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The defending AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs continue to be active during NFL free agency. This time, general manager Brett Veach opted to upgrade on the defensive side of the ball.
Just recently released by the Seattle Seahawks for salary cap reasons, star defensive tackle Jarran Reed is headed to the Chiefs on a one-year deal.
This could be an absolute boon for the Chiefs. They already boast one of the better interior pass rushers in the game, Chris Jones. Adding Reed and his pass-rush ability is no small thing.
A second-round pick of the Seahawks out of Alabama in 2016, Reed tallied 14 quarterback hits and 6.5 sacks a season ago. He put up a career-best 24 quarterback hits and 10.5 sacks for Seattle back in 2018 before struggling with injuries the following season.
This move gives the Chiefs an elite interior pass rush duo. The expectation is that Reed will replace Derrick Nnadi in the starting lineup moving forward. With the Kansas City Chiefs having cleared a ton of cap room this offseason, we still expect them to be active during the remaining waves of NFL free agency. Here’s a look at two more players the Super Bowl contenders should target.
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Kansas City Chiefs target Super Bowl foe Antonio Brown
We already know that Kansas City is looking for an upgrade behind Tyreek Hill at wide receiver following the departure of Sammy Watkins to the conference-rival Baltimore Ravens. In fact, Kansas City was among the finalists for JuJu Smith-Schuster before he re-signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Speaking of the Steelers, their former Pro Bowl wide receiver would be an absolutely perfect fit with the Chiefs. He’d come in and start on the outside with Hill. Meanwhile, the game-breaking Mecole Hardman would move to more of a slot role on one of the most-prolific offenses in the NFL.
Imagine Brown going from catching Tom Brady cannons in Tampa Bay to being on the receiving end of Patrick Mahomes’ fastballs with the Chiefs. Despite some previous off-field issues, it appears that the seven-time Pro Bowler has turned things around. Brown also caught 45 passes for 483 yards in eight games with the Buccaneers.
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Kansas City Chiefs snag Casey Hayward from the division rival Chargers
As of right now, the Chiefs are in major need of help at cornerback. Pretty much a full-time starter each of the past two seasons, Bashaud Breeland still remains on the free agent market. Charvarius Ward is slated to start after struggling in coverage this past year. Outside of that, the Chiefs don’t have a whole lot to rely on.
A two-time Pro Bowler during his time with the division-rival Chargers, Hayward was cut earlier this season because he doesn’t fit new head coach Brandon Staley’s defensive scheme. He can still be a top-end cover guy, both in the slot and on the outside. After all, the 31-year-old veteran is just a few seasons removed from being among the game’s best ball hawks (11 combined interceptions in 2016 and 2017). He would also give Kansas City flexibility heading into next month’s NFL Draft.
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