 Contributor: Jon Yoon, mvn.com/nfl-chiefs
Team Primary Needs: OT, OG, FB, DT, CB, K, KR
Team Secondary Needs: C, WR, Depth, Depth, and more Depth
Key additions: Chan Gailey (offensive coordinator), LB Demorrio Williams, FB Oliver Hoyte, WR Devard Darling
Key Losses: C Casey Wiegmann, CB Benny Sapp, G John Welbourn, WR Eddie Kennison, DE/DT Jimmy Wilkerson, CB Ty Law, TE Jason Dunn
Key Free Agents Retained: P Dustin Colquitt (re-signed), DE Jared Allen (franchised)
Free Agency Notes: The Chiefs have fully committed to a rebuild and they did so in a very big way. While many bottom-feeder teams have chosen to aggressively rebuild through free agency, the Chiefs have committed to developing their youth and building through the draft. Arguably, the rebuild started last year, when they managed to amass 10 total picks for the 2008 NFL Draft. The Chiefs' primary focus is improving their offensive line. The line should improve dramatically with the addition of Chan Gailey, who will make the line undoubtedly better simply by being much more unpredictable in his tendencies. The Chiefs hope that Rudi Niswanger and Herb Taylor will step in as sleeper, in-house upgrades and that they will land 1 or 2 quality starters through the 2008 draft. With the return of Larry Johnson and an improved offensive line and offensive gameplan, the Chiefs should be able to make the Chiefs, once again, a run-centric team. If the Chiefs run the ball well and improve in their pass protection, that should make Brodie Croyle's job a lot easier. That's a good thing, because this team will likely go as far as Brodie Croyle takes them. Defensively, the Chiefs expect further development out of their two young safeties, Jarrad Page and Bernard Pollard, and are potentially a defensive tackle away from having an outstanding defense.
Grade: B
Review of Grade: You may be surprised to see a B grade for a 4-12 team that chose not to participate in free agency, for the most part. But I give the Chiefs credit for sticking to their guns and committing to the rebuild. The Chiefs have also very quietly upgraded their coaching staff by replacing Mike Solari with a much more experienced Chan Gailey. The free agency period went from a B+ to a B because they whiffed on getting Josh Brown and Jeff Faine, although, arguably they never had a chance at landing these guys in the first place. Yes, the Chiefs' reliance on youth is a huge risk, but clearly the team has not benefited from playing the whole game so safely over the past 20 years. |
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Chris Fry created this group on SportProjections.com. 