PFT: Chiefs Team Needs

Team needs: Kansas City Chiefs
Posted by Evan Silva on April 14, 2011, 5:50 PM EDT
Scott Pioli AP

In just their second year on the job, G.M. Scott Pioli and coach Todd Haley returned the Kansas City Chiefs to the playoffs for the first time since 2006. They used a decidedly run-first philosophy, leading the league in rushing attempts and rushing yards. Despite a late-season collapse — the Chiefs were outscored 61-17 in their last two games — this club appears to be on the right track.

OL: In last year’s draft, the Chiefs somewhat surprisingly passed on consensus top tackle Russell Okung in favor of safety Eric Berry. The pick looks O.K. an offseason later, but there’s a reason Kansas City was so heavily linked to linemen with its 2010 first-round pick. Quarterback Matt Cassel has a poor feel for the pass rush, and right tackle Barry Richardson is atrocious in protection. Left guard Brian Waters is 34, center Casey Wiegmann may retire, and left tackle Branden Albert has been inconsistent. If Pioli gets a chance to draft Gabe Carimi or Derek Sherrod at No. 21, we’d be pretty shocked if he passed.

WR: Projected No. 2 receiver Chris Chambers called it a career after the Chiefs handed him a $12 million contract last spring, ultimately losing his job to rotating no-names. By season’s end, top wideout Dwayne Bowe was drawing double coverage or a safety over the top on every snap. Bowe seems to have finally realized his potential, but is entering a contract year with only the likes of Jerheme Urban, Jeremy Horne, Verran Tucker, and Chambers’ carcass behind him.

DL: The Chiefs got more out of nose tackle Ron Edwards and left end Shaun Smith than we would’ve guessed last year; both aging vets defended the run well and created matchup problems with their size. Wallace Gilberry, a situational rush end, was quietly phenomenal replacing Smith on third downs. But Edwards, Smith, and Gilberry’s contracts have all expired, and former No. 3 overall pick Tyson Jackson hasn’t shown anything to suggest he’s a viable starter. That leaves Glenn Dorsey as the only returning lineman locked into a featured role.

LB: Tamba Hali had a breakout year in his first taste of Romeo Crennel’s scheme, and the Chiefs rewarded him with a franchise tag that will pay Hali over $10.5 million in 2011. Kansas City has other interesting youngsters behind Hali — Andy Studebaker and Cameron Sheffield — but neither of them is established, nor does either offer an explosive element that could make Hali even more dangerous on the opposite end of the field. Incumbent starter Mike Vrabel is a free agent, and produced zero sacks in 16 starts last season.

Overview: The Chiefs won’t stay atop the AFC West without continued, annual influxes of talent. They have eight picks in this year’s draft and, ideally, will come away with a field-stretching receiver, starting right tackle, and at least two impact additions in the defensive front seven.

Just don’t forget that Cassel tanked after last year’s late-season firing of offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, his completion rate dropping to 39.2 after word broke of Weis’ dismissal. And that’s why we ranked offensive line and receiver ahead of Kansas City’s defensive needs. In order for Cassel to continue to make strides, the Chiefs’ primary focus April 28-30 should be to upgrade his supporting cast.

Jackson will start at DE. Richardson will start at RT.

WR is bar none the biggest need.

Shaun Smith and Wallace Gillberry NEED to be resigned.

If we don't get Phil Taylor in the first, we might need Edwards back as well while we develop/rotate the next NT. It would be nice though if Jackson does indeed break out, and Shaun Smith can start at NT if we don't land Taylor.

We need a few OL, Center might be the biggest priority there. And a LB or two would be nice also. I think we can get away with what we have there if the DL plays better... but upgrades can never hurt.

We can land our true NT and get the WR help we need. Taylor in one and it is looking like Hankerson will fall in rnd 2 now. Hankerson will be a very good wr in the NFL. Not sure why he is falling. The C I am wanting us to get is also falling somewhat. Some have Odowd going in 4 now. I would love for the draft to go Taylor-Hankerson-Ponder-Odowd for KC. I think that alone would make this a better draft than last year...and I think last years was the best to date for KC. The one thing it doesnt address though is the T position which I do think is a pos of need.

Eric Berry was the best player in the draft..We needed an upgrade at the safety position..

I loved that pick at 5...

Teams are red-flagging DT Phil Taylor's feet

Every year there are players who slip on draft day and leave all of us befuddled. Later, we typically find out that the player had medical concerns pop up, leading to the unfortunate drop.

Injury concerns have led to unstable stock for Clemson defensive end Da'Quan Bowers and Alabama running back Mark Ingram this year. They aren't the only first round talents being downgraded due to medical red-flags, I'm being told.

Baylor defensive tackle Phil Taylor, himself a veteran of 43 games played, is also under scrutiny. Apparently during his Combine check, there were various injuries that caused teams some concern, the most serious of which involves both feet.

Taylor, according to MRIs taken at the Combine, has bones growing together in his feet. The condition, which according to the source is not correctable through surgery, is a pain tolerance issue. Considering that Taylor played much of his senior season at 330-340 pounds -- and has allowed his weight to get into the 380s in the past -- teams are concerned that his weight will only make the injury tougher to handle. "If he was a 190 pound player, it might be different. Or, if he was an older player and you were only signing him for a few years, it might be different," a source said. "But, it is pretty hard to invest a first round pick in a player who you know coming in is being red-flagged by the doctors."

"This isn't just our team, by the way. Every team gets the MRIs. Every other team is seeing this too."

I tested that theory, as it is important to remember that this is the time of year for NFL sources insinuating the truth (and, in the cases of some, flat-out lying) in an effort to push players down the board. Therefore, I contacted other sources within the league and did confirm with another source that Taylor's injuries were being red-flagged by his team's doctors, as well.

Well that sucks! I wonder how much this will affect him? I dont know what to think now, that would leave Carimi or Ayers for the 1st round unless you reach for a guy like Hankerson. I dont understand why walters has Odowd and Jerrel Powe in the 5th round. Powe may be a better fit for our defense anyway, i dont think he falls into the 5th.

Odowd's just not good. Taylor dominated him like a tranny does a 30 year old virgin during the Senior Bowl practices. It does really suck to hear that about Taylor's feet.

Hopefully Taylor falls to us because of it. I'd still take him.

Redskins | Looking to trade down?
Mon, 18 Apr 2011 07:25:03 -0700

The Washington Redskins are looking to trade down in the first round of the NFL Draft with the idea they will select either Florida State QB Christian Ponder or TCU quarterback Andy Dalton, reports Pete Prisco, of CBSSports.com, according to a league source. The Redskins, who pick No. 10 overall, would like to get a second-round pick from a team in exchange for moving back to their spot in the first round. They could then use their two second-round picks to bolster the defense.

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Read more: http://www.kffl.com/hotw/nfl#ixzz1JtVon3kP


Okay Rust.. do you think it would be worth it to trade 21 and 55 to get J. Jones? Not sure where I am at on this one. I think Hankerson is going to be good and available at 55. At the same time I do think Jones is gonna be a stud.

Over the weekend Rob Rang of CBSSports.com reported that several teams (or more) are red-flagging Baylor DT Phil Taylor in the 2011 NFL draft because of a condition in his feet in which his bones are growing together. The CBSSports.com report says it's not correctable through surgery and is more of a pain-tolerance issue, but could be a problem later down the line.



Hmm. Less than two weeks before the draft, word gets leaked out that this player is suffering from an injury. Though I don't know Rang's source, I wouldn't be surprised if it was someone who has an interest in Taylor falling down draft boards. Perhaps a GM from a team drafting late in the first round or early in the second hoping Taylor will fall. It's Liars' Month, so you have to take that into account.

That said, multiple reports are now coming out about Taylor's foot issue. Peter King of SI.com reports at least one team has scratched him from their draft board for that issue so that, combined with Rang's report, indicates that there's likely some truth to this.

A foot injury on a guy who is holding three hundred-plus pounds isn't a good situation in my non-expert opinion. The Chiefs generally go for safe picks with high floors as opposed to high ceilings and this injury could create a situation where there are simply too many unknowns.

Maybe Taylor was never on the Chiefs draft board but this information -- which, to teams, probably isn't new information -- makes you think twice about putting him at No. 21 on your mock draft.

Wasn't there a knock on Dorseys feet or knee coming into the draft? Taylor will probally be alright.

Yeah and Dorsey is a surefire probowler every year.

What to expect from Thomas Jones at 33
April, 18, 2011 Apr 1810:00AM ETEmail Print Comments9 By Bill WilliamsonWhen the Kansas City Chiefs signed running back Thomas Jones to a two-year, $5 million deal last year, they wanted some of Jones’ experience and work ethic to help mentor young running back Jamaal Charles and to keep him fresh.



Thomas Jones
#20 RB
Kansas City Chiefs
2010 STATS

Rush
245 Yds
896 TD
6 Rec
14 Yds
122 TD
0

It worked in the first year of the combination, in which Kansas City led the NFL in rushing. Jones had 896 yards on 245 carries. Charles had 1,467 yards (the second most in the league) on 230 carries.

Recently, Kansas City coach Todd Haley said Jones will be brought back in 2011.

“I couldn’t be more excited about what Thomas Jones has brought to this team both as a player and as a leader,” Haley said. “He’s the epitome of the same guy every day. We’ve got a little plan for Thomas that I’m excited about getting to. I’m excited to have Thomas back. He’s a big part of what we’re doing.”

Yet, the Chiefs may have to be prepared to give Charles a bigger role. Jones will turn 33 in August. He didn’t have more than 68 yards in the final six games of the regular season. His per carry average was 3.4 or fewer in five of those games. Jones had 15 yards on five carries in a playoff loss to Baltimore.

Jones will be faced with the challenge of age moving forward. According to Jason Vida of ESPN Stats & Information, only three running backs in NFL history have rushed for at least 1,000 yards in a season when they were 33 or older on December 31st of that year. The last to do it was John Riggins in 1984 when he ran for 1,239 yards at the age of 35.

Jones should still be able to help keep Kansas City’s ground game elite in 2011, but his late 2010 slide and history at the position is further evidence that it is time to give Charles a bigger role in the offense.

Now everyone can stop talking about a RB in the 1st 4 picks.

We have the best RB in Football, if Jones goes downhill there are plenty of #2's around

GOD wrote:

We have the best RB in Football, if Jones goes downhill there are plenty of #2's around

You would be surprised how many yanks on here have calling for Ingram and a back all the way down to the 4th round.

I dont think we will go after a RB in the first 5 rounds. I am starting to think it makes since for us to take a guy who can come in and play RT way better than Richardson right away, hell maybe even LT better than Albert. There will be great value in a Tackle like Carimi or Solder at pick 21. A guy like Ayers would have a huge impact for our defense, but we could wait until round two and get a guy like Carter at OLB. Powe might be available in the 3rd at NT.

This is actually a deep WR class.
Guys like Doss, Gates, and Young could be had later and play right away.

BigRatt wrote:

GOD wrote:

We have the best RB in Football, if Jones goes downhill there are plenty of #2's around

You would be surprised how many yanks on here have calling for Ingram and a back all the way down to the 4th round.

Ingram would be a terrible pick. Not that Ingram is bad, just not what we need.

I don't think this is a very good draft class. I wouldn't be against trading up for someone like Jones. If they can't(and probably wouldn't anyways) I would just try trading down. The talent drop won't be too much if any and we could use more solid players. Hopefully there is a player another teams wants where we are.

There is talk like some of the guys drafting in top 10 might want to move back into the late 1st to get one of the QB's after Newton and Gabbert. I'd love to go back into the top of the second and get another pick or 2.

GOD wrote:

There is talk like some of the guys drafting in top 10 might want to move back into the late 1st to get one of the QB's after Newton and Gabbert. I'd love to go back into the top of the second and get another pick or 2.

that would be nice. Several good players there in the 2nd.