Kansas City Chiefs free agency 2018: Top 5 targets
The Kansas City Chiefs are perennial playoff contenders, but to take the next step, they need to add some playmakers on defense in free agency.
The Chiefs began the season on a torrid pace. They upset the Patriots in New England on opening night and scored 164 over their first five games, going 5-0 during that stretch with talk of Alex Smith as the league’s MVP while Kareem Hunt was running away with Rookie of the Year honors. Kansas City then lost six of their last seven and crashed back to Earth in a big way. The Chiefs finished strong with four straight wins before unsuspectingly losing to the Titans in Kansas City during the Wild Card round. It couldn’t have been a more up and down season.
Quickly after the season, Alex Smith was shipped to Washington to pave the way for Patrick Mahomes as well as adding cap space, a third round pick and a quality cornerback in 22-year-old Kendall Fuller. Darrelle Revis was since released, but the Chiefs are still tight against the cap and will have to be somewhat frugal with their free agency spending even though there could be more moves coming to open space under the cap. Tamba Hali will most likely be released and Derrick Johnson should be asked to restructure his contract.
Kansas City might very well franchise Dustin Colquitt. Bennie Logan and Albert Wilson are the Chiefs most prominent free agents. While Kansas City had added an extra third round pick, they are without a selection in the first round due to the Mahomes trade. The Chiefs do get Eric Berry back from injury, which can’t be overstated.
5. Geno Smith
Chiefs fans probably are not doing cartwheels with the thought of adding Smith. However, Alex Smith is gone and Kansas City could use a backup for Mahomes and preferably a backup with some athletic ability to execute this style of offense. Smith wouldn’t be all that expensive and he has shown that he has a place in this league.
Of course Andy Reid will be focusing on Mahomes-rightfully so-but maybe Reid can get more out of Smith than other coaches have in the past and therefore, make Smith Kansas City’s long term backup. Mahomes’ future is extremely bright and his play in the NFL has been promising in a small sample size, but to just assume that he is going to immediately ascend to being a great NFL quarterback would be foolish.
The Chiefs might need Smith to play here and there as Mahomes learns the game or possibly gets injured. We do know that Mahomes has extreme playmaking skills, but also has recklessness to his game. Smith isn’t perfect, but there are not of quarterbacks on the market with this style of play that could work for Kansas City at a reasonable cost. Smith should fit that bill and might just be more useful than you think.