Chiefs News: Positions not addressed during 2020 NFL Draft
By John McCarty
Chiefs news consists of the Kansas City Chiefs addressing some positions that needed to be fortified. However, as is the story of any draft, they failed to hit them all.
Every draft for every team in every season, teams attempt to find the best players to fill the most important roles on the roster and address areas of need. As is the case, teams are not always to address every area they hope. Some teams, like the Packers and Patriots of this season appear to have completely ignored vital position groups while other teams perhaps simply have work to do in the future.
For the Kansas City Chiefs, basically ever since Andy Reid arrived in town with John Dorsey and now Brett Veach, they make an effort to make sure they have a roster capable of taking the field, that they don’t HAVE to draft, perhaps in multiple, a specific position. The Chiefs are good, and this has shown on the field in their win/loss column, making sure they have depth at all positions.
However, what positions will need some more love in the future after not receiving either any or not enough attention during this last draft?
Frontline Cornerback
To win in the NFL, teams must be good at a couple positions, but more specifically, at quarterback and cornerback. Obviously the Chiefs are good at quarterback, and while the organization added a lot of depth at corner, they still need a front line player for the future.
Baushad Breeland is an unrestricted free agent next year, Charvarius Ward is a restricted free agent, and beyond those two are a whole lot of unknowns and question marks. As we sit hereat the end of April coming out of the draft, I view cornerback as the top draft need for next season.
Tight End
I’m going to put this out there: Travis Kelce is, by NFL standards, beginning to become old. By the start of the 2021 draft, Kelce will be 31 years old and will have undergone at least three major surgeries during his Kansas City career.
If the Chiefs want to ensure they have production from the tight end spot, they have to plan ahead and find someone other than a space filler as they have done the past two seasons. Teams that routinely compete do so as a team, not individuals, and the team has to start preparing for Kelce’s departure, even if it’s a year early.
I expect the Chiefs to look early in 2021 at tight end, that player will serve as a backup for a season and likely the starter in 2022.
Wide Receiver:
The Chiefs will always need receivers. Maybe it’s at the top of the draft and sometimes it’s for depth, but when you have Patrick Mahomes, you always want to ensure you have a deep stable of receivers.
Sammy Watkins and Demarcus Robinson are free agents after this season and Tyreek Hill is a free agent after 2021. Mecole Hardman, while promising, has more to prove that he is a capable, every down receiver. I fully expect the Chiefs to look at a receiver, knowing it may be a season before they can fully learn the playbook, but able to contribute is sub packages as a rookie.
Defensive End
The Chiefs draft defensive linemen – it’s what they do. With Alex Okafor having completed two of the three seasons on his contract by this time next year and Tanoh Kpassagnon set to be a free agent after this season, the defensive end spot could be viewed as important.
The Chiefs did use a fifth round pick on a defensive end this year, and have Breeland Speaks returning from injury as well, so just how needed that position group is remains to be seen. However, expect the Chiefs to continue to add at this spot.
Safety
Much like above, Tyrann Mathieu will be two of the three years completed on his contract and Armani Watts is approaching free agency. With the opening of the offenses more and more every passing year, safety becomes very important. Is this a top priority, probably not. However, it could be an area, like receiver, that receives draft attention on a yearly basis.
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Even though the Chiefs did a nice job with the 2020 NFL Draft, we truly won’t have a final verdict on this year’s draft class until three or four years down the road, potentially even later.
What positions did you think the Kansas City Chiefs should have addressed in the 2020 NFL Draft?