Hello - prospective expansion franchise owner here. Thinking about setting this up tonight or tomorrow. Beyond the rules in the OP, any advice from you seasoned veterans?

It would be great if you did. Not many of us anymore. It's a fun exercise in that it provides some perspective on recoginizing talent year-over-year.

You end up needing to fill holes in your roster every season, sometimes surprising, and it tests you. I planned on going into this season looking to probably add more juice to my pass rush again, add a big-play WR, and so on, and now the Chiefs throw me a stud LG when I'm already pretty stout on the interior and leave me with no plan at OT. So, there are things like that where you think you're putting together a great roster and then you lose guys that you inherited to start.

Just keep drafting the best you can, trying to plan ahead for what the Chiefs will likely lose to FA that you will also lose while filling the holes. It definitely helps if you can hit on some of those mid-round guys in the 3rd-5th. It's strengthened my roster quite a bit at positions like WR, RB, and S. A year like this, where we'll have extra mid-rounders again, I'll probably do the same as I have in some other situations and throw two darts at the same position, hoping I hit on one of the two. Last year I did it with WR and hit on Davis while Peoples-Jones doesn't look so hot. I threw 2 picks at RB in 2017 in the 5th and 7th and hit on both... so you never know.

You get a bit of a benefit of hindsight in terms of where players end up going in the draft, but it's still on you to pick the right guys, and that's the fun in it for me.

https://i.ibb.co/0MknfD8/841-E3275-F...C43-F97275.jpg

Inaugural Press Conference

GM Kellerfox: “greetings fellow football aficionados of Chiefs Planet. Today, I am pleased to introduce to you the Tacoma Trash Pandas.”

(Curtain drops on the stage behind Kellerfox revealing a massive Racoon logo)

“The new expansion franchise is backed by a core investment group led by MacKenzie Scott (wanting to one-up her ex-husband Jeff Bezos by owning an NFL franchise first), Bill Gates, Tony Parker, and the estate of late rapper DMX.”

Building on Scott’s and Gates’s philanthropic backgrounds, the team has decided to locate in Tacoma, WA in an effort to spurn economic development and opportunity in Washington’s “forgotten” big city. Tacoma is largely comprised of hard working blue collar individuals, and our bargain-bin market analysis suggests that some of them may be football fans. Give the amount of “f**k you” money our two leads have, they elect to build the new stadium 100% through private funding. Although neither one does it for the press or publicity, their marketing teams quietly ensure the club gets full credit and recognition for their “generous donation” into the community.

Inaugural Roster
(work in progress - I know I’m over the 53 limit, will cut down before the season)

QB:
Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs)
Chad Henne (Chiefs)
Jordan Ta’Amu (Chiefs)

RB:
Clyde Edwards-Helaire(Chiefs)
Darrel Williams (Chiefs)
Darwin Thompson (Chiefs)

FB:
Michael Burton (Chiefs)

WR:
Tyreek Hill (Chiefs)
Mecole Hardman (Chiefs)
Demarcus Robinson (Chiefs)
Byron Pringle (Chiefs)
Marcus Kemp (Chiefs)
Antonio Callaway (Chiefs)
Jody Fortson (Chiefs)
Tajae Sharpe (Chiefs)
Chad Williams (Chiefs)

TE:
Travis Kelce (Chiefs)
Nick Keizer (Chiefs)
Blake Bell (Chiefs)

OT:
Lucas Niang (Chiefs)
Mike Remmers (Chiefs)
Martinas Rankin (Chiefs)
Prince Tega Wango (Chiefs)
Yasir Durant (Chiefs)

OG:
Joe Thuney (Chiefs)
Kyle Long (Chiefs)
Laurent Duvernay-Tardif (Chiefs)
Andrew Wylie (Chiefs)

OC:
Austin Blythe (Chiefs)
Nick Allegretti (Chiefs)
Darryl Williams (Chiefs)

———————-

DT:
Chris Jones (Chiefs)
Jarran Reed (Chiefs)
Khalen Saunders (Chiefs)
Derrick Nnadi (Chiefs)
Tershawn Wharton (Chiefs)

DE:
Frank Clark (Chiefs)
Taco Charlton (Chiefs)
Mike Danna (Chiefs)
Tim Ward (Chiefs)
Demone Harris (Chiefs)

OLB:
Willie Gay Jr. (Chiefs)
Dorian O’Daniel (Chiefs)
Darius Harris (Chiefs)
Omari Cobb (Chiefs)

ILB:
Anthony Hitchens (Chiefs)
Ben Niemann (Chiefs)

CB:
L’Jarius Sneed (Chiefs)
Charvarius Ward (Chiefs)
Rashad Fenton (Chiefs)
De’Andre Baker (Chiefs)
Bopete Keyes (Chiefs)
Chris Lammons (Chiefs)

FS:
Juan Thornhill (Chiefs)
Armani Watts (Chiefs)

SS:
Tyrann Mathieu (Chiefs)
Daniel Sorensen (Chiefs)

———————-

P:
Tommy Townsend (Chiefs)

K:
Harrison Butker (Chiefs)

LS:
James Winchester (Chiefs)

——————————-

https://i.ibb.co/0MknfD8/841-E3275-F...C43-F97275.jpg

Draft Outlook

GM Kellerfox: “As an expansion franchise we are excited to be given the honor and opportunity to jumpstart our franchise with the #1 overall pick...”

(Assistant taps me on the shoulder and tells me, in whispered tones, that we are not being provided the same draft luxuries as past expansion franchises like the Texans and Jaguars. Instead, we have been given the Chiefs draft picks because the NFL has decided that having Patrick Mahomes is just unfair from a competitive standpoint, and as a results, the Chiefs are not allowed any more draft picks for the duration of Mahomes career. Instead, the Tacoma Trash Pandas will be gifted their picks annually. This kills two birds with one stone as Roger Goodell and his team don’t have to adjust the overall structure of the draft and can leave it at 32 picks per round).


Current Draft Picks:
#1-31
#2-63
#3-94
#4-136
#4-144
#5-175
#5-181
#6-207

Team Needs: Reviewing our roster, it appears that we don’t have a starting LT and desperately need an OLB, and WR #2. Looking forward a year, ILB and DE are also causing us heartburn.

***may be a mistake starting off, but thinking I will execute my one trade down and one trade up to maximize my number of 2nd and 3rd round picks. I’ll work out my proposal and share in a few days to confirm I am correctly interpreting the rules.**

Welcome to the game, kellerfox! This has been a fun long-term hobby.

Just to prepare, any current Chief who leaves the team as a free agent will also leave our teams. If a guy is cut, you can opt to keep him.

After mulling it over for a few days - I’m going to stay put with my picks pre-draft.

I was really tempted to bundle #175, #181, and #207 for Washington’s #124 (mid-4th) to increase my odds of getting an extra “hit.” If I wait until after the draft, I should still be able to use those KC picks to get to #131 or #132. Not that much of a difference - I’ll see how the board plays out.

Im also super paranoid about adjusting my draft capitol now and then being precluded from a Draft day trade or a player acquisition (like Orlando Brown). I have to figure that out, and if Veach is moving and shaking, that’s going to be the best answer.

Sometimes you get surprisingly good value because the team makes an in-draft trade up or down. I don't know if I've done a pre-draft trade-up. I wanted to the year Mahomes was drafted because I thought the Chiefs wouldn't go up and get him but decided to stay pat and they did it. Never a happier a camper.

Tell me if I'm missing anyone, but in free agency it looks like you can add the following guys to your roster:

Joe Thuney
Kyle Long
Blake Bell
Jarran Reed
Austin Blythe
Michael Burton

And remove the following guys if they were on your roster.

Tanoh Kpassagnon
Damien Wilson

You have the option of retaining any players who were released (e.g, Eric Fisher, Mitchell Schwartz, etc.)

I think add to removes?

Sammy Watkins
Ricky Seals Jones

Rainman, can you verify this for draft picks?

Option to accept the in-season trade of DeAndre Washington (if on your roster) and 2021 7th for 2021 6th
Option to trade 2021 1st #31, 3rd #94, 4th #136 2022 5th for OT Orlando Brown Jr. 2021 2nd #58 and 2022 6th

Picks

1-31 (if not trading for Brown)
2-58 (if trading for Brown)
2-63
3-94 (if not trading for Brown)
4-136 (if not trading for Brown)
4-144 (comp)
5-175
5-181 (comp)
6-207 (if trading Washington)
6-215 (if didn't accept trade for 2020 7th to pick Keyes)
7-258 (if not trading Washington)

The decision of whether or not to trade for Brown and then whether or not to make a pre-draft move this year if I do is the hardest I've faced so far. Ugh.

Thanks. Let's remove them if they're around.

Watkins was my #1 receiver, believe it or not. I apparently stink at drafting receivers.

We all know this, but if you want Orlando Brown, Jr., you will ...

lose pick #31
lose pick #94
lose pick #136

gain pick #58

and then some stuff next year that we'll address then.

If you have Deandre Washington on your roster, you can trade him and pick #258 for pick #207. (I think those slots are right.)

One thing I've learned over the years is that it's hard to draft left tackles, so even though I enjoy drafting I'm definitely going to accept the Orlando Brown trade.

Ok so I’m accepting brown trade as Rainman said it’s hard to find a LT


So far I love the chiefs picks


I gues I have 258 and not 207