Offensive Line
- Offensive Tackle Ryan O'Callaghan: Put on injured reserve before the season started, O'Callaghan's year never got started. 6'7" and 330 lbs, he was brought over in 2009 from the Patriots to be the right tackle. But as much as I love size at the offensive line position, O'Callaghan was beat out for the position in 2010 by Barry Richardson. That only means one thing -
- EXPENDABLE
- Offensive Tackle Barry Richardson: Whenever his name is mentioned by Chiefs fans, criticism is sure to follow. And it's fair criticism. Offensive line statistics will show you he's one of the worst tackles in the league, scouting will tell you he's bad, the penalty numbers will tell you he's bad, all signs point to him being bad. But, before we cut him, let's consider depth. He's been a two year starter, and although he's an unrestricted free agent, I doubt he has anywhere else to go. I think the Chiefs need to bring him back, not to start, but to add to the depth on the offensive line, which the Chiefs have very little of right now. Plus he'd be cheap. So, I begrudgingly state that Richardson is -
- SOMEWHAT VALUABLE-ISH
- Center Casey Wiegmann: This decision will probably be taken out of the hands of the Chiefs anyway, because I suspect he will retire. He came back last season on a one year deal, and I bet not having to go through a long training camp following the lockout was a big factor in that decision. The Chiefs drafted Rodney Hudson in 2011 to be the heir to the 38 year old Wiegmann, so ...
- EXPENDABLE
Defensive Line & Linebackers
- Defensive End Wallace Gilberry: Last year, I believed that Gilberry was a very valuable part of our defense. He was our second leading sacker last year behind only Tamba Hali, and could get a good pass rush coming in for Tyson Jackson or Glenn Dorsey on passing downs. But Gilberry's performance dipped last season, finishing with 2.5, down from his 7 in 2010. Gilberry also hasn't proven he's anything other than a one-trick pony as far as only being effective at rushing the passer and not stopping the run. Coupled with the emergence of Allen Bailey at the same position, I think the Chiefs can choose to move on if the price is too high.
- EXPENDABLE
- Defensive Lineman Amon Gordon: Brought in for depth reasons during the offseason, Gordon survived training camp cuts to put up a decent season coming in during sub packages. The 6'2" 305 lbs Gordon is bigger than both Tyson Jackson and Glenn Dorsey, and also finished with more sacks than either player, having two.
- VALUABLE
- Nose Tackle Kelly Gregg: Like Casey Wiegmann above, Kelly Gregg might decide to call it a career. The 12 year veteran Gregg is 320 lbs and is a prototypical nose tackle, and did a good job of replacing Ron Edwards, who left in free agency. With no clear heir to Gregg on the team (Jerrell Powe hasn't shown me enough to be confident in him taking over the role next year), I think Gregg should come back for one more year. Even at 35, he finished with 39 tackles and 1 sack.
- VALUABLE
- Linebacker Jovan Belcher: Chiefs fans might know Belcher as the other middle linebacker. That's what happens when you play next to Derrick Johnson. But despite being next to each other on the field, they serve two different roles. Belcher is the "thumper" of the Chiefs linebacking corps, eliminating lead blockers and allowing other players, like Derrick Johsnon, to make plays. "Probably half of my tackles come from Jovan blowing somebody up and I’m scraping over the top,” Johnson said. “He’s not a selfish guy. He knows what he has to do in this defense to allow certain people to scrape over the top for tackles. Sometimes in the 3-4 defense you have to be a sacrifice guy.” Being a restricted free agent, the Chiefs should have every opportunity to bring back Belcher. And though I wouldn't mind drafting a MLB this season for competiton/upgrade purposes, I think Belcher is a solid player that I like having on the team.
- VALUABLE
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