KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Despite coming within an offside penalty of reaching the Super Bowl last season, the list of offseason for the Kansas City Chiefs isn’t exactly a short one.
Led by NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs had an historic offense — the first in league history to score 26 points or more in every game — and, while some regression is likely, should churn out points again in 2019.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t worrisome position groups on offense, even though Kansas City scored seven more touchdowns than any other offense in the league last season.
It honestly wouldn’t hurt to shore up every position aside from quarterback. Mahomes, backup Chad Henne, newly acquired E.J. Manuel, and developmental prospect Chase Litton have the position well-stocked.
Defensively, the needs are considerably more acute.
However, the most significant and needed change came when coach Andy Reid fired Bob Sutton and installed Steve Spagnuolo as the new defensive coordinator.
From a personnel standpoint, the Chiefs have needs at every level to varying degrees.
But what pray tell are the most pressing needs? Glad you asked:
1. Cornerback
Kendall Fuller played on par with expectations after being acquired in the Alex Smith trade and the Chiefs found a serviceable player in Charvarius Ward, who arrived via trade late in training camp.
But cornerback remains a glaring hole for the Chiefs — and would be even if Marcus Peters remained on the roster, because it’s unlikely he would have received a long-term extension and depth remains a problem. Steven Nelson, who may command a deal worth more than $9 million annually, played the most snaps outside for the Chiefs last season, but he almost certainly won’t return.
It remains to be seen if Tremon Smith can make a leap from return specialist to defensive contributor in 2019, but the cupboard is bare for Spagnuolo. If Kansas City makes a splashy trade to acquire a player at any position, it will — and should be — cornerback.
Likewise, if the Chiefs make a bold move to package picks (or perhaps a player and picks) to move up in the first round, it almost will be for a cornerback or ...
2. Edge rusher
Even if the Chiefs franchise tag Dee Ford, who had a breakout season getting after the quarterback in 2018, the long-term need at the position is acute. Justin Houston, whose $21.1 million cap number for 2019 will eat up more than 11 percent of the team cap, remains injury-prone and his production has declined.
That leaves two underwhelming former second-round picks — Tanoh Kpassagnon (2017) and Breeland Speaks (2018) — at the 4-3 defensive end position on the roster. That can’t be a comforting position for a team that also struggles to cover opposing pass-catchers. Speaks played out of position last season and may still prove to be a fine player, but the Chiefs need more pass-rushing firepower — and it could be hard to find at No. 29 overall in the first round.
3. Safety
This position could see a wholesale makeover for the Chiefs. Oft-injured Eric Berry, who has basically missed two straight seasons, is a can’t for a post-June 1 cut. Daniel Sorenson also has the ninth-highest salary cap number for 2019, according to Over the Cap. Both players’ best days in the NFL would seem to be in the past.
Eric Murray is entering the final year of his rookie deal but could be a cap casualty if the Chiefs need to free up $2 million. That leaves Armani Watts, whose promising rookie season was cut short by injury last season, alone among players from last season.
Even if Kansas City re-signs Jordan Lucas, which I’d expect, safety is a position ripe for an upgrade — whether by trade with the New York Giants for Landon Collins or by signing a big-name free agent, like Earl Thomas or Tyrann Mathieu.
4. Wide receiver
Some of this depends on how you feel about Demarcus Robinson, Byron Pringle, Sammie Coates and Josh Crockett.
Robinson is a solid special teams contributor, but has yet to blossom into a consistent weapon/threat from scrimmage.
Pringle quickly became a fan favorite last preseason, but landed on injured reserve and missed out on his rookie campaign.
Are you counting on Coates or Crockett to emerge as a big-time target for Mahomes?
Tyreek Hill is an established star at wide receiver and deserves a long-term extension. That may come this offseason.
The Chiefs overpaid a bit for Sammy Watkins last season, but the plan worked as Mahomes emerged as a star early in the season. The durability issues that have plagued Watkins’ career also cropped up in November and highlighted Kansas City’s lack of depth at the position.
I’d be remiss not to mention Mahomes’ BFF, Gehrig Dieter, but I’m skeptical he’s prepped for a Julian Edelman-type breakout campaign in 2019.
5. Linebacker
The first three positions are clearly bigger needs than anything else, but I’m willing to listen to an argument linebacker — especially middle linebacker — ought to be a fairly big offseason priority.
However, with Anthony Hitchens, Reggie Ragland, Dorian O’Daniel, and Ben Niemann on the roster along with some developmental prospects, there would appear to be more potential solutions at linebacker than wide receiver.
6. Running back
The Kareem Hunt situation puts Kansas City in a bind. He deserved to get booted from the roster, so this isn’t a commentary on that. But the Chiefs don’t have a running back of his caliber, which likely means spending precious draft capital in the third or later rounds in hopes of finding a replacement.
Damien Williams proved to be a capable stand-in after Hunt’s dismissal amid allegations of pushing and kicking a woman among other violent offseason episodes, but he doesn’t run with the same power and panache.
Williams can fill in the speed-back role outside the tackles and in the passing game, but he’s not built to be a battering ram up the gut. Perhaps former LSU running back Darrel Williams can be the thunder to Damien Williams’ lightning, but the Chiefs also need to add a piece.
7. Tight end
Travis Kelce is a stud. Demetrius Harris is a free agent. That’s a sub-optimal situation for the Chiefs.
Kelce is among the NFL’s elite tight ends, so that’s not the problem. Harris is in line for a nice pay bump that his production doesn’t necessarily support, so the smart money may be letting him walk.
That would leave the Chiefs with no proven depth behind Kelce at tight end, so don’t be shocked if this position winds up being a bigger offseason priority than some may expect — unless Harris is brought back.
8. Defensive tackle
Derrick Nnadi should only get better with the change to a 4-3 front, especially partnered with Chris Jones. Teams will have to pick their poison with interior double teams, assuming Nnadi ascends as expected. After Jones’ 15.5 sacks last season, which ranked third in the NFL, Nnadi may be the beneficiary early in the season as opposing offensive lines focus on Jones.
The Chiefs have a decision to make on Xavier Williams, whose cap number jumps from $1.625 million to $3.682 million this season. But Kansas City needs depth along the line one way or another.
9. Offensive line
I don’t hate the Chiefs’ offensive line group as much as some people seem to, especially with right tackle Mitchell Schwartz and left tackle Eric Fisher at the bookend spots.
Toss in Cam Erving, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, and Andrew Wylie and there’s a respectable offensive line, but the Chiefs can get better at all three spots and need depth all along the line.
As currently constructed, the Chiefs are an injury to Schwartz or Fisher away from disaster with no proven tackle depth. Re-signing Jordan Devey, who is a versatile interior piece, should be an offseason priority. It’d be nice to keep Mitch Morse, too, but the realities of the salary cap — and whatever the Morse camp is looking to get in a contract, both in years and guaranteed money — may make his return untenable, especially with Austin Reiter’s emergence as decent option last season.
The offseason development of Khalil McKenzie, Jimmy Murray and Ryan Hunter could go a long way in shoring up that depth, but offensive line is one of those positions teams must always churn and strive to get better.
