KC Chiefs: Questions to address at safety position in 2020 offseason
One position that looks to be fairly shored up heading into 2020 for the KC Chiefs is at safety, which saw strong strides made this past season.
The Kansas City Chiefs had one of the best safety tandems in the league in 2019 and that’s why their biggest question at the position heading into the 2020 season is what they’ll do with depth at safety. We all know that the two starters will be Tyrann Mathieu and Juan Thornhill, but who will be behind them on the depth chart?
This past season, the Chiefs had Jordan Lucas, Daniel Sorensen, and Armani Watts as depth behind the Honey Badger and Thornhill. None of those three are guaranteed to be on the roster in 2020 with Lucas hitting free agency and the other two being potential cap casualties.
The Chiefs definitely need to add depth this offseason and they could look to free agency or the draft to do so.
More from Chiefs Free Agency
- The Kansas City Chiefs Address Defense with This Mock Draft
- Three Cornerbacks the Chiefs Should Pursue in Free Agency
- What Potential Free Agents Could Sign with the Kansas City Chiefs
- Kansas City Chiefs Should Look at These Free Agent Edge Rushers
- The Chiefs Begin the Offseason. What Can We Look Forward To?
Free agency wise, there aren’t a lot of great choices out there. Some of the bigger names on the market are guys like Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Tre Boston who are both in their late 20s and potentially looking for a one-year “prove it” kind of deal. The Chiefs might be best just hanging onto Sorensen and Watts though rather than sign someone in free agency.
They could also look to add someone later on in the draft process, perhaps a player like Alohi Gilman (Notre Dame) or Terrell Burgess (Utah) could be Day 2 options while others like J.R. Reed (Georgia) or Javelin Guidry (another Utah prospect) might be worth a look on Day 3 of the 2020 NFL Draft.
Safety play was pivotal in the 2019 defensive turnaround and so much of that came from Mathieu’s addition to the unit and to the secondary. While Mathieu and Thornhill are both great safeties, we saw Thornhill get injured in the final regular season game and go on to miss the playoffs, so having depth behind them is crucial.
Honestly, don’t expect the Chiefs to make a ton of moves at safety this offseason because they don’t really need to. They could save money by cutting Sorensen, but it feels like we say that every year and then he goes on to make a season saving kind of play. Watts might not have lived up to the hype surrounding him when he was drafted, but he’s battled injuries and deserves another shot.
It’s not a bad thing that the Kansas City Chiefs might not address the position much this offseason because it means it doesn’t need to be fine-tuned much. They might still opt to add a cheap free agent, but don’t expect much when it comes to the safety position this offseason.