Bye-Week Mock Offseason
 

So far this season, the defense has clearly been an issue, so here we go...

FREE AGENTS
Malcolm Butler, CB (NE)
Butler is a premier corner in the NFL, sticking in coverage to his man, following elite receivers, and making plays on the football. He's also solid in run support, something he'd hopefully pass along to Marcus Peters.
(reference J. Norman, X. Rhodes, P. Peterson)
5 years, $70.0 million, $15 million signing bonus, $35 million guaranteed
~ $11.0 million 2018

Christian Jones, ILB (CHI)
Jones has been an outstanding reserve for the Bears, but it's time for him to be a full-time starter in the NFL. He's got speed to cover and size to take on blocks. He's been very productive when given the opportunities.
(reference D. Bates, C. Robertson)
3 years, $8 million, $1.5 million signing bonus
~ $2.0 million 2018

Quinton Dial, DL (GB)
Dial was outstanding as a starter at nose tackle in San Francisco and was solid as a rotational end. He can make living stuffing the middle and won't cost $8 million per to do it.
(reference Z. Hood, M. Unrein)
2 years, $2.3 million, $300k signing bonus
~ $1.0 million 2018

Justin Coleman, CB (SEA)
Coleman has been a solid reserve corner in both New England and in Seattle and he's only 24. He could be a nice get for a team starved for talent at the position.
(reference J. Bademosi, M. Sherels)
2 years, $4 million, $1.5 million guaranteed
~ $1.5 million 2018

Total: ~ $15.5 million 2018

Re-Sign:
Anthony Sherman, FB
One of the best fullbacks in the league and great on special teams. He's worth his money.
(reference P. DiMarco)
4 years, $8.5 million, $2 million signing bonus
~ $2 million 2018

Tyler Bray, QB
With Mahomes set to take the reigns, Bray is the only other QB that knows the offense. He's not worth much, but he's worth keeping around for a year or two yet.
(reference R. Griffen, K. Clemens, B. Weeden, C. Daniel, etc)
2 years, $2.4 million
~ $1.2 million 2018

Zach Fulton, OL
Fulton is a very solid reserve at guard and center. He shouldn't command too much on the market, so he's worthy of re-signing for his experience and versatility.
(reference T. Larson, M. Slauson, T. Johnson, etc)
3 years, $5.8 million
~ $1.8 million 2018

Terrance Mitchell, CB
I'm pretty down on Mitchell right now because he's played pretty terrible this season after showing tremendous promise in 2016. I think Mitchell has some value as a nickle/dime guy yet, so he might be worth bringing back but it has to be cheap.
(reference S. McManis, C. Sensabaugh, etc)
2 years, $3.0 million
~ $1.5 million 2018

Rakeem Nunez-Roches, DL
RNR has flashed some decent ability, but he doesn't look to be starting material. He seems at his best as a rotational nose.
RFA Tender Original Round
~ $1.8 million 2018

Terrance Smith, ILB
Smith is solid on special teams and will be cheap to retain on his tender, so why not?
ERFA Tender
~$630k 2018

Kevin Pierre-Louis, ILB
I think KPL has shown enough that he at least warrants bringing back on a vet min deal for another season. I'm not sure I'd lock him up just yet, but solid reserves are nice to have.
1 year, vet minimum $790k

Total: ~ $8.2 million 2018


Estimated 2018 Net Increase Against Cap: $10.2 million
Total Cap Space needed: $23.1 + $5 million buffer + $3 million effective draft = $33.1 million


Let walk:

LB R. Wilson (RFA)
WR D. Thomas
WR A. Wilson
DB S. Terrell
DB K. Acker
DB P. Gaines
DL J. Jenkins
DL R. Miller
OL J. Devey
SP D. Colquitt

Other Transactions:

Trade Alex Smith, QB ($17 million cap space)
Chiefs trade QB Alex Smith to Jacksonville for a 1st round selection in the 2018 draft and a 4th round selection in the 2019 draft. Jacksonville is in win now mode and their problems start and end at QB. Smith is a steady, reliable QB that doesn't turn the ball over (contrary to what they get from Bortles) and Tom Coughlin should favor bringing that into the fold if possible. Smith may or may not be worth a first, but if Sam Bradford can bring one in...
Retire/Release Derrick Johnson, ILB ($8 million cap space)
Retire/Release Tamba Hali, OLB ($7 million cap space)

Total Cap Space Gained: $33 million

Other Selection Notes:
Chiefs traded 2018 1st round selection to Buffalo for the 10th selection in the 2017 draft.
Chiefs traded 2018 5th round selection to Cleveland for Cameron Erving (OL)
Chiefs receive 2018 conditional 7th* round selection from Seattle for Isaiah Battle (OL). *Presumed 7th since Seattled traded their 6th round selection to Oakland in the deal for Marshawn Lynch.
Chiefs receive 2018 conditional 7th round selection from Arizona for Marcus Cooper (CB)
Chiefs receive 2018 conditional 7th round selection from Tennesee for David King (DL)
Chiefs traded 2018 7th round selection to San Francisco for Kenneth Acker (CB)

Onto the draft:

1. (JAX/Smith) - Trenton Thompson, DT, Georgia (6'4" 295)
Thompson is a load on the interior that can collapse the pocket and put heat on the QB. He's actually built quite a bit like Chris Jones, powerful with speed to close.
2. D.J. Chark, WR, LSU (6'3" 200)
Speed kills and Chark has it in spades. Reid needs a team of guys that can be YAC machines and threaten all parts of the field on any down, and Chark can do that. Chark is also a decent punt returner.
3. Tyquan Lewis, DE, Ohio State (6'4" 260)
A consumate worker-bee, Lewis is tough at the point of attack. He hasn't been the double-digit sack guy that was expected, but he's been good for 8 per. He's had a bit of a down year, but so has most of Ohio State's front. Lewis is tough against the run and pass.
4. Matt Linehan, QB, Idaho (6'3" 239)
Linehan is a pro-style QB with good overall mechanics. He comes from a New England style offensive system, so Belichick may be interested, but so too will be his father Scott Linehan (Cowboys OC).
6. Ralph Webb, RB, Vanderbilt (5'9" 202)
A quick runner with excellent vision and burst to the hole, plus outstanding hands. One of the best runners in SEC history that gets zero love because he plays at Vandy. A prototype Reid back to put pressure on West.
6. (COMP/Foles) Brandon Parker, OT, North Carolina A&T (6'7" 300)
An FCS left tackle with good feet and gets into his blocks in the run game pretty well for his length. Certainly will be a bit of a NFL project going from the FCS to the pros, but he has legitimate tools to work with.
7. (SEA/Battle) Anthony Sherrils, SS, Missouri (6'0" 200)
An extremely fast defender that flashes greatness at times and definitely has an elite closing burst to the ball carrier. Needs to work on his understanding of the game and his assignments as he sometimes looks lost out there one play only to make a good one the next.
7. (ARZ/Cooper) Austin Golson, OC, Auburn (6'4" 314)
A jack-of-all trades, Golson has started at every position on the O-line, but he is best at guard and center.
7. (TEN/King) Spencer Smith, P, Memphis (6'1" 195)
Not much to say, he's one of the best in the nation and can be a backup kicker to boot.

Roster:
QB: P. Mahomes, T. Bray, M. Linehan
RB: K. Hunt, S. Ware, C. West, R. Webb
FB: A. Sherman
TE: T. Kelce, D. Harris, R. Travis
WR: T. Hill, D. Chark, C. Conley, J. Chesson, D. Robinson, M. Kemp?
OL: E. Fisher, P. Ehinger, M. Morse, L. Duvernay-Tardif, M. Schwartz, B. Witzman, C. Erving, Z. Fulton, A. Golson, Parker
DL: C. Jones, A. Bailey, T. Thompson, T. Kpassagnon, Q. Dial, R. Nunez-Roches
OLB: J. Houston, D. Ford, T. Lewis, D. Nicolas, F. Zombo
ILB:, R. Ragland, C. Jones, U. Eligwe, K. Pierre-Louis, T. Smith
CB: M. Peters, M. Butler, S. Nelson, J. Coleman, T. Mitchell
DB: E. Berry, R. Parker, D. Sorensen, E. Murray, A. Sherrils
ST: H. Butker, J. Winchester, S. Smith

Seattle gave up a 2nd round pick for Richardson.

Why would they let him walk?

They have to sign him to a long-term deal or franchise him, and that's if they like his fit (doesn't appear he fits their defense all that well) and production this season (which hasn't been stellar by any means).

What I do know is that we are going to seriously need to re-tool our DL to actually fit the new defense we're going to run.

If we're going to run two-down lineman for an entire season, we need to really improve the talent we have there. Having marginally above average players like Bailey or RNR is suddenly not remotely good enough. Logan's probably a goner. So Chris Jones is, arguably, the only guy on the team that even has a prayer of functioning in this defense.

I support bringing Logan back, trading Bailey, keeping RNR as depth, and adding one or two more blue chips at DL. I just don't know how we can do that.

Bringing on Richardson would be a great boon to the team. He's a match for us.

I think if we get a 1st rounder, we should consider burning it on another DL.

If we're just going to play 2 DL all game, then we really need to get a ton tougher there than we currently are. RNR and Bailey are both fine players but neither of them can thrive in the system we're running.

If they let him walk, that's easily the worst trade in recent memory.

A 2nd round pick and Jermaine Kearse to the Jets for a one year player?

Awful.

If they flushed Sutton maybe they could make better use of the talent they currently have.

My alternate to this was to burn FA money on CB Malcolm Butler and drafting DT Trenton Thompson out of Georgia if that works better than the Richardson situation.

Seattle has a big decision. They have 19 million in cap, so they can retain Richardson but may need to dump another big contract to retain alot of other guys. Rumor is that could be Sherman?

I guinunely feel like the defensive talent is overrated on CP.

Outside of Marcus Peters, Justin Houston and Eric Berry (who's out for the year), there's just not much there. Chris Jones is experiencing a "sophomore slump" but I think he'll snap out of it before next season (and hopefully, before).

Hali and DJ are old and slow. Bailey's had a tough year. Logan, too. KPL and Ragland have shown some upside but they're far from being finished products. Frank Zombo is the epitome of an average player and Dee Ford is seemingly always injured.

Steven Nelson can be better than average but Acker, Mitchell and Gaines, on their best days, are far from average. Eric Murry is definitely a liability, as is Sorenson when he's asked to drop in coverage as a linebacker.

This defense has a LOT of holes to address.

I feel that Butler is a prime candidate to be a FA bust. He's going to get an insane amount of money. Belichick paid his money to Gilmore for a reason.

Sheldon Richardson would be a huge get, but I feel Seattle will release Sherman and use the savings to keep Richardson.

I'd maybe get an edge guy in FA than rely on a good Defensive draft.

If Richardson is failing in Seattle, he’ll fail in KC

I don't know about bust. He wanted a contract extension and didn't get it and that soured his relationship with Bill a bit early on this season, but he's a damn good corner. He tracks elite receivers, he's one of the NFL's best in completion percent against and passes defensed, and he actually tackles. I think he's one of the handful of premier corners in the NFL right now.

I certainly prefer a stud DL in FA and a CB in the draft, but I'd take it the other way too.

I wouldn't mind a guy like Travis Carrie as a FA CB for around $5-6 per.

He's not failing, but he isn't standing out and he isn't getting the pressures and sacks like you're used to seeing from him. I dunno, we'll see what happens there.

Then why in the world would suggest giving him $90 million?

Where’s the logic in that?

I 100% agree with this.

I really think that first and foremost, the Chiefs need to look for a strong DE to anchor the side of the field. Allen Bailey has been a good player at times, but he's not stout enough. We need a strong, stout lineman to hold the point and stuff the run, and I think that's why a huge guy like Cam Thomas was signed.

Maybe we could look into a Star Lotulelei, but I think Arthur Jones or Quinton Dial would be perfect along with a high draft pick.

I think after that we need to just take BPA on the defensive side. Honestly it doesn't matter to me because every player outside Eric Berry, Marcus Peters, Chris Jones and maybe Bennie Logan are absolutely replaceable.

Just quit drafting these long term development picks. It's so stupid. If he can't get on the field year 1, don't invest in them until the 4th rd (would be okay with a known player being injured).
Draft guys who have shown they can play and be tough. It's not hard.

Scheme is different and Seattle is using him to occupy instead of attack (like how they used Red Bryant), at least what I've seen so far this year. I think he's at his best attacking.

The only logic factor here is whether or not Seattle re-signs him. I think they'll try to. They have a situation in which they can. They do have some big contracts to sign coming up (Clark, Graham, Thomas...) but should have some older talent leaving soon (Avril, Sherman come to mind)