The Kansas City Chiefs had the best roster in the NFL during the 2019 season. It helped them accomplish their top goal — to become Super Bowl champions for the first time in 50 seasons.
The Chiefs still have a ton of players under contract from that Super Bowl LIV team. Kansas City hasn’t been active in pursuing outside free agents, despite having several of their own that have already departed in free agency. Perhaps there are replacements for these departures that are already on the offseason 90-man roster?
Here’s a look at who those players might be:
Emmanuel Ogbah to Breeland Speaks
Emmanuel Ogbah is on his way to the Miami Dolphins. Ogbah replaced Breeland Speaks in the defensive end rotation when Speaks was injured ahead of the 2019 season. Now, Speaks will have a chance to earn his spot back for the 2020 season. Many people think Speaks will make the move to defensive tackle, but I don’t see that being a full-time move for him. Ogbah also played some defensive tackle in different alignments for Steve Spagnuolo in 2019.
Speaks hasn’t had the chance to show much thus far during his career. He played out of position as a 3-4 outside linebacker in 2018. He is presumed to be a better fit playing in a 4-3 with his hand in the dirt. If he can stay healthy and out of trouble, the expectation is that he’ll make an impact in 2020.
Kendall Fuller to Rashad Fenton
Fuller came to the Chiefs from the Redskins in the trade for Alex Smith and now he’ll return to Washington. He was known as a stud nickel corner, but he developed and grew during his time in Kansas City. He’d play more outside corner with the Chiefs, and in his final season, he filled in for Juan Thornhill playing the deep safety. He had the game-sealing interception in Super Bowl LIV lined up as a deep safety.
Replacing Fuller won’t be easy, however, there already exists a natural replacement on the roster. Charvarius Ward is strictly an outside corner. Alex Brown and Chris Lammons both have some versatility but they’re unproven. Rashad Fenton is the one player on the roster with proven success playing nickel, outside corner and sliding into the safety spot. That versatility has been utilized on a limited basis in the pros but dates back to his days at the University of South Carolina.
Stefen Wisniewski to Nick Allegretti
In theory, the Chiefs have plenty of options on the roster to replace Wisniewski, who is leaving to join the Pittsburgh Steelers. You could point to trade acquisition Martinas Rankin who is recovering from injury. You could point to a former winner of the Mack Lee Hill Award in Andrew Wylie, who Wisniewski replaced late in the season. For me, Nick Allegretti is the option that makes the most sense.
Wisniewski is known for his ability to play any interior offensive line position. While Allegretti has primarily been working as a backup center behind Austin Reiter, he has the ability to play both left and right guard as well. He showcased that ability during training camp and the preseason. Expect there to be some competition along the offensive line in 2020, and Allegretti will be firmly in that competition, looking to earn a role similar to that of Wisniewski.
