Hey guys!
After the better part of a week spent without internet at the new house (and AP refusing to let me sign in on my phone) I've finally gotten the chance to sit down and write this. With how much news has been swirling around the Chiefs this preseason, it's been a bit of a wild ride, and personally, I've loved every second of it. The Reggie Ragland move made a ton of sense to me (and to non-Chiefs fans as well, as NFL.com's Marc Sessler predicted the move over a month ago) and as I'm writing, rumors that the Chiefs are interested in former Pro Bowl CB Joe Haden are spreading through twitter like wildfire. (For what it's worth, I don't think Chiefs go after Haden. He reportedly refused to take a pay cut in Cleveland, so he might want big money, which the Chiefs simply don't have right now.)
However, I'm not here to speculate, I'm here to use my prophetic powers to tell you exactly what will happen when the Chiefs make their final cut-downs. Don't believe me? Just watch.
This is the first edition of a weekly series, where I will, in all seriousness, make my no-fail prediction and picks for the week's games, both Chiefs and otherwise. Welcome to the Spoiler Alert.
(Starters will be denoted in italics, rookies with an asterisk)
53 Man Roster: Offense (25)
QB: 3
Alex Smith
Patrick Mahomes*
Tyler Bray
My Take: This is a pretty standard prediction, and although I'm not a big fan of Tyler Bray, he's a better option than Stave is right now. While I'd prefer to see the Chiefs trade Alex and start Mahomes, another season with Alex will probably deliver us to the Divisional Round, at least.
RB: 4
Kareem Hunt*
Charcandrick West
CJ Spiller
Anthony Sherman
My Take: With the injury to Ware, Hunt is the clear-cut RB1 in this group, and Charknado/CJ Spiller will probably take some snaps here and there. Not fantastic, but a solid backfield.
WR: 6
Tyreek Hill
Chris Conley
De'Anthony Thomas
Demarcus Robinson
Jehu Chesson*
Seantavius Jones
My Take: This is a very weak WR corps, plain and simple. I like Hill and Conley, but the depth is just... eh. Chesson and Jones could earn snaps early on, I believe, but don't expect big numbers from anyone but Hill in this group.
TE: 3
Travis Kelce
Demetrius Harris
Gavin Escobar
My Take: Kelce is a superstar, but the other guys are just that. Harris will drop 2 easy TDs this year, book it.
OL: 9
Eric Fisher
Bryan Witzmann
Mitch Morse
Laurent Duvarney-Tardiff
Mitchell Schwartz
Parker Ehinger
Zach Fulton
Jah Reid
53 Man Roster: Defense (25)
DL: 6
Allen Bailey
Bennie Logan
Chris Jones
Tanoh Kpassingnon*
Roy Miller
Rakeem Nunez-Roches
My Take: One of the stronger position groups we have. Should stop the run better than 2016 and offer more of a pass rush, with Chris Jones developing into a player known nationwide.
OLB: 5
Justin Houston
Dee Ford
Tamba Hali
Dadi Nicolas
Earl Okine
My Take: This group relies on the health of Justin Houston. If he stays healthy all year, we will have a dominant pass rusher on the right and a young buck on the left to take pressure off the secondary. If he gets injured or has lost his dominance, we might be in trouble. Look for Dee Ford to collect 10 sacks again.
ILB: 5
Derrick Johnson
Reggie Ragland
Ramik Wilson
Kevin Pierre-Louis
DB: 9
Marcus Peters
Terrence Mitchell
Eric Berry
Ron Parker
Daniel Sorenson
Steven Nelson
Eric Murray
DJ White
Kenneth Acker
Philip Gaines
My Take: Yeesh, this CB group makes me nervous. If Mitchell isn't healthy and playing well, we will absolutely need an all-time pass rush to make our pass defense not a weakness. Philip Gaines is a liability at this point, but as a CB5, I can't cut him. I think DJ White takes another step this year.
53 Man Roster: ST (3)
K: Cairo Santos
P: Dustin Colquitt
LS: Sam Winchester
My Take: Ficken sucks, dear God almighty is he terrible. Come back Cairo, I miss you.
Practice Squad: (10)
Leon McQuay*
Gehrig Dieter*
Marcus Kemp*
Marcus Rush
Joel Stave
JR Nelson*
Ricky Ali'ifua*
Josh James*
Steven Terrell*
Robert Wheelwright*
My Take: I like Launchpad McQuack (McQuay) as much as the next guy and maybe more, but I don't see him making the team right now. Dieter and Kemp have shown a lot of chemistry with Mahomes this summer, so i would keep them for next year when he's the full starter and see how they've developed. Marcus Rush has some ability as a pass-rusher, Stave is a guy who might be a QB3, and the others are high upside guys who we could see returns from, but there's no big loss if we don't.