2020 Kansas City Chiefs Preview

JerseyBorn

All-Star
The preseason is almost wrapped up and the Kansas City Chiefs are just one of the 32 teams in the league looking to embark on their season. New ownership took over a Chiefs team that finished last season a woeful 4-12 under head coach Mike McCoy.

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Offseason Plan

There are multiple ways to handle a season like the Chiefs had last year. One of them being just blow up the team. Fire everyone, trade everyone with value and start from the beginning. A full on rebuild. New ownership felt like this team's roster, with a few subtractions and a few additions, could be a contender so they went into the offseason with a plan on how to make that happen.

It didn't take long for the new owner to figure out how great of a defense he was inheriting. A 3-4 system led by massive NT Dontari Poe, pass rushing OLBs Justin Houston and A.J. Gomez, as well as two stud safeties in Tre Boston and B.J. Lynch. However, there was a need for better defensive ends and a solid number 2 corner as veteran CB Sean Smith would be testing free agency.

The offense was where things really needed an overhaul. There's no doubting that Travis Kelce is one of the best tight ends in the NFL but there really wasn't much surrounding him. Former Patriots draft pick, Jimmy Garoppolo, was throwing passes to slow, aging receivers like Jeremy Maclin, Riley Cooper and Dwayne Harris with the only bright spot in that core being Trett Franklin who would be testing free agency come offseason. Parker Flowers is a good, young running back but he can't do it all, especially when his backup is Stepfan Taylor with his 78 speed. That's why the Chiefs elected to completely overhaul their receiving corps and cut Stepfan Taylor.

Free Agency
Rather than pouring all their money into two or three big name players, the Chiefs went after a bunch of guys who they thought could contribute to their football team. The first thing on the list being overhaul the receiving corps. Entering free agency, the Chiefs only had 2 receivers on their roster and one of them is strictly a kick/punt returner so they had a lot of work to do. They went out and got Donte Moncrief, Robert Woods, Justin Hunter and John Brown. They also traded their 3rd round pick to the Packers in return for Davante Adams who will likely be the number 1 receiver. All guys under 30 years old to replace their previous aging receivers. Kansas City also signed Nick Foles to a 1 year deal to compete for the starting quarterback job with Jimmy Garoppolo since they weren't sure about the quarterbacks in the draft class. The Chiefs also elected not to re-sign their aging number 1 corner, Sean Smith, and signed Sam Shields to a 1 year deal to be the second corner as Marcus Peters is now the number 1. To address the defensive end need the Chiefs signed Kony Ealy to a 2 year contract. The Chiefs also signed Latavius Murray to be a 1-2 punch with Parker Flowers in the backfield and they added some depth at TE as Tim Wright and Tyler Kroft (the Rutgers duo) will backup Travis Kelce.

What To Look For
Who will start at QB?
Head coach Mike McCoy hasn't been able to decide on a starter yet. It likely won't be decided until week 1 of the regular season and to be honest, I'm not sure that there is a clear cut starter at this point. They've both been good in the preseason. It could just come down to who's more familiar with the offense and that's Garoppolo.

Will the WRs step up?
None of the receivers on the Chiefs roster are big name, clear cut #1 wide receivers. Davante Adams is arguably the best of the bunch and he's been buried on the depth chart of the Packers in previous seasons so we'll have to see if he can step up in his new role in Kansas City. Donte Moncrief has significantly impressed coaches in practice and preseason action since arriving at camp so he's likely going to be the second receiver with Robert Woods in the slot while Justin Hunter, Corey Brown and John Brown all get time as the 4th guy.

Was Tyler Harper worth the 7th overall pick?
Harper was one of the guys on a loaded Texas A&M team and he was the first of the bunch taken in the draft despite being projected as a late 1st rounder. Harper isn't a prototypical 3-4 DE but the Chiefs went ahead and selected him anyways. DE was the biggest need when the draft rolled around and Harper was the guy they wanted to go with and he's slotted to be the starting LE on the Chiefs depth chart so it'll be interesting to see how he works in a 3-4 system with a ton of other pass rushers.

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Final Word
The Chiefs feel like they had a great offseason and they've really improved their team to be a contender in the AFC West. On paper the team shapes up to be a great one but there's a reason they play the games. The season rest on the shoulders of whoever gets the QB1 job. The Kansas City defense should be great and that'll help an average QB but Garoppolo or Foles will still need to play that game manager role. Limit the amount of turnovers and they should be fine.

"Pain heals. Chicks dig scars. Glory lasts forever"
- Shane Falco
 
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