Chiefswire. Analysis . Needs after first wave.

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.https://chiefswire.usatoday.com/2018/03/22/ranking-the-chiefs-biggest-needs-after-first-wave-of-free-agency/

 

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The Kansas City Chiefs are still scraping the bottom of the barrel for free agents, but most of the big signings are complete.

After those notable additions, the Chiefs’ primary needs have become a bit different. Let’s look at Kansas City’s remaining holes and try to rank them in order of most important to least.

 

 

No. 2 cornerback

If you’re worried about David Amerson being the Chiefs’ No. 2 starting cornerback, you’re not alone. It’s not that Amerson can’t be good because he might be able to thrive in K.C.’s press man system. However, it still seems like the Chiefs are stuck with the same cornerback problem that they had in 2017.

We talked about this last month: The Chiefs’ 2017 cornerback group (Marcus Peters, Terrance Mitchell, Steven Nelson) was similar to their 2018 group (Kendall Fuller, Amerson, Nelson). They could still use one more guy to provide competition. With limited cap space, the best way to add a corner will be through the first few rounds of the 2018 draft.

 

Safety

Ron Parker is gone. The Chiefs now boast a safety group of Eric Berry, Daniel Sorensen, Eric Murray, Leon McQuay, Jordan Sterns and Devin Chappell. Solid, but there’s a big dropoff after Berry.

 

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Sorensen works better as a subpackage safety instead of a starter. That means, as of today, the Chiefs would likely use Murray as the other starting safety. Murray showed flashes of promise last season but, as with Amerson at cornerback, the Chiefs shouldn’t feel comfortable with Murray being the starter.

There are plenty of good safeties in the upper rounds of this year’s draft, so it’d be wise for K.C. to go after one.

 

 

Defensive lineman

With the signing of Xavier Williams and the re-signings of Rakeem Nunez-Roches, Jarvis Jenkins and Stefan Charles, the Chiefs’ defensive line is relatively patched up for 2018.

There are two problems, though. First, one injury to Chris Jones or Allen Bailey could make this group thin in a hurry. The other issue is that Bailey, Nunez-Roches, Jenkins and Charles will become free agents in 2019. The same might go for Williams but we don’t know his contract details yet.

With these problems in mind, adding a D-lineman would be beneficial for depth reasons in 2018 and replacement reasons in 2019. It usually takes defensive linemen a couple of seasons to get acclimated to the NFL, so it’d be in the Chiefs’ best interest to snag one a year early.

 

 

Left guard/interior offensive line depth

There are too many questions surrounding the Chiefs’ left guard position to feel comfortable about this offensive line heading into 2018. Who will start: Parker Ehinger or Bryan Witzmann? Can Witzmann take a step forward? Is Ehinger healthy enough to play? Even if he is, has he developed enough to start? What about depth now that Zach Fulton is gone?

The Chiefs could probably survive with one of those two guys starting, but K.C. clearly wants to have the best offense in the NFL. That means surviving isn’t good enough. The Chiefs need to add competition at left guard and interior depth in the late rounds of the draft or undrafted free agency.

 

 

Edge rusher

Edge rusher was originally much higher on this list, but that has changed for a couple of reasons. First, Dee Ford is expected to be ready for OTAs according to general manager Brett Veach. That’s a good sign for his availability at the start of this season.

Second, most of the edge rushers in this year’s draft seem to be projects, so they wouldn’t start immediately anyways. The Chiefs taking an edge rusher high in this draft wouldn’t be wrong, but it’s not a necessity.

Of course, the success of this group depends much on Tanoh Kpassagnon. If he takes a step forward, this group could be legit. If he struggles, the team will need Ford and Justin Houston to be healthy and productive.

 

 

No. 2 tight end competition

This would have been much higher on the list if not for the reported deal with Benjamin Watson. He should provide a trustworthy veteran presence at the No. 2 tight end spot.

However, Watson is 37. He’ll probably only be on a one- or two-year deal. The Chiefs could still benefit from drafting a tight end in the middle or late rounds this year.

 

 

No. 3 quarterback

The Chiefs found their backup quarterback in Chad Henne. They still need a No. 3 behind him, though. They can find one in literally any round in this year’s draft or undrafted free agency. They might even pick up two or three to battle it out for that No. 3 gig. Coach Andy Reid loves coaching up quarterbacks, so don’t put it past him.

 

 

Wide receiver depth

The Chiefs added Sammy Watkins and might be signing Kendall Wright, so the receiver spot is basically set. Chris Conley should return from injury, which will help boost this position.

K.C. could still stand to add some receiver depth for competition purposes. Mahomes is the focal point of the offense now, so he’ll always need weapons to throw to.

[sith13 1,746]

I like the list in general but don't get the emphasis on the edge rusher. We don't have an OLB besides Houston that can drop back to coverage so a pure edge rusher is likely a sub package guy that'll rotate with Ford and may be KPass. Starting OLB is a more important need. If they think Ford can be that guy, we'll not see any pass rush from Houston in 2018 for yet another year.