NFL Offseason Previews: Kansas City Chiefs
The NFL offseason is upon us, and teams will begin working to craft their 2023 rosters in the coming months. In this series of offseason previews, we will look at what each team has to work with and their biggest needs. Today we continue with the Kansas City Chiefs offseason preview.
As a reminder, here are dates to keep in mind for the 2023 NFL offseason:
- March 7: deadline for teams to use the franchise tag
- March 13: legal tampering period opens
- March 15: NFL free agency begins and the new league year starts
- April 21: deadline for restricted free agents to sign offer sheets
- April 27-29: NFL draft
- May 1: deadline for teams to exercise 5th-year options on 2020 first-round draft picks
- July 15: deadline for franchise tag players to sign an extension
You can find previous team’s offseason previews here: Bears | Bengals | Browns | Lions | Packers | Steelers | Vikings | Ravens | 49ers | Broncos | Rams | Chargers | Seahawks | Raiders |
2022 Summary
Super Bowl champs. Do we really need more of a summary for the Chiefs than that?
Kansas City did what genuine perennial contenders do last offseason. They traded Tyreek Hill and revamped their offensive design. The latest iteration of the Chiefs became a team that feasts in the intermediate rather than the deep ball, a staple of their last Super Bowl team.
The Kansas City Chiefs are the NFL‘s new gold standard. But are they a dynasty? Certainly, they deserve consideration after winning the AFC West for a record seventh straight time.
Key Positional Needs
Here’s where the Chiefs need to find help this offseason:
- EDGE
- CB
- DT
- OT
- WR
Key Free Agents
Here’s a look at the Chiefs upcoming key free agents:
- Orlando Brown Jr. (LT)
- Nick Allegretti (G)
- Carlos Dunlap (DE)
- Jerrick McKinnon (RB)
- JuJu Smith-Schuster (WR)
- Juan Thornhill (S)
- Derrick Nnadi (DT)
Salary Cap & Draft Capital
Here’s a look at the salary cap room and draft capital that the Chiefs have to work with this offseason:
- Current draft picks: 31 (1), 63 (2), 95 (3), 122 (4), 134 (4), 168 (5), 178 (6), 217 (6), 219 (6), 227 (7), 251 (7), 227 (7)
- Cap space: -$3.5M
Offseason Outlook
Kansas City will have to continue to evolve this offseason if they hope to remain the NFL’s gold standard. As successful as their reimagining was last offseason, they’ll try to do it again this spring, making decisions on key free agents, cut candidates, and team needs.
Kansas City has 12 draft picks, including two fourth and fifth-round selections. However, the Chiefs are $3.5 million over the cap today, so there’s work to be done to free up some cap space.
Defensive end Frank Clark ($22 million) and wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling ($7.1 million) are two names that jump out as immediate cap casualty candidates. Those two cuts would give the Chiefs $21.2 million to work with (per OTC’s cap calculator).
We know that Orlando Brown Jr. will almost certainly be franchise tagged between now and March 7.
Related Reading
If you’re looking for more offseason reading, Sam Hoppen at 4for4 (our sister company) is previewing each division:
