We gotta talk about this UDFA class.

[Wilson8]

The Kansas City Chiefs offensive line with age and current contract.. The dollar figures beside “CAP”, is the cap number with the number of contract years. Trade cost is Cap dollars with post June 1 trade.

#72 Eric Fisher, age 29, Central Michigan, 6-7, 315,
CAP $14,981,666, $14,681,668, Dead Money $8,913,334

#74 Martinas Rankin, age 25, Mississippi State, 6-5, 311,
CAP $750,000, $920,000, Dead Money $0

#62 Austin Reiter, age 28, South Florida, 6-3, 300,
CAP $3,758,334, Dead Money $333,334

#76 Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, age 29, McGill, 6-5, 321,
CAP $5,500,000, $4,000,000, Dead Money $9,500,000

#71 Mitchell Schwartz, age 30, California, 6-5, 320,
CAP $10,820,000, $10,005,000, Dead Money $14,220,000

#73 Nick Allegretti, age 24, Illinois, 6-4, 320,
CAP $712,488, $887,988, $1,002,988, Dead Money $83,964, Trade Cost $27,988

#68 Jackson Barton, age 24, Utah, 6-7, 302,
CAP $690,000, Dead Money $15,000

#60 Ryan Hunter, age 25, Bowling Green, 6-3, 316,
CAP $675,000, Dead Money $0

#70 Greg Senat, age 25, Wagner, 6-6, 305,
CAP $675,000, $850,000, Dead Money $0

#75 Mike Remmers, age 31, Oregon State, 6-5, 308,
CAP $887,500, Dead Money $887,500, Trade Cost $137,500

#67 Lucas Niang, TCU, 6-6, 315, Not signed yet

#77 Andrew Wylie, age 25, Eastern Michigan, 6-6, 309,
CAP $750,000, Dead Money $0

#?? Yasir Durant, age 21, Missouri, 6-6, 331,
CAP $612,333, $783,333, $898,334, Dead Money $150,000, Trade Cost $3,333

#?? Darryl Williams, age 22, Mississippi State, 6-2, 304,
CAP $612,333, $782,333, $897,334, Dead Money $107,000, Trade Cost $2,333

#?? Jovahn Fair, age 23, Temple, 6-2, 315,
CAP $611,666, $781,666, $896.668, Dead Money $5,000

It is hard to narrow this list down to 9 players for the OL.

Information from https://overthecap.com/salary-cap/kansas-city-chiefs/

[Hoover]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

It's also possible that they run with 10 OL given the roster expansion. It would be a nice spot for a developmental prospect given the spotty contributions of the IOL and the fact that most of those guys are going to be FAs next season (I think LDT's deal voids, Reiter, Wylie and Remmers deals all expire, IIRC).

So you up the number of OL to 10 and come up with a phantom injury for another guy to tuck away on the IR and you manage to squirrel away a couple developmental guys. And you could probably get at least one of them on the PS as well.

Winner!

[jjchieffan]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

It's also possible that they run with 10 OL given the roster expansion. It would be a nice spot for a developmental prospect given the spotty contributions of the IOL and the fact that most of those guys are going to be FAs next season (I think LDT's deal voids, Reiter, Wylie and Remmers deals all expire, IIRC).

So you up the number of OL to 10 and come up with a phantom injury for another guy to tuck away on the IR and you manage to squirrel away a couple developmental guys. And you could probably get at least one of them on the PS as well.

Actually, if Rankin isn't ready to go, he could be stashed on the PUP. He'd be eligible to return after week 6, and he wouldn't use up one of the 2 return from IR options.

[Direckshun]

They carried 11 OL at one point last season. I started a (bad) joke thread about it.

I think it's a slam dunk they carry 10 in the coming season.

My projections:

Starters: Fisher, Wylie, Reiter, Duvarney-Tardif, Schwartz
Reserves: Niang, Rankin, Allegretti, Remmers, Williams

Trade bait, or practice squad: Barton

Practice squad: Durant, Senat

Put in a cannon and fired into the sun: Hunter

[DJ's left nut]

Yeah - every time I went through the list and saw Hunters name on there, it almost irked me that he'll get a Super Bowl ring. He was somehow on the active roster for the SB - just crazy.

He has to be a non-factor, right?

I think they'll give all 5 of those reserves a long look at replacing Wylie. They seemed REALLY down on him last year and you just never see that for starting OL on Reid's squads. Just think of the chaff Andy has let ride out the season as a starter. Mike McGlynn, Ryan Harris, Jah Reid, Bryan Witzmann. You get in that starting lineup and nothing short of amputation will have you removed.

They cited injury for Wylie but they were pretty clearly trying to find a soft landing for him down the stretch. Had he been performing, he'd have probably never missed a game.

Wylie seems to be playing out the string here, but he also seems like a fairly popular teammate so I suspect they'll keep him around for the year as a cost-effective reserve and insurance policy. Andy's career in Philly was largely ended by an OL that fell apart w/ nothing behind them so I would be surprised if he ever finds himself that exposed again.

[Direckshun]

Well as you noted, Reid is big on hanging on to guys on OL, and this offseason is unfair to newbies trying to crack the roster, so it's as good a time as any for Ryan Hunter to make the roster.

His play was so atrocious last year in, I think, only 16 snaps at LG that I can't believe he stayed on the roster. But there he was, actually on the active 46 in Miami. So don't ask me.

I think they really do want to improve on Wylie at LG -- they clearly wanted to improve at all three interior OL spots.

RG: they went hard for Andrus Peat
C: widely believed they were circling Cesar Ruiz
LG: they drafted Niang -- a tackle -- and have said they'd like to see him at LG

Wylie is clearly on the hotseat, but I can't see a guy on the roster who starts over him. Niang is a pure tackle. I think they really like Rankin, who has a real shot. Allegretti seems more of a center and Hunter is an abomination. And I don't know anything about Senat or Barton, except they were on the roster for most of the season last year.

Maybe that's where Remmers comes in. Maybe that's what Sweeney was talking about, I don't know.

[DJ's left nut]

Reid never seems to have an issue w/ taller interior linemen. I tend to prefer them at around 6'3" but Reid just doesn't seem all that concerned about the leverage issues. Seems he believes it can be coached out and that's that. So ultimately I wouldn't call Niang a 'pure tackle' anymore than I'd have called Wylie one when he came out of college as a T himself. Reid will put levery guys on the interior line.

The issue I see with Niang at G is that he'd be at LG and asking a rookie to switch positions AND sides is asking a whole lot of him, especially with a shortened schedule.

And if Wylie has the job out of camp, he'll have it all year unless he's injured.

So yeah, seems like it would need to be Rankin or Remmers as they're more likely to be NFL ready w/ the truncated timeline. I think anyone that can play C can also play G, so if Allegretti shows progress I see no reason why he couldn't win the job. Williams looks so damn powerful in his clips but not terribly athletic so I wonder if that will work for Reid. He's also a little shorter which again - not a problem for me but might just be a problem for Andy.

If Rankin is healthy, I think he gets the gig.

[The Franchise]

Rankins actually looked good when he was in at LG. I would rather give Niang a year to learn the offense as the swing tackle.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by The Franchise

Rankins actually looked good when he was in at LG. I would rather give Niang a year to learn the offense as the swing tackle.

I think we've overstated how good Rankin was, but he showed enough potential that with additional development he could win the job.

I mean we kill Wylie, but he gave up 2 sacks in over 700 snaps. Rankin gave up 1 in less than 300. Small sample size caveats apply for Rankin but he'd have needed to go 400+ additional snaps without giving up a sack to 'beat' Wylie and if he gives up only 1 he's just on par with the guy who we thought was just trash in pass pro.

And the run blocking was no better with Rankin in there than it was with Wylie.

I'm basing my faith in Rankin on the fact that he showed himself capable of being an adequate backup with very little experience and he has the pedigree (college and draft status) to continue improving. But if the injury gets in the way of that, he's probably no better than Wylie. He needs to continue to develop to win that spot.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

I think we've overstated how good Rankin was, but he showed enough potential that with additional development he could win the job.

I mean we kill Wylie, but he gave up 2 sacks in over 700 snaps. Rankin gave up 1 in less than 300.

Keep in mind that Wylie lined up next to Schwartz during the 2018 season while Rankin, an August 31st 2019 acquisition, lined up next to Cam Erving.

I'd love to see the Chiefs solve the left guard position, whether it's Rankin, Niang or whomever, because the reality of the situation is that the Chiefs haven't had a solid, let alone spectacular year-in and year-out left guard, since Brian Waters retired after the 2010 season.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Keep in mind that Wylie lined up next to Schwartz during the 2018 season while Rankin, an August 31st 2019 acquisition, lined up next to Cam Erving.

I'd love to see the Chiefs solve the left guard position, whether it's Rankin, Niang or whomever, because the reality of the situation is that the Chiefs haven't had a solid, let alone spectacular year-in and year-out left guard, since Brian Waters retired after the 2010 season.

I think IOL will be the area we tend to go low-cost on for the foreseeable future. That doesn't really explain the LDT restructure apart from them maybe just not seeing the depth they'd hoped for on the interior just yet.

I mean they wouldn't pay for a Pro Bowl guy in Morse or Hudson so clearly the bar for a second contract is pretty high. Unless they stumble into a true anchor there; a Grubbs in his prime sort - I gotta imagine there's gonna be substantial turnover there for as long as they're paying through the nose on skill position guys.

Or maybe if they don't have the luxury of bookend Ts that are costing them a bit more they'd put more money at G. Maybe they earmark say 15% of their cap to the OL in any given year and if they don't have a Fisher/Schwartz duo they need to fit into that cap, they'd spend a little more to retain a guy like Morse.

But Andy will ALWAYS be on the lookout for valuable Ts given his belief in the shell concept. So with finite resources and a position that's a little easier to cut corners on, I figure IOL will always be a little piecemeal.

[O.city]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

I think IOL will be the area we tend to go low-cost on for the foreseeable future. That doesn't really explain the LDT restructure apart from them maybe just not seeing the depth they'd hoped for on the interior just yet.

I mean they wouldn't pay for a Pro Bowl guy in Morse or Hudson so clearly the bar for a second contract is pretty high. Unless they stumble into a true anchor there; a Grubbs in his prime sort - I gotta imagine there's gonna be substantial turnover there for as long as they're paying through the nose on skill position guys.

Or maybe if they don't have the luxury of bookend Ts that are costing them a bit more they'd put more money at G. Maybe they earmark say 15% of their cap to the OL in any given year and if they don't have a Fisher/Schwartz duo they need to fit into that cap, they'd spend a little more to retain a guy like Morse.

But Andy will ALWAYS be on the lookout for valuable Ts given his belief in the shell concept. So with finite resources and a position that's a little easier to cut corners on, I figure IOL will always be a little piecemeal.

Weren't they in on Hudson til the end though? I wouldn't have been opposed to keeping him around but money is money i guess. Morse just was too injury prone for my taste. I would really like to see them invest heavily in a center at some point though.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

But Andy will ALWAYS be on the lookout for valuable Ts given his belief in the shell concept. So with finite resources and a position that's a little easier to cut corners on, I figure IOL will always be a little piecemeal.

I'm personally fine with piecemeal on the IOL. Andy's proven time and time again that late rounders and UDFA's who have a particular skillset can be molded into solid players for this offense.

That's what killed me when so many forum members were all screaming for an IOL in the first round of the 2020 draft: "We need a guard or a center or both! Gotta protect the MVP!". I found that not only to be wrong but absurd. The best running back in the draft is going to make much bigger difference - a very tangible difference - than the best center or guard.

The Chiefs just won a Super Bowl with a 7th round center, a 6th round guard, half a dozen starters at LG and a Cam Erving at LT for 8 games.

I think Andy's got a handle on this offensive line thing, despite the fact that most Chiefs fans think that the offensive line excellence is the only way to win.

[DJ's left nut]

Y'know who Rankin kinda reminds me of? Jeff Allen.

Allen played some T at the NFL level after playing it in college and did okay at it because he's just a pretty broad dude. So he'd move (alright) and make guys take an extra step to beat him. He wasn't going to be able to hold up on an island for long drops, but he could buy you just enough time for a conventional 3-5 step setup by simply being large and in the way.

When he played G, his average athleticism could be masked a bit and he was a solid if unspectacular player there. Ultimately he was a pretty typical good college T who needed to go inside at the next level but could fill in outside in a pinch.

Rankin's a pretty broad guy and like I said - his pedigree as a 1st team all-SEC left tackle says he has plenty of potential and versatility. Seems like he's cut from an awfully similar cloth to Allen but Allen was just a little more polished, IMO. Rankin's shown some rough edges in Texas and again last season in KC. He can be better than Wylie, but he still needs to work on his craft to get there. I'm not convinced he's more than a lateral move if he hasn't improved from where he was last season.