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The Kansas Metropolis Chiefs have given a good quantity of consideration to their offensive weapons over the course of the Andy Reid period, giving Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce and Sammy Watkins giant contracts and taking Mecole Hardman and Clyde Edwards-Helaire with excessive draft picks over the past two drafts. However within the 2021 offseason, it is time to reload.
Watkins is probably going on his method out of Kansas Metropolis and so they did not fairly get the season they wished from Hardman in 2020 after an extremely environment friendly 2019. They’re additionally prone to lose Demarcus Robinson in free company, placing a gaping gap within the second vast receiver spot.
The place do the Chiefs stand now?
First, let’s check out operating again. The beforehand talked about Edwards-Helaire is the clear starter and he’s one heck of a expertise, ending final season with 874 speeding yards, 320 receiving yards, six complete touchdowns, 52 complete missed tackles compelled and a 77.2 grade from Pro Football Focus (PFF). That is with three video games missed from damage and the Chiefs having the league’s lowest early-down run fee. It’s doable that we may even see even higher issues forward for Edwards-Helaire within the coming few years, whereas he’s nonetheless a superb monetary worth.
In fact, the Chiefs need to have some expertise behind Edwards-Helaire as effectively and so they might have already got that with Darrel Williams, who was just re-signed, and Darwin Thompson. Williams completed the 2020 season with 304 speeding yards, 151 receiving yards, two touchdowns and nil fumbles over 67 carries, whereas Thompson enters his third season with simply 82 touches, 340 complete yards and three touchdowns for his profession. Neither of them have been actually capable of take full benefit of Damien Williams opting out, however they need to get one other shot at it. Different clear operating again choices on the roster or from final season embrace futures/reserve participant Derrick Gore, recently re-signed back Elijah McGuire and free agent Le’Veon Bell.
At vast receiver, we begin with Tyreek Hill, probably the greatest within the enterprise. Hill is coming off of one other unimaginable season, having career-bests in yards with 1,768 and touchdowns with 17. Hill simply turned 27 earlier this month, so he ought to theoretically have loads of good years left. Nevertheless, there’s numerous work to do with this place. The one different vast receivers on the roster are Mecole Hardman, Byron Pringle and Marcus Kemp, together with Antonio Callaway and Chad Williams being signed to futures/reserves contracts. This isn’t going to be sufficient to make Chiefs followers comfy with Watkins and Robinson seemingly not getting back from free company.
For the tight finish place, there’s the Chiefs’ last star receiving weapon, Travis Kelce. Kelce might have simply had the perfect tight finish season in NFL historical past, breaking quite a few information, together with most receiving yards for a good finish in a season with 1,776, together with a career-high 14 touchdowns. Even with the return of former Chief Blake Bell and a reported provide out to Nick Keizer, there’s room for the tight finish room to enhance forward of the 2021 season. The Chiefs even have Sean Culkin on a futures/reserves contract.
What can the Chiefs do?
Nonetheless within the first days of free company, a number of good choices are off the board, however there are nonetheless attractive ones on the market. After the signing of Curtis Samuel to the Washington Soccer Crew, my favourite choice for the Chiefs is former Pittsburgh Steelers vast receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. He has not been the identical because the departure of Antonio Brown, when he is needed to be a primary receiver, however final yr, he was arguably a quantity two once more and he was significantly better than he was in 2019.
If Smith-Schuster simply matches higher as a No. 2, he’d slot in effectively in Kansas Metropolis and I might simply see him thrive. If you may get 1,426 yards with outdated Ben Roethlisberger, you’ll be able to in all probability obtain something with prime Patrick Mahomes.
Two key early-round draft prospects I might like to see the Chiefs add at vast receiver are Rashod Bateman and Tylan Wallace, who appear to be implausible WR2 choices for years to come back. Bateman has had 1,692 yards and 13 touchdowns over 16 video games performed within the final two seasons for Minnesota, whereas Wallace has had 3,303 yards and 26 touchdowns over 30 video games within the final three seasons with Oklahoma State. Bateman is extra of the expert route-runner that will get open, whereas Wallace is extra of the kind of put a nook on a poster, however each guys are really gifted and I feel each would significantly enhance the Chiefs’ offensive capabilities.
Jaelon Darden has numbers that may knock your socks off. In 9 video games performed in 2020, Darden had 1,190 yards and 19 touchdowns for North Texas. That is proper, he averaged greater than two touchdowns per sport. He had 4 video games of three touchdowns and one sport of 4 touchdowns towards UTEP. Whereas actually not the strongest competitors, that’s beautiful manufacturing towards any degree. One other productive receiver right here is Marlon Williams, who put up 1,037 yards and 10 touchdowns over eight video games performed for UCF. There’s the potential to get a superb receiver right here if the Chiefs want to prioritize different positions within the first two days of the draft.
Cade Johnson is nearly a no brainer if he goes this late and the Chiefs are on the clock. Johnson didn’t play in 2020 because of the FCS season being moved to the spring, however his two prior seasons have been nice, exceeding 1,200 yards in every. He additionally had 25 complete touchdowns within the two seasons mixed. FCS, certain, however Johnson has additionally impressed in his pre-draft work towards some good FBS abilities. He might be a low-key nice late-round slot receiver for years to come back.
At tight finish, it is powerful to have a look at the draft choices and see any actual motive to take a position until Kyle Pitts simply got here falling about 15 spots within the draft. I might keep away from it solely or wait till the third day. That’s, until the cost for Zach Ertz isn’t too high, however I doubt that.
In complete, the highest strikes I would wish to see at these place teams aren’t any extra strikes at operating again or a late-round flyer on a superb expertise (Edwards-Helaire, Williams and Thompson needs to be sufficient to suffice), both signing JuJu Smith-Schuster or drafting Rashod Bateman/Tylan Wallace to take the second vast receiver spot (with Hardman because the third receiver and Pringle because the fourth receiver) after which including a late-round or undrafted tight finish to battle Blake Bell for the second tight finish spot, until Ertz is inexpensive and may be attained for an inexpensive deal.
For extra Kansas Metropolis Chiefs analytics and evaluation, observe @SIChiefs and @WichitaChiefSam on Twitter.
Learn Extra: Should the Chiefs Add Depth at Quarterback in 2021?
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