Dorsey says he and Reid were on same page in draft -- and it showed
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- At first blush, Andy Reid looked flustered.
As the cameras rolled late Friday night, he might've been captured muttering something under his breath to John Dorsey. Hell, he might've been complaining about the lack of Snickers bars in the ice box. It was a silent movie to most of the scribes hunkered down at the Kansas City Chiefs' training facility, a television image with the sound down, with no title cards to illuminate the specifics.
"Like joking with each other, or what?" Dorsey, the Chiefs' general manager, told reporters on Monday when asked about any alleged tension between the two. "I don't think we've had an argument in 20-some years. Honest to God, there was complete harmony in the draft room for the full three days, to be quite honest with you."
And there you go. Although it does spring to mind arguably the greatest single line of movie dialogue in the history of film, from Dr. Strangelove, the darkest of Cold War dark comedies:
"Gentlemen, you can't fight in here," fictional president Merkin Muffley (played by Peter Sellers) scolds general Buck Turgidson (not played by Peter Sellers) as the general is caught wrestling with a Russian diplomat, "this is the War Room!"
Peace, everybody. Peace, love and (Rakeem) Nunez-Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrroches.
"Everyone will feel good in the National Football League," Dorsey continued, "but I feel good, too."
And he should. Beyond that, the Chiefs came away from 2015 NFL Draft weekend with more answers and possibilities than questions -- a marked contrast from a year earlier at this time, when wide receiver, the offensive line and the secondary never seemed to get seriously addressed.
Not to say we told them so, but ... yeah. Yeah, we did. When the fall hit, the Chiefs wound up recording just six interceptions as a team, down from 21 in 2013, a whopping 15-pick dip. And quarterback Alex Smith's season ended early because he got his spleen lacerated. And, oh yeah, the club went THE ENTIRE BLOODY, BLANKETY-BLANK SEASON WITHOUT THROWING A TOUCHDOWN PASS TO A WIDEOUT, a new benchmark for bad at the position since the AFL-NFL merger of 1970.
May 2014: "Trust us. We'll get to it." (They didn't. Hello, Mike "Swinging Gate" McGlynn!)
May 2015: "OK, cool, think we got to it."
Some very smart analytical types say drafting to fill specific holes reeks of desperation and spotty planners. Others do a complete 180 on the subject, noting that it's just practicing common sense.
Last spring in the Kansas City war room felt a little like the former, this one feels more like the latter. In 2014, the Chiefs didn't "need" Dee Ford. Dee Ford was one of the best players available on the board at that particular time, pick No. 23. Dee Ford, as a rookie, wound up contributing little more than an unfortunate Vine post in San Francisco. Now: Time will tell with speedy Dee, especially if Justin Houston goes all rogue and tries to stay away long-term to prove some kind of business point. But the best-player-available mantra in the first round looks to be 0 for 1 here so far.
Conversely, Marcus Peters was drafted to start right away, and barring something crazy -- this is Marcus Peters, after all -- is expected to do just that, especially if the NFL disciplinary czars throw the book, or at least a pamphlet, at cornerback Sean Smith, who's expected to miss at least two games because of his DUI/light pole incident from June 2014. Plus, Smith is in a contract year, and keeping Houston around long-term won't be remotely cheap. And if Peters implodes, hello there, Steven Nelson, who offers the same game (theoretically) at five-sixths the size.
It's damning on Dorsey that the issues the Chiefs had in April 2015 -- wideout, offensive line, secondary depth -- were largely the same ones they took into April 2014. But it is also to his credit, then, that those holes now appear to have some kind of spackle patched over the top, either by a known quantity or the promise of youth.
In the trenches? We're not sure how the battle will work out at center or guard, now that rookie Mitch Morse, a power-lifting stud who can play anywhere, is thrown into the mix. Yes, the ex-Mizzou star might've been a reach at pick No. 49, but with Morse and veterans Ben Grubb and Paul Fanaika on tap, the options and alternatives are unquestionably better than last fall, barring some doomsday scenario, suspensions, plague, locusts or some combination thereof. Injuries and Donald Stephenson's suspensions wound up completely blowing up whatever the plan was in May 2014 but, on paper, it now at least feels as if Dorsey and Reid have adequate cover.
Receiver? Let's be frank: It would behoove Chris Conley to contribute -- actually, it would behoove the third-round pick to contribute right away. The spot's there on the outside, kid. He's big enough (6-foot-2), he's fast enough (4.45 in the 40, allegedly) and at the NFL Scouting Combine, our favorite new Jedi somehow went jump for jump with Andrew Wiggins (45-inch vertical). The problem is that those skills never really translated to eye-popping collegiate statistics at Georgia, and the months to come will tell us if the fault was Mark Richt's or Conley's. Let's hope it's the former. Alex Smith will never be Jay Cutler -- and thank God -- but he does need proven red-zone and intermediate-level receivers he can trust. In this system, receivers who can do the YAC thing and smell the end zone once the offense is close will fit like a glove. Anything vertical is a bonus.
Secondary? Given Eric Berry's health and the aforementioned suspension on deck, the more the merrier.
Which is not to say there aren't questions, still, in hindsight. Morse struggled at times with snaps as a center in Columbia, and every indication is that the Chiefs want to try him there first. And the inside linebacker group is relying on a lot of unknowns -- Derrick Johnson's leg, Derrick Johnson's age, Josh Mauga's improved tackling, Rakim Wilson and D.J. Alexander chief (no pun intended) among them. Reid and Alex Smith can never have too many reliable tight ends to play around with, which moves Travis Kelce from awesome luxury to first-run necessity and puts the onus on another candidate -- rookie James O'Shaughnessy has the raw goods, but they're small-school raw goods, and Demetrius Harris has yet to turn that corner -- to step forward.
Or, if you like, imagine this offense without a healthy Kelce. Just make sure you're not within arm's reach of any sharp objects when you do.
You can follow Sean Keeler on Twitter at @SeanKeeler or email him at seanmkeeler@gmail.com.
