Three free agents the Chiefs should target
Tyler Brown
The legal tampering period is about to pass, and the official start of free agency is about to begin. Many 2024 free agents are about to be officially off the board, but many remain ripe for the taking in the Kansas City Chiefs’ quest for a three-peat.
Nobody has ever won three Super Bowls in a row, so you have to think general manager Brett Veach and the front office want to do everything they reasonably can to make history. Last night it was
reported that the Chiefs are restructuring Mahomes to clear over $21 million in cap space.
Per Over the Cap, that leaves the Chiefs with at least $15 million to play with, which can go a long way. For example, defensive end Chris Jones just signed for five years and over $158 million, but only has a cap hit of just north of $7 million in 2024. There is also nearly $20 million that franchise tag cornerback L’Jarius Sneed is accounting for right now, which would all go away if the trade rumors become a reality.
Yesterday, the Chiefs signed tight end Irv Smith Jr. to $1.3 million to most likely replace Blake Bell, who is a free agent. While Kansas City has been quiet thus far, they have cap space to make some solid moves. Last year it was linebacker Drue Tranquill, safety Mike Edwards and defensive end Charles Omenihu that the Chiefs signed a little bit later on in free agency and all three played a key role in leading them to a championship.
With all that being said, here are three potential future Chiefs that should be on Kansas City’s wish list, filling their biggest needs.
Wide Receiver, Marquise “Hollywood” Brown
It was reported by Nate Taylor of the Athletic on Monday that the Chiefs were potentially interested in free-agent wide receivers Darnell Mooney and Curtis Samuel. While Samuel is still available, Mooney went ahead and signed in Atlanta for $39 million over three years. On the surface, that appears like a lot for a guy who has only one 1,000-yard season. The reality is it is in line with other signings in recent years such as the deals Marquez Valdez-Scantling and Juju Smith Schuster signed when you adjust for the inflation of the salary cap.
The other wide receiver handed out a bigger contract so far in free agency was Gabe Davis. Former Buffalo Bill Gabe Davis signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars for basically the same deal Mooney did, three years for $39 million. Davis’ career high in a season is 836 yards.
My point in saying that is Hollywood Brown will sign for more than Mooney and Davis in all likelihood. While Brown only has one 1,000-yard season to his name himself, he comes in with a much higher pedigree. That career season came with the Baltimore Ravens in a very run-heavy scheme and his two years with the Arizona Cardinals have been less than an ideal quarterback situation.
Then there have also been the injuries that have held Brown back a bit. In his five years, he has played 14, 16, 16, 12 and 14 games. The good news is that he fits into the typical Veach profile, being a highly touted speedy deep threat who is only 26 years old. With his age, there is reason to believe that he could produce like he did in his Ravens days with the brilliance of Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid at the helm. Brown is different from deep threats like Mecole Hardman and Valdez-Scantling in that he can run short and intermediate routes as well. He can also beat man coverage with more success.
Brown feels like a dream match for a Patrick Mahomes and Reid offense. He would complement Rashee Rice’s YAC ability and Travis Kelce’s zone-beating play style extremely well. When you can spend $13 million on receivers like Davis or Mooney, I would personally rather fork out $5 million more per year to obtain the better and more versatile fit. There is also Calvin Ridley looming out there, but it sounds like that is currently a battle between the Jaguars and New England Patriots. Ridley and Brown are the only potential number-one receivers left on the market unless some receivers get released.
Defensive End, Mike Danna
It seemed like a foregone conclusion that defensive end Mike Danna had played his last snaps in Kansas City. The edge rusher market has been sort of all over the place though. There have been some higher-end guys getting paid big money, but the mid-level guys like Danna have already taken some palatable deals.
Leonard Floyd signed for $20 million over two years, Za’Darius Smith $23.5 million over two, Josh Uche $3 million for one, Marcus Davenport $6.45 million for one and A.J. Espenesa $12 million over two. Some of these examples are older veterans, but Uche, Davenport and Espenesa are all comparable to Danna.
The need for Danna or someone similar cannot be overstated. He started 16 games last season, Charles Omenihu is coming off a torn ACL in the AFC Championship game and 2023 first-rounder Felix Anudkie-Uzomah has very little experience in the NFL, let alone filling a starting role.
If the Chiefs can sign Danna in the 6 million dollar range, perhaps including some incentives, Kansas City would be wise to bring the 26-year-old home. It is not just the starting edge role that would need filling, as much of the time he kicks inside on obvious passing downs to allow the more explosive edge rushers to feast. Danna finished fourth on the team in sacks with 6.5 in 2023.
Left Tackle, Jonah Williams
The theme I am sticking with here is filling out starter roles so that the Chiefs do not have to draft for need and can stick to their best player available board. The Chiefs are pretty much set at every single position aside from these three, in terms of their first-string depth chart. You could make an argument for a nose tackle, but the Chiefs did trade for Neil Farrell last year and just resigned Mike Pennel.
The last position I want to talk about here is the left tackle situation. If the Chiefs had to suit up to play a game today, they do have a left tackle in Wanya Morris, who will be entering his second year. Morris did start four games as a rookie, stepping in for veteran Donovan Smith. Reviews were mixed, as he was both far from a train wreck and dominant.
The Chiefs have a few approaches they can take here. They can follow the 2023 blueprint by signing a mid-to-low-level left tackle to compete with Morris, they could sign a higher-end left tackle and allow Morris to be groomed another year, or they can draft one to compete or start.
The Chiefs trusting Morris to play in 2023 says a lot, so I would go with the approach of bringing in a veteran to compete with him. Of course, if you sign the legendary Tyron Smith, Smith will be starting with Morris backing him up, but then again Smith has not played a full season since 2015. He did play 13 games last season, though and was PFF’s fourth highest-rated tackle. He would be a phenomenal mentor to Morris and it would be fun to watch him solidify his Hall of Fame resume.
There are a couple of Veach Specials out there though. The two that come to mind are former first-rounders, Mekhi Becton and Jonah Williams. They were both taken with the 11th overall pick in back-to-back years in 2019 and 2020. Becton is a mammoth, standing at six-foot-seven, 363 pounds, which worries me in an Andy Reid offense.
Williams is six-foot-five, 312 pounds and is a much better mover. He also has both left and right tackle experience. He was sort of the scapegoat for Joe Burrow taking all of those sacks, which prompted the Cincinnati Bengals to sign Orlando Brown Jr. to unseat Williams at left and they switched him over to right. The reality is Mahomes is a magician in the backfield and does not take many sacks, and is friendly to his linemen in that way.
Another stat to note is according to PFF, Williams allowed 41 pressures in 2023, 43 in 2022 and 42 in 2021. For a frame of reference, Brown, who played one of these seasons with Williams and the other two with Mahomes at quarterback, tallied 59, 47 and 36. There is reason to believe Williams could perform better in the Reid offense. This could be a one-year rental to play ahead of Morris, or it could even be a value on a potential long-term deal. He was drafted at pick 11 for a reason, and he is not the train wreck he is made out to be. The Chiefs have many options here, though.
Next week I will take a look at who the Chiefs could add more for depth, much like the Smith Jr. signing. Positions like running back and the defensive backfield could use some bodies, especially if the Chiefs lose Sneed. We should have more clarity then on where the Chiefs are at with their roster construction and the cap space situation.
