Which positions in free agency should Chiefs target post-draft?
· Yahoo Sports
The hope the NFL Draft provides fans for an entire weekend can be euphoric, making us believe anything is possible.
Then reality settles in. The picks made can only fill so many holes in the roster, and there are football games to be played around the corner.
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After being relatively active in the first wave of free agency, the Kansas City Chiefs entered the draft with perceived needs at wide receiver, defensive end, defensive tackle, and cornerback. The team also needs more depth at linebacker, and a blocking tight end wouldn’t hurt.
Kansas City walked away from the draft with a top-10 pick at cornerback, a 3-technique defensive tackle in the first round and a designated pass rusher off the edge. Wide receiver was not addressed until the fifth round, and there were no linebackers or tight ends added in the draft, which means any of those three spots on the roster could be in play for a free-agent addition. Another addition at defensive end should be in play.
Which names make the most sense? Let’s dive in.
Wide Receiver: Jauan Jennings, Stefon Diggs, Tyreek Hill or JuJu Smith-Schuster
The player I’d most like to be signed is Stefon Diggs, but I don’t know if it makes enough sense for either side. Diggs is a prideful guy, and I can’t imagine he would love the idea of coming in to be a role player in Kansas City. When you add on the off-field issues that popped up most recently, the juice isn’t worth the squeeze for the 32-year-old to be invested in by the Chiefs.
Jauan Jennings has been an ideal potential signing all offseason. He seemed like an excellent fit, but then we got word that Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice wasn’t expected to be disciplined by the NFL. That factored into how well he’d fit in Kansas City, and at this point, signing a one-year deal to maximize his value next offseason is his goal. Kansas City doesn’t feel like the spot.
That leaves us with two potential reunion targets: Tyreek Hill and JuJu Smith-Schuster.
I’m not sure any other team would value Smith-Schuster the way the Chiefs do, so the team has him on speed dial while the offseason tells them what to expect from Jalen Royals and Cyrus Allen.
That brings us to Tyreek Hill, who I assume is going to be on the Chiefs this year, and ESPN’s Nate Taylor has said there’s up to a 60% chance he returns.
The Chiefs know him. He has relationships with the top players. The system won’t take any time for him to pick up. He already has chemistry with Mahomes. He knows it’s a team that will compete for a championship this year. It’s a great fit for him, and he’s honestly a pretty great football fit for what Kansas City needs with the current top three options at the position, assuming he’s able to be healthy by the start of the season.
Tight End: David Njoku or Will Dissly
The only two tight ends who really fit what the Chiefs could be looking for are Njoku or Dissly, both of whom could add some much-needed juice in the running game.
Dissly is a former fourth-round selection by the Seattle Seahawks who came into the league as a designated blocking tight end. He started just 10 games over his first two seasons and only surpassed 30 targets once in his first six seasons. He had a much better receiving year in 2024 with the Los Angeles Chargers, but his calling card remains his ability to impact the running game.
Njoku entered the league as a first-round selection by the Cleveland Browns and immediately flashed his ability as a big-play threat in the passing game. As an athletic freak, he’s had his exciting moments in that regard, but injuries have been an issue for him at times in his career, and he’s developed into quite the blocker, as well.
Both Dissly and Njoku come with some injury risk, but either would serve as a significant upgrade for the Chiefs’ no. 2 tight end role behind Travis Kelce. Njoku is likely to command more money and possibly more years than Dissly, which could ultimately push the Chiefs toward the latter.
Defensive End: Jadeveon Clowney or Cam Jordan
Soon-to-be 37-year-old, former New Orleans Saints edge rusher Cam Jordan has been a rumored target for the Chiefs all offseason. He still has some pass-rush juice, he’s a heck of a leader inside the locker room, and he’s the type of player who could be looking for one last shot at a Super Bowl at this point in his career, similar to Terrell Suggs or Carlos Dunlap.
If the Chiefs can make the money work, he would probably be my top target of the group, but the financials are easier said than done.
The backup plan at the position is a player I’ve always thought would make some sense for the Chiefs — Jadeveon Clowney. He fits all the typical thresholds for an edge rusher under defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo; he’s always been a solid defender against the run, and he’s been a relatively productive pass rusher even at this late stage in his career. He could sign a deal similar to the one-year, $4 million contract he played on last year.
Linebacker: Matt Milano, Bobby Okereke or Elandon Roberts
Quick: name the Chiefs’ third linebacker. Can you do it?
To be candid, there isn’t a straightforward answer. It could be last year’s fifth-round pick, Jeffrey Bassa, but that’s putting a whole lot of faith into 39 defensive snaps from a year ago. An undrafted free agent last year, Cooper McDonald, was a standout special-teams player and earned defensive snaps towards the end of the season. Jack Cochrane and Cole Christiansen were re-signed this offseason.
Maybe you’re comfortable with that group of players behind Nick Bolton and Drue Tranquill. I very much am not.
A veteran addition would be encouraging. The market isn’t exactly ripe with options. This might be the position where the Chiefs are scouring the wire after cutdown day at the end of training camp to make an addition or two, or a late-preseason trade.
If the Chiefs do go to the market for a depth signing, Milano is coming off some pretty devastating injuries and might be past the point of no return, plus he’s smaller than the typical Spags linebacker — but so is Bassa. Okereke is a tackling machine, and I’ve always been a fan of Roberts’ game.
So, who should they sign?
If money were no object, I would love to see the Chiefs sign David Njoku, Jauan Jennings, Cam Jordan, and Bobby Okereke.
But a more realistic option would be for the Chiefs to sign Will Dissly, Tyreek Hill and Jadeveon Clowney to one-year deals, and for Kansas City to wait on the linebacker addition until after cuts take place at training camp.
Any signing at this point would require some salary cap gymnastics, but the Chiefs still have plenty of levers to pull by restructuring the deals of right guard Trey Smith, center Creed Humphrey and defensive end George Karlaftis. The team could also open up approximately $4 million for a new tight end by cutting Noah Gray.
The draft may be over, but the offseason rolls on. If the Chiefs could make one free agent addition, who would you want it to be?