Should the Chiefs go after Danny Amendola?

Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer had a good column Thursday on the general lack of talent in this year’s free agent crop, and toward the end he connected Kansas City with a widely known name:

New England Patriots WR Danny Amendola

“Slot receivers are tough to value,” Breer writes. “Aging slot receivers have a tough time getting paid. But my sense is that Danny Amendola’s going into a pretty decent market. I’d keep an eye on Kansas City, a team that can compete now and could use another security blanket for its new starter, and Amendola’s fellow ex-Texas Tech Red Raider, Patrick Mahomes.”

The Chiefs’ wide receivers as the roster stands now are: Tyreek Hill, Chris Conley, Demarcus Robinson, Jehu Chesson, Marcus Kemp, Gehrig Dieter, Daniel Braverman, and Brandon Shippen.

I believe now that Albert Wilson will head to the Chicago Bears to join Matt Nagy, as general manager Brett Veach all but confirmed.

But that leaves a bit of a vacancy, doesn’t it?

Hill is your No. 1 receiver, and I trust Conley will return to full health after an Achilles injury ended his 2017 campaign early, so he becomes your No. 2.

I’m comfortable with that.

What I’m not comfortable with is my No. 3 being Demarcus Robinson, who underperformed last season. He would be next in line, unless Jehu Chesson or Marcus Kemp beats him out at training camp.

That does leave room to consider Amendola, one of the best slot receivers in the game who is also coming off a great 2017 campaign. When Julian Edelman went down last season, Amendola became Tom Brady’s go-to wideout, and he finished the year with good numbers:

2017 playing time: 18 games (15 regular season + 3 playoffs); 53.4% offensive snaps

2017 statistics: 87 catches, 1,007 yards, four touchdowns; 32 punt returns, 8.8 yards per return

In addition, Conley, 25, as it stands now, is the oldest wide receiver in a room that could stand to have some veteran leadership. Amendola is 32 and a 10-year veteran.

The Chiefs have also said Mahomes’ offense will be a little bit different than Alex Smith’s, so perhaps that could mean higher use of three and four-WR sets.

There is a lot to speculate, and while it’s hard to rule Amendola out as a possibility, I’m not sure the Chiefs are cutting all this cap space to sign premium offensive players.

Chesson will compete with Robinson in year two, there are other, probably cheaper options on the market and if Amendola finally does leave the Patriots, I expect him to make a salary the Chiefs wouldn’t be willing to pay at this stage, even if he reportedly isn’t a player who chases money.