Checking in on possible Chiefs offensive free agent targets

KC has cap space to play with and some needs further down the depth chart. Let's examine who is out there at running back, wide receiver and left tackle should Suamataia and Morris not be ready.

If the Chiefs needed to suit up tomorrow, they absolutely could, and they would be the odds-on Super Bowl favorites doing so. Kansas City, however, has a chance to do something no one has ever done before in winning three Super Bowls in a row. General manager Brett Veach also has more cap space to play with than he normally does at this point in the offseason, so just because he has a largely complete roster does not mean he is done adding. 

According to Over the Cap, the Chiefs have around $16 million in salary cap space, although that will go down a bit after the signings of their rookie class get announced. The good news for the Chiefs is that free agents that sign this time of the year come at a bargain. Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. just signed a three-million-dollar deal with incentives, for instance. 

The Chiefs do not have many starter-level needs, but they could use some juice at running back, wide receiver and defensive tackle. If things go awry in the left tackle battle between Kingsley Suamataia and Wanya Morris, that could be added to the list and the same could be said for the cornerback battle. For today, we will focus on the offensive side. 

The Chiefs currently have a four-man running back battle going and we will not know until September how many spots are open for them. The Chiefs have kept three and four tailbacks in past seasons and up until last year they always carried a full back to go along with them. Isiah Pacheco is locked into the starting role, with Clyde Edwards-Helaire being the assumed number two. 

Currently, Keaontay Ingram, Emani Bailey, Carson Steele and Louis Rees-Zammit are the four front-runners with La’Mical Perine, Hassan Hall, Deneric Prince and Eno Benjamin looming out there. While some of this will come down to who could emerge as a special team’s standout, especially with Rees-Zammit, this room leaves a lot to be desired after you get past Pacheco. 

The best free agents out there include Cam Akers, Dalvin Cook and Kareem Hunt. While Joshua Kelley did not prove to be much in his four years in Los Angeles, he is an option as well. Nate Taylor mentioned on Only Weird Games this past week that Jerick McKinnon is still interested in playing, so that could hypothetically be an option as well. 

Cam Akers, bitten by the injury bug throughout his career, only has 398 NFL carries to his name. In his two somewhat healthy seasons in Los Angeles, he tallied over 1,400 yards as a part-time back and found the endzone nine times. He also has graded exceptionally well in the pass-blocking department, according to PFF. His skillset fits the McKinnon role nicely and he is still just 24 with high upside potential. 

The Dalvin Cook of three years ago would be a dream fit in the Chiefs offense, but there is not much evidence he is that guy anymore. Splitting time between the Jets and Ravens last season, he just averaged just 3.2 yards per carry, but he did have a run of four straight 1,000-yard seasons before that. He is 28 years old, but Kansas City could look to see if they could tap into his 2022 and before production if they do not like what they see from the guys in camp. 

Campaigning for a Kareem Hunt return may be a giant waste of time, but he would be a perfectly capable second or third running back on the depth chart. He is traditionally a very good blocker out of the backfield but how much he has left in the tank is in question. He has not averaged over four yards per carry since 2021 but is still a tough runner who is a capable pass-catcher. Just two seasons ago he caught 38 balls as a change of pace back to Nick Chubb. 

While these are options, all indications are the Chiefs are going to see if the young prospects in camp have what it takes to fill out the roster. Bailey seems to fit the bill as a highly productive collegiate player, but there would be nothing wrong with bringing in a veteran to make Bailey earn a roster spot. 

There are several receivers left on the board for Veach, but some seem unlikely or a low fit. The big key here is if Rashee Rice gets suspended this season or in 2025. That will depend on the legal process, but all indications are that it will be lengthy when he does get levied the punishment. If they think 2024 is the year of suspension, they then will have to decide if they want to replace him like-for-like or if they want someone who will complement him when he returns. If suspended this year, the Chiefs are again an injury away from Justin Watson being a number two receiver with Kadarius Toney and Skyy Moore being bumped up to the three and four slots. 

Moore could get a crack as a slot receiver if Rice is suspended, or the Chiefs could opt to bring in a guy like Hunter Renfrow or Tyler Boyd to fill the Rice role. Corey Davis, Michael Thomas and Zay Jones are all options as well, although it sounds like Boyd may be off the market soon. Adding back Valdez-Scantling or Mecole Hardman is always an option as well. 

Renfrow is very clearly a slot-only guy, making this signing unlikely as Andy Reid appreciates the versatility of his receivers. He has played over 73 percent of his snaps out of the slot, but there is no doubt his route-running ability would be a luxury on third downs. Renfrow has one 1,000-yard season to his name and a couple of 600-yard seasons. The past two tumultuous seasons in Las Vegas left him no higher than 330, however. 

Corey Davis retired before the 2023 seasons, but reports are he is planning to unretire. Davis has averaged over 646 yards per season in his six seasons, including a breakout season with the Tennessee Titans before signing a big deal with the New York Jets. The Chiefs have Moore, Xavier Worthy and Hollywood Brown who can line up in the slot, so adding an outside weapon in Davis could be a nice addition to the team. Davis is 29, but he did average 16.8 yards per catch his last season in New York. 

Michael Thomas played nearly 70 percent of his career snaps in the first four years of his seven-year career, so signing him would be a boom-or-bust situation. Kansas City is in a position to take on a risk like that and Thomas raises the ceiling of this group big time. There has conceivably never been a slant route run that Thomas has not been open on. He has run 75 percent of his snaps out wide but is perfectly suited for a slot role as well. He is far removed from the receiver that caught 146 balls in 2020, but he could be a really fun target for Patrick Mahomes. 

Zay Jones, recently released by the Jacksonville Jaguars could be a solid role player for the Chiefs. Jones has experienced an up-and-down career, bouncing between the Buffalo Bills, Raiders and Jaguars. He is just two years removed from being the Jags number two and hauling in over 800 yards and five touchdowns, however. He too primarily lines up on the outside and at the very least he could add competition to a room to force Toney and Moore to earn a spot on the team. 

If you polled Chiefs fans, I would be anxious to see if they would rather have Toney or Valdez-Scantling on the roster if they had to pick one. If Valdez-Scantling came back on a reasonable deal, it would be easier to figure out how he fits in and the vertical threat role that he would fill. He would likely see more success with Brown and Worthy now on this roster. The MVS market may be heating up after reports of him scheduling a visit with the arch-rival Chargers. 

It is nearly impossible to envision Hardman and Toney on the roster at the same time given their similar skills. A Hardman return would spell doom for Toney and while it would not move the needle much, the three-time Super Bowl Champion is surely more reliable than Toney. If Reid wants Hardman to be the gadget guy and get himself another return man, I could see Hardman entering back into the equation with Toney being on his way out of the door. 

The Chiefs will likely keep six receivers this year, given that Reid has most years and keeping seven last year proved to be a waste of a roster spot. The top six pretty clearly seem to be Brown, Rice, Worthy, Justin Watson, Moore and Toney. The dark horses behind them are Justyn Ross, Nikko Remigio, Montrell Washington and perhaps undrafted free agents in Kansas State’s Phillip Brooks and James Madison’s Reggie Brown. 

Remigio had a very good camp last year before being tagged with a season-long injury and had extremely good college production in the return game. If Rice winds up getting suspended to start the season, one of those dark horses gets bumped up to the sixth guy, so the Chiefs may feel compelled to sign a free agent given that one of the dark horses could also even beat a guy like Toney out of a roster spot. That thought was even more validated after Beckham Jr. was reportedly contemplating between the Dolphins, Chiefs and Bills. 

The last possible spot the Chiefs may turn to is the left tackle position. In their ideal world, I do not think Kansas City wants to be in the market, as they would prefer Suamataia or Morris win the job, with the other being the swing tackle. If they do not deem them ready, there are two names to watch out for and both are familiar faces to the Chiefs coaching staff. 

Incumbent starter, Donovan Smith, should he not land a job before training camp is the first name to watch for. Smith proved to be perfectly adequate in protecting Mahomes' blind side while leaving some to be desired. Smith is not much of a run blocker at this point in his career and was league average in pass-blocking, according to PFF. He allowed 42 pressures and two sacks last season. Orlando Brown Jr. allowed 59 pressures and seven sacks with the Bengals last year to give some context. 

The other name to watch for is Charles Leno Jr., who underwent hip surgery this offseason. The speculation is that he will be back in time for the season at some point, but he is 32 years old. With that being said, he only allowed 34 pressures and three sacks in an awful Washington Commanders offense. Leno Jr. had some highly productive years anchoring down Mitchell Trubisky’s blind side when Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy was at the helm in Chicago. 

All of the free agents mentioned above will come at an affordable rate, so the Chiefs have the luxury of seeing how guys fit in at OTA’s, mandatory minicamp and then in St. Joe at training camp. They have the space to sign several of them and the final wave of free-agent frenzy has officially begun. I would expect a signing or two to trickle in throughout the summer as Veach finalizes the roster tasked with winning a third championship in a row.