Five Kansas City Chiefs players entering make or break seasons in 2020

Kansas City Chiefs entering make or break season in 2020

The amount of hate Eric Fisher gets from Kansas City Chiefs fans is honestly unfair. No, he won’t ever live up to being the top overall pick in 2013, but take a look at the top ten of that draft and Fisher has certainly outperformed his peers.

Fisher’s career as a Chief started rather shaky, but he has slowly improved into an above average left tackle who rarely misses playing time. When the former top pick did miss time in 2019, it quickly became apparent how valuable he was, as the offensive line struggled mightily with his replacement in.

Fisher is – in all honesty – a bit overpaid. He’s an above average tackle getting paid like a fringe Pro Bowler, but the Chiefs have certainly given worse contracts over the years and I’d argue they’d sign him to the exact same deal if they could do it again.

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So, why is he listed here? Well, to start with, even with solid play there isn’t a doubt that Fisher has been overpaid. Now there are times when teams can get away, even benefit, with overpaying certain players, but with Patrick Mahomes and Jones both in line for big contracts, the Kansas City Chiefs can’t afford to do so.

Kansas City drafted Lucas Niang in the third round this year and all signs indicate the long-term plan is to make him a tackle. Mitchell Schwartz should still have a few years left as an All-Pro player, so unless the intention is to keep Niang as a backup or slot him in at guard, the Chiefs are planning to make him Fisher’s replacement.

Luckily for Fisher, he still has a chance to secure his position. Niang is nowhere near ready to play left tackle, so Fisher has at least a season to prove himself. Offensive linemen can generally play at a high level into their mid-thirties, so if Fisher (at 29 years old) can improve his play to becoming a truly good left tackle, it’ll be very difficult for the Chiefs to replace him with an unknown.

That being said, the Chiefs will need to cut costs before long and if Fisher doesn’t have a big year in 2020 he could be at the top of the list.

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These five Chiefs need to do everything in their power to prove they’re worth keeping around. Otherwise, 2020 could be their final season with the Kansas City Chiefs.