Clayton -
Camp is off and running for Kansas City and this is a big year coming up after such a disappointing year. I have been critical of both staff and personnel, but despite this, I have hope after another year of playing over .500. After some departures and additions, it is time to look at training camp battles with only a few days to go before the first preseason game against the Cardinals.
Cornerback #2/3
Competitors
Phillip Gaines and Marcus Peters
Even though I do not like the University of Washington, I love their players as not only are the Lakers supposed to be signing the dismissed Robert Upshaw, but the Chiefs drafted Peters who was also dismissed from the University. Upshaw will be discussed in a future piece, but in regards to Peters, I think he was the best corner in this draft. He is the most fluid athlete and has the best coverage and ball skills of the bunch. Essentially, he is a better version of Gaines in nearly every category other than some measurables.
Peters clearly had red flags but Reid and Dorsey & co. took the risk on him to hopefully get a home run pick here. Peters should be one of the two guys who step up during Smiths previously mentioned suspension and hopefully wins the job opposite of him following his return.
Third to sixth spot corners
Competitors
Marcus Cooper, Steven Nelson,
Sanders Commings & Jamell Flemming
The former feel good story of the late drafted Cooper getting out and starting is long gone, yet KC has kept him around. Cooper is still extremely raw despite being in the league two years already. He is still quite young, big, fast, strong, and shows good traits, but the intangibles and football IQ are not quite there. If he lags behind others, Cooper could soon find himself looking for a new team.
Nelson was another surprise pick in the many that have come from KC in the past couple of years. He was likely a reach and not a true fit for the modern day NFL, as he does not possess great speed, size or fluidity. Nelson is what many coaches love though, as he is a fiery competitor and knows how “to play the game.” Nelson is probably a year or two away from providing a lot, but is solid depth while he learns.
Sanders Commings is the guy that I can not figure out. It might not even be right to have him here at corner, when he could very well play safety. He has everything you want from a corner in today’s game. Size, speed, skills, athleticism, versatility and seems to have a solid work ethic.
Problem is his durability. He has missed all but two games in his short NFL career due to injuries (fractured ankle and fibula last year and in 2013 a fractured clavicle).
He is talented, but has he learned enough in practices to make up for the lost developmental time? KC seems to be sticking with him, but he could very well be on the chopping block, especially if he suffers another injury in camp or during the preseason.
Flemming seems to be the low man on the totem pole, but the team as with a lot of these guys, is rumored to be attached to him. He does have good length and decent speed to match up, but he should be mainly used in special teams and emergency situations. If Commings stays at corner, I could see Flemming losing out to Cooper in the possible last spot on the depth chart.
2nd/3rd Wide Receiver
Competitors - Chris Conley, Jason Avant, De’Anthony Thomas
Comments on Albert Wilson,
Frankie Hammond, Junior Hemingway
It was an insanely rough year for KC wideouts last year as they did not record a receiving touchdown. To try to counter that, the Chiefs went out and overpaid signed Jeremy Maclin. KC went on to develop some guys sign a vet and trade up in the draft for another.
The guy KC traded up to acquire was the athletic freak that is Conley, so until the season is underway, I do not know how he should not be the starter opposite of Maclin. His size, athleticism combo is highly intriguing. He is young and still raw, but should get every chance to prove himself.
He is currently recovering from a knee strain, so he may be falling a bit behind, but he is reportedly practicing again and even got some plays in with the 1s according to Terez Paylor over at the Kansas City Star (follow Paylor on twitter at @TerezPaylor). Kansas City should be patient and give Conley the chance to play next to Maclin. Conley may not be ready by Saturday, but hopefully will get back into gear by next week.
Avant was brought in last season after he was cut by Carolina, but he is also known as a Reid favorite from his Philly days. Personally I would have Avant deep on the depth chart, and just ask him to teach the young guys along with Maclin the fine tunings of what it is like to play.
Unfortunately, Avant will likely get a decent amount of play, even though he was never great and has regressed (I mean, the receiver needy Panthers cut him last year...).
De’Anthony Thomas appears to be the slot guy all the way despite his lack of size. His explosive speed will be excellent in the spot, and is needed to help separate from coverages since he does not have the height to get vertical over the guys covering him.
In a vine recently shot, Thomas puts Phillip Gaines on his ass after a great display of sharp route running and shiftiness. With him converted to a full time receiver now, he should start to develop nicely.
Comments on Late Wide Receiver Depth
Lastly are the three holdovers in Wilson, Hammond and Hemingway. They really should be more of the fourth to sixth wideouts on the roster.
I do not have high opinions on any of them, but with DAT the likely slot, I cannot see Wilson getting a load of PT due to his small stature. At only 5’9,” Wilson to me would not be the greatest fit. He did play well at the end of the season, and even reportedly is currently no. 2 on the depth chart due to Conley’s injury, but I cannot see that sticking unless he just goes bananas in camp and the preseason.
Hammond and Hemingway both have a bit more size to go along with decent speed, but do not measure up to the other guys in competition.
All three were late round picks or undrafted, so unless they blow away coaches, one or two may be cut.
Center
Competitors
Eric Kush and Mitch Morse
The Chiefs used a sixth round pick on Kush two years ago and let him develop behind the departed Rodney Hudson. Kush to me is more of a depth player, but the team seems to really like his skills. Kush could begin the season as the starter, but shortly after will be relegated back to the bench.
With Rodney Hudson departing to the rival Raiders, Kansas City needed to shore up the Center spot and get a good young guy to take over. Insert the big (6’5”), quick (4.5 second 20 yard shuttle) and strong (36 reps at the combine), former tackle from Mizzou.
I was and still am highly critical of the Morse pick because I felt he could have been picked much later and there were high quality guys ahead of him. Regardless, Morse should be given every opportunity to start due to his draft status. Like I said above, Kush could start the season with Morse hopefully securing the spot around the midway point of the season, possibly showing his worth.
Defensive End
This is really about starting as these three and probably another guy or two will run a good rotation to keep guys fresh and healthy, so this is not truly a competition like the others.
Though Kansas City still does not have anyone to truly help give Dontari Poe an extended breather, the Chiefs do have some very good depth at the end spots. Amazingly, their best guy at the position in my opinion, Allen Bailey, may be behind at the moment despite signing a decent sized extension about midway through the season last year.
Due to the money aspects, I can see Bailey retaining his spot, but this position will likely be very fluid with a lot of rotations going on. Bailey fits in perfectly between Justin Houston and Dontari Poe, but does need to create a lot more pressure despite recording six sacks and stopping the run in order to start.
Last seasons starter, DeVito, was lost very early, as in the first game, last year due to a ruptured Achilles. If he is healthy and back to his previous performance, he too should retain his starting spot with a good helping of a rotation. DeVito did agree to restructure his deal and actually took a pay cut in order to stay with the team. DeVito is known for his run stuffing, so hopefully he can come back and continue in that department.
The guy who replaced DeVito, Jaye Howard, comes in eager to pick up where he left off after a very solid year. The big guy is pretty athletic with a very quick burst off the line, and shows good run stopping abilities. He does suffer from inconsistency, but the team is very high on him. He is likely to be rotated with the two guys mentioned above, but if all three are at a stalemate, I would continue on with the two guys above a the starters for the time being.
This really is not a huge issue in the big picture since all three will get plenty of PT, but it could be interesting to see how the Chiefs go into the season in their thinking.
With the rotation of these three and likely Mike Catapano or Vaughn Martin, and even late round pick Rakeem Nunez-Roches
Side Notes
What the hell are the Chiefs going to do with Dee Ford?
This was an odd pick to begin with (a clear reach), but in a lot of reports it seems that Ford still is not getting it. So much for he is better than Clowney huh? Ford is going to have to start showing something if wants to take over for Hali if/when he is gone next year.
Unfortunately, Ford may have suffered a concussion in a recent practice, further setting him back.
With Houston and Hali clearly better, the Chiefs are going to have to find ways to get him on the field. We may see the Chiefs try to integrate all three in the same way the Giants did a few years ago with Strahan, Kiwaunaka and Umenyiora.
Another idea, and I honestly have no idea if Ford could pull this off, is to see if Ford could play inside with Derrick Johnson for the time being. This is highly unlikely, but unless Defensive Coordinator Bob Sutton wants to shift Hali inside to a DE in a lot of situations, and play Ford as the edge rusher, he will be in a smaller rotation. So, Ford may be stuck and underwhelming for another year unless an unfortunate injury occurs.
The integration of Eric Berry, Mike DeVito and Derrick Johnson back into the fold?
DeVito and DJ seem to be back into the swing of things and they seem to be controlling their own destiny. Both appear to be back to starting and helping out in every way they can.
The real question is how are they going to get Berry involved again after he was declared Lymphoma free. He should not and thankfully appears to not being pushed to rush back and put into his starting spot just yet, but it will be interesting to see how long they wait to get him playing full time again.
With the Chiefs
An even more interesting aspect could be a starting combo later in the year of Commings, who I mentioned could be the future at safety, along with a healthy Berry. I think that may be a year from now though.
Bottom line, despite the contract signed by Parker, I cannot see a healthy Berry being relegated to the bench for Parker. Once healthy we will likely see Berry and Parker paired up but with Parker being a career journeyman, I am skeptical he lasts long. Thus, I think that if both are healthy, Berry and Commings will be the future.
Right side of the offensive line and depth?
This really could be up in the camp battles portion but with both spots totally fluid, it may be best to just talk about it here.
The left side of the line seems set with Eric Fisher and new acquisition Ben Grubbs, but rest of the line is up the air, at least in terms of depth. Center seems to be set as well for now with Kush, and likely Morse soon in the future, as mentioned above. The real question will be the right side guard and tackle. Vets Jeff Allen and Donald Stephenson do appear to have it locked up, but they have both had consistency, injury or suspension issues.
Stephenson may be the most set of the two, with Allen’s job is up in the air. The Chiefs signed vet Paul Fanaika to a three year $6.1 million deal, which may lead to either starting or getting the roster spot over a better, younger, cheaper option. Something odd may be that Fanaika could be on the third string, behind a cheaper option. Could his salary and cap hit force KC to keep him and drop a better cheaper option? Unfortunately it may do just that.
For the development guys, the Chiefs also seem to be very high on Zach Fulton, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, Jarrod Pughsley, and even former 1st round pick Derek Sherrod, who is still quite young at 26. Due to the money and cap issues, we are likely to see at least one or two cut.
When it is all said and done, the line and depth will probably consist of Fisher, Grubbs, Kush, Allen, and Stephenson to start out the season, with Morse (possibly starting later), Fulton, Fanaika and maybe Pughsley to serve as the reserves. That would mean Duvernay-Tardif and Sherrod as cut, but it could be possible the Chiefs hide the younger guys on the practice squad.
Personally I would like to keep Duvernay-Tardif over Fanaika, but it might be as simple as who is better. The cap hit by Fanaika may have something to say over it.
Even though I like Sherrod, his past injuries and lack of performance will likely have him seeking a spot with another team unless he has a great showing in camp.
Follow Clayton on Twitter at @19Yanks23
