This is The Gridiron Review’s Kansas City Chiefs 2023 Offseason Team Breakdown. We provide you with all things you need to know about the Chiefs heading into FA and the draft. We also provide our thoughts on the needs of the team and how we think they can be addressed!
Kansas City Chiefs 2022 Record: 14-3
Kansas City Chiefs Salary Cap(According to Spotrac): $17,807,600
Notable Free Agents(According to Spotrac):
- Jerick McKinnon, RB
- Michael Burton, FB
- JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR
- Mecole Hardman, WR
- Justin Watson, WR
- Jody Fortson, TE
- Orlando Brown Jr, OT
- Andrew Wylie, OT
- Carlos Dunlap, DL
- Derrick Nnadi, DL
- Khalen Saunders, DL
- Juan Thornhill, S
Team Needs: WR, OL, DL, DB(Depth)
3 Free Agent Targets(In No Order):
- Allen Lazard, WR
- Taylor Lewan, OT
- Mike McGlinchey, OT
Kansas City Chiefs First Round Pick(s): Pick 31
3 Draft Prospect Fits/Targets:
- Darnell Washington, TE, Georgia
- Anton Harrison, OT, Oklahoma
- Calijah Kancey, DL, Pitt
Our Chiefs Ideal Offseason Plans/Thoughts:
- The fact that Mahomes is under contract and they still have $17 million in cap is absolutely mind boggling. Now granted they are a young team with a ton of players on rookie deals, but for a team coming off a Super Bowl win to have that much money and not a ton of huge free agents is pretty nuts.
- The Chiefs are set to lose three pretty important pieces to their WR room in JuJu, Watson, and Hardman. Watson will more than likely be brought back, but there seems to be questions around JuJu and Hardman being brought back primarily in regards to what they may have to pay them. We don’t suspect either to get that big of a pay day, but it could be more than the Chiefs are willing to spend on either guy. They still have MVS under contract as well as Toney, who they traded for, and 2nd rounder Skyy Moore. Not to mention UDFA Justyn Ross, who could find the field at some point next season. We expect both Toney and Moore to take leaps next year and solidify themselves as starters or at least bigger parts of the rotation, but the room could still use a bigger body and some depth. At first when I heard MVS was trying to recruit Lazard I was like well that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but now that I’ve had a chance to look at the Chiefs roster and FAs it actually makes a ton of sense.
- With Kelce still playing at such a high level we don’t think TE is a need, but we do think they need to think about the future of the position. They have Noah Gray who they seem to love, but is he really Kelce’s replacement? It’s hard to see him falling this far after his Combine performance, but if Georgia’s Darnell Washington was there at pick 31 that would be an insane successor to Kelce and TE2 for the next couple seasons. Sam LaPorta could be an option as well. With how strong this TE class is, they should take advantage.
- The Chiefs may have the best interior offensive line in football(Thuney, Humphrey, Smith). They are going to need tackles though. Andrew Wylie is coming off a pretty rough 2022 at RT. Also, LT Orlando Brown wasn’t franchise tagged, which suggests they could be heading toward divorce. Keep in mind the better they can keep the offensive line, the safer Mahomes is, which could extend Mahomes career. The Chiefs have money to spend right now, they should throw it at lineman once again. If Taylor Lewan is serious about wanting to keep playing he could be a really good fit in KC to replace Brown at LT. Mike McGlinchey though could be the name to watch as he could supply the Chiefs with stellar RT play for the foreseeable future. We are much higher on Oklahoma’s Anton Harrison than most, so in my opinion Harrison won’t be here at pick 31, but if he is they should absolutely take him. He would be an unbelievable steal here, and should supply great tackle play for years to come. The depth of the offensive line overall needs to be addressed.
- With Carlos Dunlap a FA and Frank Clark being released, the Chiefs are going to need to find a DE/edge rusher to pair with 1st rounder George Karlaftis. On the interior, both Nnadi and Saunders are FAs. Expect at least one of them to be brought back as both are bigger guys who are great for early downs and goal line. They could still use another body or two on the interior though. If Nnadi or Saunders are brought back for early downs, the Chiefs could look at somebody like Pitt’s Calijah Kancey to rotate in early in his career on passing downs as a pass rush threat next to Chris Jones.
- Overall, the Chiefs had unbelievable play from rookie DBs this season(J. Williams, McDuffie, J.Watson, and Cook). Cook should take over as the starting safety next to Reid next season. The starting CBs should be in good shape as well as they invested a lot last offseason, but both rooms overall could use some depth.