FanPost

Forget the Draft; Mock 2011 Chiefs Off-Season!

As a die hard Chiefs fan, every year around this time I start thinking off season and the moves necessary to put together a championship caliber team. This year, I'm going to put it on the interwebs and see what kind of criticism I can get. Please tell me where I'm wrong or misguided. Please tell me if you think I've gotten something right.

One thing you'll notice is, I've kept most of this team intact. No major moves. I don't believe we're missing any major moving parts to become a high caliber team other than a good Nose Tackle. With that being said, I hope you enjoy, if nothing else get a good laugh at, my 2011 Chiefs Off-Season.

First we need to assess what our needs are going to be.

Off-Season Needs (In no particular order):

  1. NT- Ron Edwards proved to be okay this year, but okay isn't going to get you the Lombardi.

  2. OLB- Mike Vrabel is done after this year. He's old. We need to get a new one.

  3. OL- Waters and Weigmann are done in the next couple of years.

  4. WR- Need another threat to take some heat off Dwayne Bowe.

  5. OL- See #3

  6. CB- Depth. Plain and simple depth.

  7. Backup QB- Brokie's honestly just shown absolutely nothing to make us want to keep him.

First stop, Free Agency. Assuming we don't see a lock out next year, here are a few Free Agents to look at:

Free Agents of Interest:

QB-Brady Quinn-DEN- Really makes me wish Weiss were sticking around. Either way, Quinn has shown promise in the past as a back up in Cleveland coming in for Derek Anderson. I just don't think he can handle all the pressure of being a #1.

QB-Marc Bulger-BAL- A good veteran presence would be helpful in the locker room and on the sideline.

QB-Todd Collins-CHI- Same as above.

FB-Korey Hall-GB- A good pass catcher and an even better blocker out of the backfield. I see a little Tony Richardson likeness in him.

WR-James Jones-GB- Could be a reliable #2 for years to come.

WR-Mike Sims-Walker-JAX- Same as above. We'd go one or the other.

WR-Lance Moore-NO- A very productive wide out that would fit in the slot very well here with one of the two named above.

WR-Danny Amendola-STL- Experts are calling him the next Wes Welker. That would fit in very well in this New England themed team.

NT-Aubrayo Franklin-SF- A good NT looking for a long term deal. Let's give it to him.

NT-Antonio Johnson-IND- I'll put it lightly, he's not light. He's a big middle man and he'd dominate the middle of the line.

I'm going to assume that we'll pull in Quinn, Hall and Franklin for a decent Free Agency period. I'm not sure that Sims-Walker will leave Jacksonville, nor will GB, NO, or STL let their wide outs go. All in all good moves. Let's look at our list again, taking out the 3 acquisitions:

  1. OLB- Mike Vrabel is done after this year. He's old. We need to get a new one.

  2. OL- Waters and Weigmann are done in the next couple of years.

  3. WR- Need another threat to take some heat off Dwayne Bowe.

  4. OL- See #3

  5. CB- Depth. Plain and simple depth.

Now on to every fans favorite heartburn inducer, the NFL Draft. Last year we were all scratching our heads when we heard names like McCluster, Arenas, and Moeaki called when the Chiefs were on the board. This year may be not so different. I've got a draft board myself, which if called upon, I will post, but it's a rather large one so I'm just going to post my picks with a little analysis of why they were chosen. I'm assuming that we have 1 pick in the first through fourth rounds and the seventh round, 3 picks in the fifth round, and none in the sixth. Also included are alternates that should be considered if the primary isn't available.

The 2011 NFL Draft:

Round 1-OLB Akeem Ayers-UCLA-After picking up Abrayou Franklin in Free Agency, the NT need is not as prevelent as before. We must plan for Mike Vrabel's departure and pick up a dominant OLB. (Alternates: C/G Mike Pouncey-Florida, NT Jerrell Powe-Ole Miss or OT Joseph Barksdale-LSU)

Round 2-G Marcus Cannon-TCU-Cannon will compete with Asamoah and Lilja for the starting RG position, with Asamoah winning that battle, and Cannon lining up to take over LG duties for Brian Waters next year. (Alternates: C/G Stefen Wisniewski-Penn St., C Kristofer O'Dowd-USC, DT Muhammed Wilkerson-Temple, WR DeVeir Posey-Ohio St., WR Austin Pettis-Boise St., CB Jimmy Smith-Colorado or RB Daniel Thomas-KSU)

Round 3-OT DeMarcus Love-Ark.-While Branden Albert had pretty stellar play this year, our right side is still pretty weak. Barry Richardson was okay at best, so I'd expect Love to come in and compete to start. (Alternates: TE Zach Pianalto-UNC, NT Kendrick Ellis-Hampton, G/C John Moffit-Wisc., C Alex Linnenkohl-Oregon St. or DT Jarvis Jenkins-Clemson)

Round 4-WR DeAndre Brown-Southern Miss-Brown would compete for the #2 WR spot with Chris Chambers and Verran Tucker. (Alternates: WR Terrence Toliver-LSU or OLB Derrell Smith-Syracuse)

Round 5-CB Chris Harris-KU-Depth at CB, a solid #4. He's got good size and decent speed.

Round 5-C/G Colin Baxter-Arizona-We need to start planning on Waters and Weigmann leaving, so picking up additional interior linemen won't hamper us one bit.

Round 5-NT Anthony Gray-Southern Miss-Depth at first, he may very well push himself up the depth chart with stellar play. (Alternates: OLB Kenny Rowe-Oregon or WR Marshall Williams-Wake Forest)

Round 7-OLB Chris Walker-Tennessee-As much as I hate to say it, even Tamba needs a breather every now and again. (Alternate: QB Greg McElroy-'Bama)

Now that we've been through the 2 major Off-Season seasons, I'll close with my final 53 man Depth Chart.

2011 Depth Chart:

*-Rookie

**-Free Agent

Offense:

QB-Matt Cassell

QB-Brady Quinn**

QB-Tyler Palko

RB-Jamaal Charles

RB-Thomas Jones

RB-Jackie Battle

FB-Korey Hall**

WR-Dwayne Bowe

WR-DeAndre Brown*

WR-Dexter McCluster

WR-Chris Chambers

WR-Verran Tucker

WR-Terrence Copper

TE-Tony Moeaki

TE-Leonard Pope

TE-Brad Cottom

LT-Branden Albert

LT-DeMarcus Love*

LG-Brian Waters

LG-Marcus Cannon*

C-Casey Weigmann

C-Colin Baxter*

RG-John Asamoah

RG-Ryan Lilja

RT-Barry Richardson

RT-Ryan O'Callaghan

Defense:

LDE-Shaun Smith

LDE-Tyson Jackson

NT- Aubrayo Franklin**

NT-Ron Edwards

NT-Anthony Gray*

RDE-Glenn Dorsey

RDE-Wallace Gilberry

LOLB-Akeem Ayers*

LOLB-Andy Studebaker

ILB-Derrick Johnson

ILB-Jovan Belcher

ILB-Demorrio Williams

ILB-Corey Mays

ROLB-Tamba Hali

ROLB-Cameron Sheffield

CB-Brandon Flowers

CB-Brandon Carr

CB-Javier Arenas

CB-Chris Harris*

CB-Travis Daniels

CB-Ricky Price

FS-Kendrick Lewis

FS-John McGraw

SS-Eric Berry

SS-Donald Washington

Special Teams:

K-Ryan Succop

P-Dustin Colquitt

KR-Dexter McCluster

PR-Javier Arenas

And there you have it ArrowheadPride. I'm a long time lurker, first time poster. Tell me what you think!!!

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Arrowhead Pride's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Arrowhead Pride writers or editors.