Keep ****ing doubting Rishaw Johnson.

[Direckshun]

http://www.arrowheadpride.com/2014/3...-johnson-guard

Kansas City Chiefs G Rishaw Johnson impressed late last season
By Joel Thorman
on Mar 19 2014, 8:44a

Regular readers may have noticed that we recently posted an item on Chiefs safety Sanders Commings and whether he could end up being the answer at free safety. Right here we have another post wondering if an in-house player is the answer at a position of need.

The position is guard and the player is Rishaw Johnson.

As a refresher, Johnson was an SEC recruit at Ole Miss in 2008. He was there until 2010 when he was kicked off the team. He then went to California (PA). He joined the Seahawks in his first season in the NFL then came to Kansas City his second year. The league lists him at 6'3 and 313 pounds. Last year's starting guards are listed at 340 pounds (Geoff Scwhartz), 306 pounds (Jon Asamoah) and 305 pounds (Jon Asamoah).

Matt Conner included Johnson in our in-house players series earlier this year but I came across a couple more of items on Johnson that warrants another look-see.

Last week, I saw this from Lance Zierlein, sports talk radio host in Houston and football writer:

Lance Zierlein @LanceZierlein

@bkissel7 @Schottey Chiefs believe Rishaw is ready to take over. They LOVED how he played vs. SD at end of the year.

Johnson was among the Chiefs backups that played in Week 17 against the Chargers while the starters rested but a backup throughout the season. That caught my interest for obvious reasons being free agency week and all. If the Chiefs believe they possibly / maybe / could have a potential starting guard on the roster, they probably wouldn't go out and spend big money on a guard in free agency, right?

Terez A. Paylor @TerezPaylor

This is true. Did well vs SD RT @ArrowheadPride: Seems like a long shot but Chiefs do have an in-house option at OG http://sbn.to/1jxEmMw

But wait! There's more!

Schwartz, who is now with the Giants in New York, went on The Drive with Danny Parkins on 610 Sports on Tuesday. Danny asked him what the Chiefs have in the guys who were behind him on the Chiefs line last season.

"Rishaw played really well in the Chargers game," Schwartz said. "He's a guy that has a lot of talent and he really developed as the year went on. He's strong and explosive off the ball. Sometimes it takes guys a couple of years to get comfortable where they're playing in a game. He did a great job against the Chargers."

Another mention of the Chargers game ... interesting. This led me to asking Chiefs GM John Dorsey on our call yesterday how important that Week 17 game was for the coaching staff and front office, getting the youngsters a shot to play.

"Anytime you can get another opportunity to evaluate the players that don't get to contribute on a week-in, week-out basis, that's very helpful," Dorsey said. "What it does is it helps the coaching staff get a degree of comfort that those guys in the personnel department as they build this thing. That's what the communication between the coaches and the personnel staff does. It's always an advantage to get those guys to play and those guys showed very well on Week 17 of the NFL schedule."

Unfortunately, Dorsey wasn't giving us an in-depth scouting report on Johnson but he did say this: "He's going to come in here and he's going to compete. He's showed that he can play the game of football, and I'm just excited to see how much stride he has made here this year."

It's a long way to the season opener with more free agency and the 2014 NFL Draft to acquire more talent as well as evaluation opportunities such as OTAs and training camp to evaluate existing talent. Rishaw Johnson is one of those existing talents that is one to keep an eye on.

It's almost like the Sanders Commings situation. You have hopes that this guy can come in and take over the job next year. But he's probably too young and inexperienced to hand the job to him. Competition and veteran insurance (Jeff Linkenbach?) is needed.

My gut has been telling me for a while that the Chiefs first round pick will be an offensive lineman. That would obviously shake things up.

[Simplicity]

I'll donate a $100 to CP to bring this guy into the starting guard position.

[kc79]

Dorsey upgraded DE with Walker and must feel good about Catapano going from year 1-2. Cooper was a rookie, he'll do better this year. McCluster is a RB playing WR. Avery and or Jenkins are an upgrade over him. Mays can feel Jordan's spot. I'll take Commings over Lewis all day and I don't care that he barely played last year. Stevenson improved some much in his second year. Hope Fischer can do the same.

[Saccopoo]

Let's be serious about this bullshit:

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by Mother****erJones

Glad we didn't pay 100 mil to all those guys. All replaceable and money go towards skill positions

Or towards Clark's cable bill...

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by Mr. Laz

6 draft picks to replace 5 holes

It's like playing Powerball with the expectation of winning...

[Mother****erJones]

Originally Posted by Saccopoo

Let's be serious about this bullshit:

You're such a dumbass. Ya let's waste a 1st on a shitty OG.

[Floridafan]

Didn't Dorsey bring in some decent players after they were cut by other teams last year?

[Mr. Laz]

Originally Posted by Floridafan

Didn't Dorsey bring in some decent players after they were cut by other teams last year?

yep and we all better hope to hell that he rides that horse again.

we need 4 or 5 more of them this year.

[Floridafan]

I think Dorsey knows football and will bring in more talent just like last year. He just isn't a big mouth know it all type in front of the camera. He is smart and recognizes football talent and understands just what this team needs to win. I personally don't feel we lost anyone that isn't replaceable although I would have like to keep Schwartz. Otherwise he will bring in some good talent and we save money to sign the playmakers. Alex will have a good year with last year under his belt. If we bring in a good safety and another WR or two we should be fine. I'm on the better team/worse record side of things.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by Floridafan

I think Dorsey knows football and will bring in more talent just like last year. He just isn't a big mouth know it all type in front of the camera. He is smart and recognizes football talent and understands just what this team needs to win. I personally don't feel we lost anyone that isn't replaceable although I would have like to keep Schwartz. Otherwise he will bring in some good talent and we save money to sign the playmakers. Alex will have a good year with last year under his belt. If we bring in a good safety and another WR or two we should be fine. I'm on the better team/worse record side of things.

Excellent post my friend.

[Mr. Laz]

Originally Posted by Floridafan

I think Dorsey knows football and will bring in more talent just like last year. He just isn't a big mouth know it all type in front of the camera. He is smart and recognizes football talent and understands just what this team needs to win. I personally don't feel we lost anyone that isn't replaceable although I would have like to keep Schwartz. Otherwise he will bring in some good talent and we save money to sign the playmakers. Alex will have a good year with last year under his belt. If we bring in a good safety and another WR or two we should be fine. I'm on the better team/worse record side of things.

When are we going to use this money to sign these playmakers?

Next year? What about THIS YEAR?

Clock is ticking on several of our best players.

[booger]

http://www.profootballweekly.com/pro...aw-johnson-75/

He's got 35" arms and 11" hands. That's going to be near the top of those physical measurements most years for an OT at the combine. He just hasn't had the snaps to put all of that potential to the test. He should be able to lock on and maul inside at G.

While the excitement of what he could be is there he still hasn't shown anything other than the SD game so they need to have proven depth before they blindly just count on him as the starter at RG.

[Messier]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

It's like playing Powerball with the expectation of winning...

I'm counting. FS, RG, slot WR. And...

[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by booger

While the excitement of what he could be is there he still hasn't shown anything other than the SD game so they need to have proven depth before they blindly just count on him as the starter at RG.

Emphasis on the word "proven" in "proven depth."

Another rookie isn't going to be the answer. You'll just be replacing Rishaw Johnson's struggles with someone else's.

That's why I was all about re-signing Schwartz and keeping the draft completely out of the guard picture this year.

[Mr. Laz]

Originally Posted by Messier

I'm counting. FS, RG, slot WR. And...

You are talking positions without regard to talent. The total team talent level matters even if it's depth. Every starter lost is talent lost even if you replace that talent from an existing player. You still lose depth.

ARRIVALS
Linkenbach, Jeffrey**
Owens, Chris
Walker, Vance*
Mays, Joe*

DEPARTURES

Albert, Branden*
Asamoah, Jon*
Demps, Quintin**
Jackson, Tyson*
Jordan, Akeem**
Lewis, Kendrick*
McCluster, Dexter*
Powe, Jerrell
Schwartz, Geoff*

* had significant time starting
** significant backups