Good read from NFL Network's Michael Lombardi on the upcoming NFL free agency period.
He talks about the three different waves of free agency. The market setters, which are the guys that will get paid within the first few days of the start of free agency; the best value on the board guys, which is the second wave of free agency and some of the best values out there relative to what you pay; finally, the "prove it to me" group, which are the guys that didn't get the big money deal and may opt for a one-year contract to increase their value next year.
This reminded me something about the Chiefs free agency philosophy under GM Scott Pioli. Usually, the Chiefs aren't one of the teams right out of the gate spending money left and right. KC hasn't really had that marquee free agent under Pioli.
The contracts done in the first few days of free agency are usually the really, really big ones. That's usually when you see teams overpaying to get the guy they want but that doesn't necessarily mean this is an area the Chiefs should stay away from. Sometimes a good deal is an expensive one, too.
The Chiefs have reminded us that they a lot of cap space because they intend to use it so I'm wondering if Pioli will be a little more active early in free agency. We usually predict what the Chiefs will do based on past behavior but the way the Chiefs have been talking this year feels different.