As the 2020 NFL season approaches, the Chiefs have some big decisions ahead of themselves. Coming off of arguably the most successful season in franchise history that resulted in a Super Bowl 54 victory, the front office has added pressure now, to uphold a championship level roster year in and year out. Today I would like to take a deeper look at what this organization should do, to create the best overall roster focusing mainly on the skill position group for the 2020 season and beyond. For clarity, the skill position consists of the QB, RB, WR, and TE positions, which touch the ball the most frequently. With that being said let’s take a deeper look at the best ways to build the roster, and who the team should keep, trade, and cut to build the best roster possible. While also considering overall roster needs, and what moves can help improve the roster as a whole in 2020 via trade.
Keep-
Patrick Mahomes, QB
Chad Henne, QB
Jordan Ta’amu, QB
Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB
Darrell Williams, RB
De’Andre Washington, RB
Darwin Thompson, RB
Tyreek Hill, WR
Mecole Hardman, WR
Sammy Watkins, WR
Byron Pringle, WR
Jody Fortson, WR
Felton Davis, WR
Travis Kelce, TE
Ricky Seals-Jones, TE
Deon Yelder, TE
The organization and roster have a lot of top-end talent in the skill position areas, such as Mahomes; Hill; Kelce; Watkins; Edwards-Helaire; and Mecole Hardman. Those guys are no doubt going to be a part of the skill position group in 2020. This list looks like most would expect it to, except for a few guys. The players that stand out who aren’t keepers are Damien Williams and DeMarcus Robinson. They have the best trade value of any players on this roster that the Chiefs can afford to lose. The Chiefs still have a couple areas of need on defense, and I would like to see them get some young players for these guys via trades. Another shocking player not listed is Gherig Dieter, who I think will be replaced by a younger player in Felton Davis. Davis is only 23 and has more athletic talent as a pure WR. If he is ready to step up and play a role, I don’t see a place for Deiter on this team in 2020.
Trade-
Damien Williams, RB
DeMarcus Robinson, WR
Damien Williams is coming off of the best performance of his life in Super Bowl 54. This makes him an intriguing trade option for any teams needing RB depth. I expect a trade similar to what the Chiefs did last year with the Texans for Carlos Hyde. Giving Hyde to Houston in exchange for guard Martina’s Rankin, who filled a roster need by adding depth to a position that otherwise would have been lacking. This is exactly what I would do again but focus on filling some holes on the defense particularly in the CB or LB groups. With DeMarcus Robinson things are a bit more tricky, being that he hasn’t had a big breakout performance as Williams did in the Super Bowl. That being considered though, he is very cheap and would provide great value to a team in need of a rotational WR to round out their depth chart. Williams has a more definitive path to a trade based on his value, but the Chiefs should shop Robinson and see if there are any takers. If so, move Robinson and try to add a younger defensive piece with a high upside. We have seen the team do this in the past with offensive lineman Parker Ehinger, who they traded to Dallas in exchange for current CB in Charvarius Ward. Just make these moves if possible, and get value from both Damien Williams and DeMarcus Robinson, as opposed to letting them walk and getting nothing in return after the 2020 season.
Cut-
Shae Patterson, QB
Elijah McGuire, RB
Gherig Dieter, WR
Kalija Lipscomb, WR
Maurice Ffrench, WR
Aleva Hifo, WR
Andre Baccellia, WR
Justice Shelton-Mosley, WR
Cody White, WR
Nick Keizer, TE
All of the guys who find themselves on the cut list have yet to be given a real opportunity to compete for a starting role. Whether that is because of lack of talent in comparison to their competition or injury. The Chiefs have one of the strongest rosters in this league, and unfortunately, these young guys just won’t be able to carve out a role on this team due to either inferior talent or injury issues in camp. This isn’t an indictment on them as NFL caliber players, they just won’t be able to find a role on this roster thanks to the elite talent the team has at the top end of their skill positions. Don’t take this the wrong way, I expect some of these guys to be on the practice squad or active roster on other lesser talented NFL rosters. They can play in this league, but there just aren’t many spots on the Chiefs roster at the skill positions available for competition.
