NFL news: Kansas City Chiefs need an 'aggressive' offseason to recover from star departures
- Sean Fisher
- 25 April 2022
After falling just short of the Super Bowl last season, the Kansas City Chiefs have now lost star receiver Tyreek Hill and safety Tyrann Mathieu, and could be looking at a rebuild season.
After dominating the AFC West for the past six years, it seems the Kansas City Chiefs are finally being caught up by their rivals, and a few crucial departures this offseason has left their squad looking rather thin.
Of course, they still have prize quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who at just 26 years old is already looking for his second ring.
But the Chiefs have already seen what happens when Mahomes isn't surrounded by a strong roster - they were dominated in the 2021 Super Bowl by Tom Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Travis Kelce remains in the roster, but losing Tyreek Hill will be a huge blow to Andy Reid's side, and new additions are needed before they kick off the new season.
Of course, having traded Hill to the Miami Dolphins, the Chiefs have plenty of draft picks and will be one of the busiest franchises heading into this week's draft.
Back in the lab. pic.twitter.com/h9U8A7TYrE
ā Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) April 23, 2022
But while many are expecting the Chiefs to go through a rebuilding process, GM Brett Veach insists it'll be business as usual this season.
"I think, and I've said this before, when you have Pat Mahomes, I think we're wired to go after it every year," Veach said during his pre-draft news conference Friday.
"Just because you trade away a great player doesn't mean we're in a rebuilding mode by any means. It just means we're going to find a new set of resources and try to become aggressive."
The Chiefs have already been busy this offseason, signing free-agent wide receivers
Marquez Valdes-Scantling and
JuJu Smith-Schuster to bolster their offence.
Plus, with 12 picks in the upcoming draft, even more offensive muscle could be added to Reid's disposal.
You can never have enough depth up front š¤š pic.twitter.com/DSWrvRWnjK
ā Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) April 22, 2022
The 64-year-old head coach has enough experience to navigate the Chiefs through this busy offseason, and Veach suggested that Reid's leadership is another reason the franchise will continue to compete at the top.
"I also think that sometimes there is that mindset or idea or forgetting, I guess, of how great of a coach Andy Reid is. He's won with all types of quarterbacks and all different offensive schemes," Veach said.
"We're going to go out there and collect good players and they may not be 4.2 guys, but they're good football players. We're going to put them in position to make plays and win a lot of games."
With the Chiefs eyeing up a fifth AFC Championship appearance under Reid and Mahomes, it'll be as interesting as ever to see who they pick up on Friday.
