The Kansas City Chiefs were preparing for this moment. They figured they would be losing Sean Smith to free agency. Go back to 2014 when the Chiefs used a third round pick on Phillip Gaines and then in 2015 when they used a first round pick on Marcus Peters and a third round pick on Steven Nelson. That's three high draft picks on a cornerback. They knew this day was coming.
Sean Smith is gone to Oakland on a four-year, $40 million deal. Terez Paylor reports the Chiefs were not close to matching that contract. If the Chiefs aren't going to pay $10 million per year to someone they know and like I suspect they're not going to pay significant money to any free agent corner. Good thing then, I guess, there aren't many Sean Smith-caliber corners available.
The Chiefs three biggest needs heading into this thing were cornerback, defensive line and offensive tackle. They took care of the d-line by re-signing Jaye Howard and added Mitch Schwartz at offensive tackle. That leaves cornerback, which looks like the Chiefs biggest need by far.
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Where do the Chiefs go from here? Marcus Peters and Phillip Gaines are as of now the Chiefs top two corners. The Chiefs like them and feel good about them. As much as we hope guys like Nelson develop, everyone else is a question mark.
This means that to be safe the Chiefs probably need to consider another veteran corner in free agency. Check out Rotoworld's list of the best available free agents. They can add someone who plays on the outside like Prince Amukamara or Patrick Robinson and stick Gaines back on the inside. Or they can keep Gaines on the outside and sign someone like Casey Heyward or Brandon Boykin to play inside. Keep an eye on the second and third wave of free agency too as the Chiefs may not spend big money here.
The Chiefs can also consider a cornerback in the draft. Marcus Peters was the 18th pick and won defensive rookie of the year. While the Chiefs don't pick quite that high (28 this year) it shows there are immediate contributors to be had even in the back end of the first round. Ohio State's Eli Apple and Clemson's Mackensie Alexander are names that have been mentioned at No. 28.
Where do you want to find another corner?