah Gray and Hendershot give you a decent one-two punch, but an investment in FA or the draft will be necessary.

OT: The biggest question of the offseason. The Chiefs need to package a 3rd and a pick year to go get the OT they want. They have to solve the LT equation, and a cheap five year LT is going to be invaluable. Taylor is your RT for at least another year, and Wanya can play swing tackle.

IOL: I think you can extend Thuney, let Trey walk, play Caliendo at guard. I don't know how much the team likes their depth at IOL with Suamataia, Nourzad, and Henson. A vet signing may be necessary.

DT: Wharton has probably played his way out of KC. Pennel can be re-signed or replaced by another plugger that Spags likes. The Chiefs will probably need to drop a draft pick at the "Wharton" position.

DE: I would like to think the Chiefs can bring back Omenihu at decent value, on a cheap one-year deal. That would give them Karlaftis/Omenihu/Danna/FAU. I'd like to think they'd extend Karlaftis this offseason? Can they? Maybe.

LB: I let Bolton walk. He's insanely talented, but he's going to be too expensive. You can slide Tranquill to the Mike, let Leo man the station at Sam, and sign a good Will in free agency -- my vote would be for Willie Gay.

CB: McDuffie will get an extension. From there, you've still got Watson/Williams/Roland-Wallace/Nazeeh. If good value falls in the draft, take it. But I'd prefer they just roll with what they've got.

S: Beg Justin Reid to take a deal. I'm guessing he won't (nor should he), so he's gone. That does give you Hicks/Cook/Conner. A vet signing here makes sense and wouldn't be expensive, I don't think. Same thing I said before with value in the draft. If a true free safety falls in the draft, you go get them.

ST: extend Araiza if he's cheap. If he's not, trust Toub to find a guy who is.

We also have Jared Wiley at TE.