Free agency officially opens soon. At 3:00 pm CT on March 13th the new league year will arrive. That means the free agency flood gates will officially open.
While the first wave of free agents have agreed to terms with teams during the legal tampering period, there are still plenty of talented players available who could help the Chiefs. Here’s a look at some of the remaining players that the Chiefs Wire staff thinks K.C. should target at the open of free agency.
Benson Mayowa DE Cardinals
Charles Goldman
Replacing the production of Justin Houston and Dee Ford won’t come easy. Breeland Speaks is primed for a starting role, but the position opposite will likely be up for grabs.
Benson Mayowa is just 27 years old and he’s coming off of productive season on very limited snaps. In just 550 defensive snaps Mayowa had 38 total tackles, four sacks, 11 tackles for loss. He’s a good fit at 4-3 defensive end and has prototypical size at 6-foot-3 and 265 pounds.
Mayowa is primed for an expanded role on defense, and is the perfect candidate to compete with Tanoh Kpassagnon and a rookie for a starting job. If he doesn’t win that starting job, he’ll at the very least be a valuable depth player who can start in a pinch. The good news is that Mayowa won’t cost much either, just a year ago he signed a one-year contract worth $1.3 million.
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K.J. Wright OLB Seahawks
Avery Jacobs
After releasing Justin Houston and Dee Ford, the Chiefs have lost two defensive leaders. It’s hard to replace those types of positive forces in the locker room.
But one feisty player who can come and shake things up for the Chiefs defense is K.J. Wright. Wright has been with the Seahawks his entire career, and it’s looking likely that he’ll find a new home elsewhere. They’re obviously not on the same team that once was a Super Bowl contender. \
Wright’s ability to tackle and deliver the big hit could work well in Spagnuolo 4-3 scheme, as well as his urgency to get after the quarterback. The great thing about Wright is that he can play strong, middle, or weak-side linebacker. That seems to be the route the Chiefs are going with the linebacker group, adding versatile pieces.
Wright dealt with injury during the 2018 season. His stats weren’t impressive with 23 total tackles, and he only played in five games. Perhaps the Chiefs could get him on a prove-it style contract.
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Alex Okafor DE Saints
Nicolas Roesch
Okafor is a prime player to get a one-year contract this offseason. He missed a significant chunk of the 2017 season with a torn Achilles, but bounced back nicely in 2018 with 36 combined tackles and four sacks. At 28 years old Okafor is at a crossroads in his career and needs to prove he still has quality years left in the tank.
He isn’t going to put up gaudy sack numbers, but is very good against the run. He played in a 4-3 with the New Orleans Saints the past two seasons so he should fit right in with defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s defense. Okafor’s veteran presence would be great for young pass rushers Breeland Speaks and Tanoh Kpassagnon, and perhaps even a rookie that the Chiefs bring in through the draft.
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Bashaud Breeland CB Packers
Robert Rimpson
Breeland was one of the Packers most consistent players on defense last season even though he only played seven games. In those seven games, Breeland racked up 20 tackles, four pass deflections, and two interceptions. One of those interceptions went for a touchdown. The Chiefs expressed interest in Breeland during training camp last season, and as we know, if Brett Veach likes you, he does not forget about you.
The current corner market may play a huge role in how much the Chiefs could pay Breeland, and the recent trade of OLB Dee Ford does free up cap space to potentially sign Breeland.
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Christian Covington DT Texans
Danilo Di Julio
One promising young player who has shown potential in a rotational role, which he would likely continue in Kansas City, is Christian Covington formerly of the Houston Texans. He’s young (25), injury free, and has functional size for multiple positions at 6-foot-2 and over 300 pounds. It’s addition by subtraction taking a proven player from a playoff caliber AFC opponent.
Covington has a great combination of power and acceleration, though he’s not exceptionally quick twitched. He played in double digit games last year but only started two. Still, Covington managed to log 3.5 sacks in limited playing time and he’s an excellent run plugged who loves the game.
For Spagnuolo’s system to work it’s gonna require multiple players with run stuffing and pass rushing ability, rotating in through the game, keeping each other fresh. Being a pupil of Jim Johnson, success in their system is predicated by applying pressure on opposing QBs via a blend of blitzes and stunts. It also is good at getting off the defense on third-down, which is an area the Chiefs defense sorely needs to improve.
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Jared Cook TE Raiders
Mark Fitzpatrick
I believe Kansas City should consider going after Jared Cook, who spent the last two seasons in Oakland. The 31-year-old is coming off a season in which he hauled in 68 catches for 896 yards and six touchdowns. Having a second proven commodity at tight end gives Andy Reid the opportunity to get even more creative with his offense. Reid would be able to dial up more two tight end sets, which would create bad matchups for opposing linebackers and box safeties.
Defenses simply wouldn’t be able to stop a team with a second tight end as reliable as Cook in tandem with Travis Kelce. More two tight end sets gives Kansas City a whole new bag of tricks to tap into next season, and I’d love to see what coach Reid would be able to conjure up. As long as the Chiefs could grab Cook on a short term deal at a reasonable price, I don’t see why Brett Veach wouldn’t bring him aboard in what would be a great complimentary piece to the offense in 2019.
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