Who Will Matter Most to the Chiefs in 2030? Predicting Kansas City's Future
What will the Kansas City Chiefs look like in 2030? Price Carter and Christian Ainsworth take on a massive thought experiment: projecting the 10 most important people to the Chiefs' future as the franchise approaches its final season at Arrowhead Stadium. From Patrick Mahomes and Josh Simmons to bold predictions involving future free agents, coaching changes, and the next generation of Chiefs stars, the guys build their vision of what Kansas City's future could look like. Before that, they discuss the latest college football gambling controversy involving former Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby and why Patrick Mahomes' connection to Texas Tech makes the story especially interesting from a branding perspective.
Video Transcript
Welcome in to another edition of The Intangibles, brought to you by Arrowhead Addict.
My name is Price Carter, joined by Christian Amesworth per usual.
And today we've got a couple of fun activities that we're gonna be doing.
We're gonna be breaking down the most important Chiefs in 2030.
You see, we are looking ahead, projecting not only the current Chiefs that we think will still be on the roster, whether it be on their current contract, an extension.
We're also gonna be making some predictions about maybe some potential free agents that the Chiefs could add.
Looking about the future for the final season in Arrowhead, which is really bittersweet to say right now as these epic videos are coming out of the World Cup, and Argentina fans are loving Arrowhead.
It's, it's, it's a great sight to see, Christian.
Oh, yeah, it's really cool, too.
I mean, you know, being a homegrown guy from the KC area, like, I've been to Arrowhead a bunch, especially as a kid.
So, you know, not to get too deep into the Arrowhead talk too early, but, it is cool to see people from other countries come over and kind of get, you know, a taste of what we experienced as children.
Yeah, for sure.
I actually want to change gears here for a little bit, 'cause I don't know if anybody's really talked about this on the channel, and me and you are probably the most equipped to do so.
I want to change gears to Brennan Sorsby, the Texas formerly the Texas Tech quarterback, was at Cincinnati.
I'm sure 95% of the people who are watching this have heard it, but in case you have missed it, Brennan Sorsby was a, a high-level recruit in the transfer portal.
Started his last two years at Cincinnati.
Potential fringe, like, first-round pick, second-round pick talent.
If he had a great year this year, I think he could've been a first-round pick.
commits to Texas Tech for a lucrative $5 million deal, and then news comes out that he had placed numerous wagers on college football games, including his own team, back when he was not a starter at Indiana, but back when he was at Indiana.
this obviously is a massive violation of the NCAA protocol.
He was getting suspended, and then there's a ruling from a, a judge in Lubbock, Texas, that he can play, and the Big 12 and all of college media said, "This is not happening."
And it felt like every single day there was a new piece of, like, slander against Texas Tech.
It was a, a public relations nightmare.
Sorsby declares for the supplemental draft, which will be here in a couple of weeks.
But the reason I want to talk about this is, I don't think the Chiefs are gonna be interested in Brennan Sorsby for obvious reasons, but I, I First off, the sanctity of sports from sports gambling has never been at a greater threat.
I think there is a story here for the Chiefs, and it is a team wearing Patrick Mahomes' logo, a team with Patrick Mahomes' logo on the field.
One of the pub- one of the pieces of, like, public relations statements that they sent out had the Patrick Mahomes logo on it.
Brennan Sorsby, I, I saw a picture of this, 'cause you may have seen, I made a, a, a tweet regarding Dylan Raiola and Brennan Sorsby and Patrick Mahomes, and there's Texas Tech people underneath there.
There's a picture of Brennan Sorsby's locker, and underneath in parentheses it has Patrick Mahomes, when he had that locker, what years.
I think, I, I think this is a good thing for Patrick Mahomes.
I don't think he needs his brand to be associated with sports gambling.
Oh, yeah, no.
And hold on.
What, what's the connection there?
Say that again.
I, I must have misheard you.
So- So- Go ahead Mo- so Mo- so in, in case you know, this, like, Texas Tech has become an NIL powerhouse strictly because of Cody Campb- I shouldn't say strictly.
Majority because of Cody Campbell, who is an oil ty- tycoon billionaire- Yes, yeah who's spending millions and millions of dollars on the team.
The second-biggest brand influencer NIL force in Texas Tech is Patrick Mahomes.
He personally sponsors nine or seven different athletes across different sports to play.
They wear Mahomes' logo on their jersey.
They wear it on the field.
His logo is on the letterhead that they're sending out making these statements about Brennan Sorsby.
Brennan Sorsby had Patrick Mahomes' locker.
Like, in the locker room it says, "Brennan Sorsby, quarterback," underneath parentheses, "Patrick Mahomes," like 2010 to 2014 or whenever he was at Tech.
Um- Yeah like, that connection between Mahomes, his brand, the school he went, like, it, it, it's pretty easy to say, "Hey, Patrick Mahomes is cool with Brennan Sorsby gambling on games and playing."
I think this is a good thing.
I think this is a good thing that he's moving on.
I mean, it's interesting to see that connection be made.
I don't know.
I, I would say, if anything, it's kind of a downer, right?
Like, integrity of the college game, not necessarily sponsored by Patrick Mahomes, but it's kind of his money that's paying the, paying Sorsby's check, right?
Well, I mean, think about it like this.
Brennan Sorsby runs out on the field in a primetime game, because Texas Tech figures to be the heavy favorite in the Big 12 again, and there's Patrick Mahomes' logo.
On the face of the instability of NIL and gambling on sports, if that would've been Brennan Sorsby, I, I think that's a really bad look, right?
Oh, yeah.
Like, it's kind of- Okay like, like, Mahomes isn't calling the shots at Texas Tech, right?
But it's- Obviously, yeah also safe to say he has some influence there.
And he hasn't said anything about Sorsby.
I, I think he'll probably be asked at some point, and he'll probably give a perfect answer like he normally does at the mic, but there is a quiet negligence to that.
Like, if Sorsby were to run out f- on the field for the Red Raiders week one, I guess it would've been week three, 'cause he was gonna be suspended the first two weeks, that would've been kind of a, a quiet agreement to that.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, and I think they did the right thing here with, you know, I don't, I'm not, I'm sure there wasn't, like, a hard, "Hey, you have to declare for the supplemental draft," but I think there was some, "Hey, listen, man.
We're tr- we're gonna sweep this a little bit under the radar as much as we can.
We don't want all the heat.
Go ahead, declare for the supplemental draft."
and it sucks for his career.
Like, I, I remember watching him, thinking, "Hey, this is a guy who could be a legit quarterback in the draft for this, you know, this upcoming year."
Just sucks that this is the way it ended up.
Like, any, any quarterback picked- Well, I don't know- What?
about if it sucks.
I mean, it's kind of like, it's kind of like when you're married, like, "Hey, brother, there's one rule.
You can't, you can't cheat," right?
Like, that, that's the one rule.
You can't cheat.
I think there, from how you've described it- But if you cheat- I think there's more than one rule Don't complain about, uh- There's one hard- Don't complain about- There's one hard rule Keynes, um- Yeah, I have many, many rules, but, there's one, like, steadfast rule, like, the, the, the contract, right, that bi- binds all that together.
But I mean, Swordsby did something over and over again, and whether you wanna call it a mental health addiction or whatever, like, he shouldn't have been able to play college football.
Am I hyper-fixating on something?
Maybe.
A little bit.
But I do think it's this.
The, the minute that we start talking about the integrity of these games with sports books, that lack of faith from fans is massive.
And if people lose faith in the integrity of the g- I mean, we've seen this all across the, the games.
I mean, there's been NFL players who've been suspended for gambling, there's been NBA players.
I mean- I was just like- it is going to happen- Yeah more and more, 'cause it is not legal in all 50 states yet.
So as this grows, I mean, this is just, I, I think this is something, like, this is oil and water.
You wanna repel yourself as far as away as you can from this.
Thankfully, the Chiefs have never had any issues with players and gambling, at least to my knowledge.
but I think this is something for Mahomes' brand.
You wanna distance yourselves as much as you can from that.
Oh, 100%.
I could not be, in agreement with you more, Price.
There's a, a, the, you talked about the NBA, there was a huge scandal with Chauncey Billups- Yeah like, semi-recently.
And a few of my buddies are like, "Well, we knew the game was rigged anyway."
Like, you have the old, NF- or, or the NBA refs- Or in baseball, there was a- Or- Emmanuel Clase, the closer for the Guardians.
I mean, he w- you could tell they've synced it up to where, like, hey, he had a bet on the first pitch being a ball or a strike, and the balls are comical.
Like, in the dirt- Yeah or five feet over the, the hitter's head.
I mean, this is something that i- it will only be more and more of a story.
And for a- as for Swordsby, I mean, there was, like, there were several teams who are football powerhouses that are like, "We are not scheduling you."
And the Big 12 was talking about not scheduling them, which is, like, their primary opponent.
So I, I think that this had to happen, and I think, you know, like I said, I, I won't be surprised if Mahomes is asked about this at some point.
Maybe it's washed over by then.
For Swordsby the player, I, I think the first-round buzz was all based upon a strong year at Tech.
He does have some good Sunday throws out there.
He is kind of a bowling ball as a runner.
But I've never felt more validated about a player gambling on games.
I mean, I was in Arrowhead when they faced off against Nebraska week one last year.
That pass that he threw to end the game, I mean, if you told me he had a bet on it, it, it was a terrible throw.
I mean, he just threw it- Yeah right into the cornerback.
Oh, it just draped all over him, so very interesting story.
I mean, college football, the dynamic with NIL, it feel, it always feels like we're on the cusp of, "No, no, no, this is the new rock bottom for college football.
This is the new rock bottom for college football."
So I'm glad to see that this, the college football landscape actually stood up to this a little bit, 'cause we've already seen this, right?
Like, we've seen it with Trini- Trinidad Chambliss, the quarterback from Ole Miss who was fighting for a year of eligibility.
Surprise, a judge in Mississippi rules that he can do it.
Like, you know, this is getting to the point that it's states' rights over it, over anything else.
It's interesting.
comically, the thing that the NCAA thinks is gonna fix it is getting Congress involved, because they always fix everything.
but that will be our college football segment for today.
But hey, I just wanna talk about with Mahomes' brand, because mainly I sat down and wrote about half of a story, and I looked down at my phone and Pete Thamel tweeted, "Brendan Swordsby has declared for the supplemental draft."
And I hit Control A Delete, because everything I just wrote was invalid.
Yeah.
Yeah.
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So when I texted you about this, event, you were skeptical at first.
But I think I've, I've opened your eyes a little bit to how this activity can be interesting.
So we're gonna fast-forward.
The year is 2030.
None of us have jobs anymore.
AI has taken them all.
somehow, miraculously, Travis Kelce is still playing for the Chiefs.
Just kidding.
I think he will be a happily married retired man at that point.
But it's the final season in Arrowhead.
The Chiefs are getting ready to open up a new stadium.
That stadium's starting to take shape over on the Kansas side.
Lot of buzz around the final season in Arrowhead, and the Chiefs, they wanna have a great team take the field when Patrick Mahomes runs out on the field week one in 2031.
So we're breaking down the 10 most important Chiefs.
Notice they said Chiefs and not Chiefs players, because you might pick a coach, you might pick a GM.
Not sure.
We're gonna go 10 to one, players that you think will be on the roster in 2030.
The rookies, by the way, most of the r- so this is four years from now, so all of your second, third, fourth, fifth-round picks They're out of rookie contract at that point.
Your first-round picks would be playing on their fifth-year option or a possible extension, and then any player that's currently on the team not named Mahomes will be, would be receiving a new extension.
Mahomes's contract runs through the 2033 season.
So, let's start at number 10.
Christian, who do you have as your number 10 player most important to the 2030 Chiefs?
So, I went kind of fun with this one, and I think there's been a lot of buzz about this player, especially recently.
And we talked about him right after the draft happened, although not because he was selected.
Isa Polley, the offensive tackle out of Washington State, who this will be his second year in the NFL.
His contract ends this year, so he's You know, he was on that UDFA contract.
they would have to sign him again.
But I think he's in the perfect position to come in and be the starting right tackle for the Kansas City Chiefs for the foreseeable future.
Now, he played a lot of left tackle.
He played some right tackle.
and he was very, very young to the position when he came out of Wasing- Washington State.
I think he had maybe two years or Yeah, I think it was- two years under his belt of playing tackle.
But he was a big basketball guy, athletic, super mobile, and I think you see that when he's on the field.
Like, very, very athletic player, but also very, very raw.
I think this year, he's got the potential.
He's in the perfect position to come in and win that starting right tackle spot, and then Chiefs have two bookend tackles from the 2025 NFL Draft in Josh Simmons and Isa Polley.
I did consider Isa Polley.
He's not on my list.
I think, like, if, if I'm projecting the most likely outcome for Polley, it's just that he's, like, the swing tackle and, like, maybe isn't able to ever take a hold of the right tackle job officially.
But I did consider him, because, hey, a swing tackle is really important.
And man, you wanna talk about a huge win for the org.
If they're able to get two starting tackles out of a draft that they had the 31st pick in, what a tremendous success.
And I have a feeling we'll probably be talking about the other guy from that class in a little bit.
Mine is on the offensive line.
I went with Kingsley Suamataia.
this is a guy who y- last year was a solid guard, his first year playing guard.
We know he's got elite skills at the guard as far as movement ability.
I think this team is gonna continue to invest in the offensive line.
I will not be surprised, as Mahomes goes into the back part of their career, if they don't just kind of continually invest in that offensive line, paying three guys.
They're paying They've, they've paid three guys pretty consistently.
I think Suamataia, they do the same thing that they did with Trey Smith and Joe Thuney.
We- they- they're gonna choose the younger guy who still has more upside.
Suamataia's got the right connections at BYU and all that stuff.
I think this organization could look at paying him.
He's still a younger player.
And I think, you know, with some growth, he could grow into a, a Pro Bowl-level, you know, Trey Smith-caliber type of guard.
So, lock up that left side with Kingsley Suamataia right there at left guard.
So, he is my number 10 player.
Beautiful.
Trey Smith on your list?
Not to, to get too far ahead of ourselves.
Trey, Trey Smith is not on my list.
I, I think that- Okay.
Yeah they will I, I have another player on my list that will be relevant to that discussion.
But I left Trey Smith off.
I think, you know, he Trey Smith just turned 27 yesterday.
by, by then, he'll be 31.
I think the injuries for Trey are a little concerning.
you know, he's been hurt a couple times, and obviously, he's been able to steer clear of those blood clot issues that he had in college.
But I, I think that they might let him walk as they are liken to do to most 30-year-old players.
all right.
Let's hear your number nine.
My number nine is Emmitt Johnson, running back out of Nebraska.
Now, I was a little I can see you shaking your head.
yeah, yeah.
The Corn Man himself, Emmitt Johnson, on the team.
we, as Chiefs fans, know that we've been dying for a hero at running back for a very long time.
Ever since Kareem Hunt left, we've kind of been searching for that dude, whether it was Darryl Williams, whether it was Damien Williams, Charcandrick West maybe- I- was on a Spencer Ware.
I mean, my God, we have been just, you know, dying to have somebody come in and win over that spot, and we got him this off-season with Kenneth Walker III.
Now, his contract is only through 2028, so there is some like, "Hey, you know, is he actually gonna play all the way through that contract?
Is this really, like, a two-year or one-year, two-year deal?"
so you know, there is some longevity concerns with him.
But Emmitt Johnson is in the perfect spot to take that over, and I think that he's, you know, put a lot of good film on tape, to give me some confidence that he's gonna be that dude in 2030.
I will talk about Emmitt Johnson later.
number nine for me is- He's higher than nine?
He's higher than nine for you, really?
I took it all- Oh, no, Price.
I took it- Come on now I took it all, I took it all off the cob for him, okay?
I know you did.
I, I left it all on the field for him.
So, like- This, this show will be nothing but unabashedly itself.
All right, number nine, I, I This is my first nonpla- like, non-Chief.
He's not on the team right now.
I went with Nick Emanwori.
Here's my thoughts.
This team has historically pla- paid safeties, free agency.
They did it with Justin Reid.
They did it with Tyrann Mathieu.
They did it with Aloki Gilman.
Emanwori has a lot of traits that they like, big, long, physical, twitchy freak.
I think he's, like, a dream come true as a box safety or a big nickel.
This is just a shot in the dark.
He This kind of ties up well with him being his fir- Like, again, a young player that you're paying to be in the prime of their career.
They'll pay a safety.
Emanwori's stock is, like, through the roof right now, 'cause big nickels are just the, the thing in the NFL.
But I could see them going and paying a safety.
obviously, the safety position, it's got a lot of Aloki Gilman won't be here for super long.
Jamari Conner's close to out of contract.
Jaylen Hicks will be out of contract.
There's not a lot of stability at safety, so I could see them taking a big swing on a safety, and I Basically, what I did was like, "Okay, this draft class is, like, where I think they would probably line up."
And then I went to, like, who's been the best safety in that draft class, and it's Emanwori.
So, Emanwori, is my guy Not Jayden Hicks.
That, that was your dude before Emmanuel Moore right now, right?
What, what- Yeah, I mean, I just think Emmanuel Moore is, has already shown more as a, as a, as a downhill player.
Hicks is showing a lot of hesitance.
I mean, they are kind of built same, but I mean, Emmanuel Moore was just such a physical freak for his size, and I think that they'll just look at him as a Swiss Army knife.
which is kind of weird.
I, I didn't put Spagnuolo on this list, but I could see, you know, Spagnuolo still being around for this possibly.
okay, so I'll, I'll do my number eight 'cause, you just mentioned him.
It's Emmet Johnson.
so I don't have him extremely high.
Here's my thoughts on, on Emmet Johnson.
At this point, he's probably pushing the franchise lead, lead in rushing, like, you know, coming for Jamaal Charles' number.
Already beat Priest Holmes' touchdowns.
all joking aside, I, I think the If Emmet Johnson's here in 2030, I think it's as a, as a 1B.
Like, I think, you know, what- whatever the, the future of Kenneth Walker is, I think there'll be another guy in the backfield is my point.
But I think if Emmet Johnson can grow into a third down back, I think he kind of can be that, like, thunder and lightning situation.
So, on a reasonable contract extension, something that's, you know, not market setting or anything like that, but just a piece of the running back room, and maybe it's a, it's a rookie and him or something, and he's the veteran in the room at that time.
But I do believe in his skill set, obviously, and I, I do think if he grows as a pass protector, he has a really nice skill set that could be a valuable long-term role for the team.
And all accounts from OTAs and everything, he's been willing to put his nose in there as pass protector.
He's taken special team snaps.
He has a very good mindset.
So, yeah, I will do whatever it takes to keep Emmet Johnson on this team.
Yeah, you talked about the mini camp buzz, dude.
It could not be hotter for Emmet Johnson.
Like, I remember hearing these types of stories about Josh Simmons early on, where it's like, "Hey, this guy's tearing it up."
We You're If you don't know who the Chiefs drafted with that fifth-round pick, or what Was he a fourth round, Emmet Johnson?
Um- Fifth fifth round.
Okay, that's what I thought.
if you haven't heard about that fifth-round pick that the Chiefs picked up in Emmet Johnson, like, you will know the name by the end of the season.
So, and honestly, Price, I, I'm really hoping Emmet Johnson makes it just for you.
I think you've put a lot of stock in that dude, and it could not be better for the brand, honestly.
What's good for you is good for me.
Brother, if Emmet Johnson stinks, I'm gonna have to block a lot of people on Twitter, okay?
That's all I gotta say.
People are gonna be, like- Yeah personally holding me responsible.
Like, if he does, you know, if he comes out and fumbles the ball week one, people are gonna be like, "You told me that this guy was good."
So, we're, we're very invested in Emmet Johnson's stock.
Who's your number eight?
somebody who will also get me death threats in my DMs if he is not good, that's Cyrus Allen, and I could not be higher on him.
I, I have talked about him ad nauseam.
but just a quick little overview.
He's gonna be the best route runner on the team this upcoming year, outside of Travis Kelce, which I know is not saying a lot because of who we have on the roster, but he is definitely somebody who can come in, fit a niche role.
And I don't think early on he's gonna be competing for snaps like, you know, with Rashee Rice or Xavier Worthy.
I think he's gonna be competing for snaps with Travis Kelce, who will be 37, kind of on his way out, and, you know, maybe has a good push early in the season.
I just think that there is something about, Cyrus Allen that s- just yells longevity, just screams longevity.
Keenan Allen is in the same sort of situation, where it's like, hey, not the most athletic, but damn, he can run some good routes.
if he builds up that chemistry with Patrick Mahomes, like, I just see a connection built for the future.
And maybe not, you know, 12, 13, 1400 yards a season, but 1000 yards a season as your wide receiver two for a guy you got at pick 176, like, elite value there.
Yeah, I mean, man, I, number 13, last name Allen, plays best out of the slot.
Is this Keenan Allen?
Is this Keenan Allen in the fifth round?
He's the next Keenan Allen.
We'll ne- Yeah.
We'll, we'll never know, but I mean, hey, the tide's up for him.
I, I really do hope that maybe at this point the Chiefs have a real, like, wide receiver one boundary guy, and he can just be that slot guy.
but yeah, I You are not, certainly not the only Cyrus Allen believer out there.
my number seven might be a little bit of a shock here.
I've got Mansoor Delane.
I think he'll be playing on his fifth-year option because the Chiefs, they won't extend him, 'cause they don't extend corners.
And this is more of just, like, I think Mansoor Delane's gonna be very good.
I don't know if he's gonna be Derek Stingley.
I don't know if he's gonna be Sauce Gardner.
I don't know if he's gonna be those guys, but I think he could just be a consistently good outside corner, right?
Like, we hope he's Christian Gonzalez, but I think he's gonna be good.
And I think that they'll probably put him on his fifth-year option.
That's kind of the situation that they were in with Trent McDuffie this past year.
They traded him before his fifth-year option.
but that, that's my thought is that he will still be around.
I, I'm still confident in him.
He'll be an outside corner, but I don't know if he'll ever just be that, like, shut down all pro type of guy.
I hope he is.
Certainly hope he is.
But Mansoor Delane.
Yeah.
I mean, I think he could be that guy.
I, I think he's in the perfect spot with Dave Merritt as his DB coach, Spagnuolo's defense.
Like, I, I think that's well within the realm of possibility.
I, I know you- Yeah, I, my- weren't as high on him as, you know- My hes- guys like- My hesitance with- Stingley or Moore yeah, my hesitance with him is just the tools.
Like, the speed that he ran never really showed up on tape.
I don't want to say he's slow, but I didn't see, like, an overwhelming speed guy, and then, like, the length and size isn't great.
And, like, maybe he's playing in the slot by then or something.
I, I don't know.
I, I, I'm not sure.
But I do feel really good about his, how technical he is, how he never panics, how good he is at the ball, and recovers really good.
So, I, I still really like the player.
This is more of just, like, I have some guys that I thought will still be m- important to the team that are higher versus, like, I think he's gonna stink Yeah, of course.
so for my number seven, I have another defensive back who I think is gonna play incredibly well.
He will be a slot guy and a rotational, safety, and that's Jayden Cannady, out of Oregon.
Like, and not somebody who was highly touted coming out.
Very under-the-radar prospect, but I think he- So, you think they extend Cannady?
Yes.
Yeah, I think they have to.
Okay.
I mean, his contract ends in 2029, so they would have to keep him on the roster anyway.
but I do think he's one of those guys that you'll be able to get at kind of a lower price.
won't be a top-of-the-market guy, but who can come in and play legit snaps for you and be a, a very, very good contributor.
And, you know, when you're building a roster, you're not gonna be able to have Danielle Hunter at defensive end, and then Nick Ella Punuha at safety, and Patrick Mahomes at quarterback, and Justin Jefferson at wide receiver.
Like, yeah, would it be fantastic if that were the case?
Absolutely.
A salary cap exists, and so you have to find value in some of these guys who are not gonna be that top-end talent, but who can produce at, you know, a top 20, top 30 level.
And I think Jayden Cannady has all of the, the potential signs to, you know, be a player that's like that in 2030.
Hey, I, I hope you're right.
Like, I'm, I'm very into the Chiefs getting a real slot corner instead of what they've been doing lately.
it'd be interesting for them to extend him.
Maybe it's like, hey, they can get ahead of the market and he's on, like, a, a reasonable deal.
We've not seen the Chiefs invest in corners very much, but would be interesting to see.
my number six, I've got Creed.
I, I, I think that he has a chance to be a Hall of Famer if he continues the trajectory he's on.
I think he could still be playing well into his 30s because of how good of an athlete he is.
I think they wanna keep that connection with him and Mahomes longterm.
You've got Sue Amataia and Creed on the inside.
Probably draft a right guard or something like that at some point.
that keeps your foundation on the inside really strong, really set, something that they've been committed to pretty much since 2020.
It's a no-brainer with Creed.
You want him on this team.
And, yeah, I, I just think that they'll be committed to him.
He's been, an ace on and off the field for the team.
Yeah, he's my next one as well at pick six.
Um- Okay he's going to be an anchor for the Chiefs offensive line for years to come.
He's just been that dude.
He's one of the very few elite, elite players that Brett Veach has drafted.
And it, you know, he's at a pretty important position.
Like, you look at He's, he's the only guy on the field that will touch the ball 100% of the time.
Yeah, exactly.
And you need a guy there who you can trust.
Chiefs got a long history at center.
Casey Wigman, Tim Grunhard, um- Mitch Morse What's his name?
Don't forget about the GOAT.
Mitch Morse.
Uh- Yeah what's, Hudson.
I can't remember his first name.
Ronnie Hudson, who went to the Cardinals.
Like, they've had a lot of really good- Mm-hmm centers over the years.
Yeah.
So, continuing that long line.
All right, my number five, this is where it starts getting spicy here.
I've got Sam LaPorta.
I think that the Chiefs have a major need at tight end starting now and, going forward next year, where Kelce is likely to not be on the roster.
Noah Gray is not likely to be on the roster.
You've got nobody who's really shown anything else.
And I This is kind of tipping my hand here a little bit.
I was either thinking Kyle Pitts or LaPorta.
Both guys are almost the same age, which is wild for Kyle Pitts, who is, you know, drafted several years before him.
But I went with LaPorta because I think he's a little bit more of a traditional blocking tight end than Pitts.
And I think that this team is gonna need a playmaker.
And the wide receiver market, I've thought about putting some big swing at wide receiver here, like a Puka Nacua or something like that.
But the wide receiver market's insane.
I don't know if they're ever gonna line up and pay it.
They have one of the cheapest wide receiver rooms in the NFL for, like, three years running now.
So instead, they'll pay a tight end, who will still get a lot of money, but it won't be as much as a top-end wide receiver.
So, they get a new tight end weapon to kinda filter that offense through a guy who can do it all in LaPorta.
So, that, that's my choice.
That would be great for my fantasy team.
LaPorta has not been incredible the past couple of years, but he definitely has that potential.
He, he's a fantastic player.
seeing another elite tight end in the Kansas City Chiefs locker room would just- Yes be a chef's kiss.
It's just Gonzalez, to Tony Moeaki, to Kelce.
Yes.
All the greats, yeah.
And then Kelce hands the baton to LaPorta.
That's how we're gonna do it here in Kansas City.
And, frankly, I, I'm here for it.
Yeah.
Oh, 100%.
Now, here's something you'll definitely be here for, and this is gonna be an addition this upcoming off-season.
Now, you say they're not gonna pay a wide receiver.
What if they trade up and draft one in Jeremiah Smith, wide receiver out of Ohio State, who if, in case you've been living under a rock, is maybe the most highly touted wide receiver prospect we've had in the past half-decade, maybe?
Maybe longer.
now, here's the thing.
I'm kinda banking on a few things here.
This is not something, like, the Chiefs are gonna package pick 31 and pick 32.
Yeah, you're, you're banking on- And then they- the Chiefs sucking this year is what you're banking on.
Yeah, yeah.
This is, this is hedging my bet on the Chiefs not being fantastic, okay?
But I think there's a few reasons why that could happen.
Not to, you know, bring this, you know, to a bad place here.
but Mahomes coming off the injury, you know, the Chiefs doing away with Trent McDuffie, trading him away.
and then, you know, Brett Veach may be missing on a few picks from this draft.
I think there's a real scenario here where the Chiefs have a top 15 pick again.
And, you know, you package that with another first, and I know Brett Veach has not been the most aggressive guy in the draft, although for some reason he has that reputation.
But you package two firsts, you move up, I don't know, seven, eight spots in the draft, maybe throw in a little bit more.
And then you get one of the greatest wide receiver prospects we've ever seen, and you pair him up with Patrick Mahomes for 10 years.
I, I, as much as I would love this, I think the teams might treat Jeremiah Smith as close to a quarterback as you're gonna see in the draft.
Well, okay- Like, I, I just- But you, so are you- What's the situation that a team's moving?
Like, let's say- Okay, let, let's just dream a dream.
Arch Manning one, Dante Moore two, or whatever quarterback you wanna put in there- Yeah, say- and then like team three.
Like, we, we saw this a couple years ago with Marvin Harrison Jr., where the Cardinals were just totally content to stick and pick him, right?
Because, like, even if you don't have a quarterback in place, you can still use a, an elite wide receiver one.
There's no situation that you wanna pass on that guy.
So, the Chiefs I thought about Cam Coleman, who is wide receiver two- Yeah for me.
Yeah.
he's coming out of Auburn.
He's gonna be playing at Texas this year with Arch Manning.
He also kind of fits their profile a little bit more, where he is a more vertical guy down the field.
To me, he comps a little bit to Malik Nabers.
it's kind of Like, I, I have likened Marvin Harrison versus Malik Nabers to Jeremiah Smith and Cam Coleman, where it's like, I don't know if there's a wrong answer here.
but yeah, I also thought about Rome Odunze, but I think Odunze's a little bigger than they like, but I also don't know if it'll be the same coaching staff, so we'll see.
Hey, I like it.
It's bold.
No person would be mad at that outcome after it happened.
They'd be mad that the Chiefs were in a spot to draft him, but after that, vibes are all high.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Okay, time for my number four, and this is, this is a, a take that was left on the cutting room floor, floor for the take purge, and it is that Peter Woods will be the better draft pick than Mansor Leigh.
Oof.
And I think Peter Woods has the chance to be the next, like, ace of the Chiefs defensive line.
He's my number four.
I think, you know, Byron Murphy-esque, like Byron Murphy of the, of the Seahawks.
I think that he has the potential to be, like, the ace of that defensive line going forward.
I think he's planning on an extension.
I think he's taken that baton from Chris Jones, and he's the centerpiece of the Chiefs defensive line, and they continue just to have these, like, wreckers on the inside, and then they piece it together on the outside.
So, for that reason, Peter Woods.
Not on my list, Peter Woods.
Um- Peter.
Wrong yeah, yeah.
I, I guess I'll be that.
just, I don't know.
I, I've got some concerns about him, especially his last year at, at Clemson.
But no, somebody who could, if we're, if we're type, talking hypothetically here, it's not like he has the worst odds on your list to not be elite, or even on my list.
my next guy, my number four, Trey Smith.
Now, he's gonna need a new contract.
It ends in 2028, but again, he's one of these kind of stalwarts of the defense where, you know, you need some anchors there, and if you're gonna pay some people, why shouldn't it be Creed Humphrey and then Trey Smith again if they have, you know, played up to the caliber of, of play that they have been for the past three or four years?
Yeah, I mean, I, I could see it, like, that the keeping Creed and Trey together, like the vibes are high for sure too, and it's always a little bit harder for teams to let go of guys that they brought in and developed, right?
Like, it's just different when you're letting a John Dorsey pick walk out the door, but they've, you know, they've just traded Trey McDuffie.
They just let Jalen Watson and L'Jarius Sneed walk out the door.
So, be interesting to see what happens, but I get it, like, continuing to invest on the interior offensive line, especially for, Mahomes at this point, that will be well into his 30s.
speaking of protecting Mahomes, I've got Josh Simmons at number three.
I, I think that, I think the world of him as a player.
I, I think the movement skills are, are super special.
I think locking I mean, I, I looked this up for a, a story I did.
The Chiefs have had 11 different starting left tackles in the last three years.
Excuse me, nine.
Sorry, it's nine.
Nine different left tackles in the last three years starting for them.
So, getting that position right, I do not think that this team will take it lightly, and if Josh Simmons is even, like, league average left tackle, I think that they will lock him up.
Yeah.
as long as he is continuing to progress as far as, like, dependability and all those things that we know that go with him.
but there's no doubting the, the athlete and the talent, and that's why I, I think, you know, he's a top three player.
I think that he's Mahomes' blind side protector.
You got your left side.
W- basically, S- Simmons, Suamala, Creed, bing, we're done there on the left side, his blind side.
Right side, we'll figure it out, right?
Like, that's something we'll approach in the draft and free agency in the next couple of years.
We've got that left side locked down, blocking it up for Emmit and Patrick Mahomes, no-brainer.
Yeah.
obviously, he's my number three as well.
to me, I There's a lot of talk about, you know, him missing time and being absent for a few of the games this past year, but this is not the same type of absent that Rashee Rice has been.
don't know exactly the nature of the situation, but we know that, you know, everything seems to have smoothed o- smoothed over now.
So, you know, Josh Simmons being that reliable left tackle is, I think, incredibly necessary for the Chiefs if they wanna keep contending.
Not, not only just for, you know, contract-wise and what we'd like to see the team in 10 years, but you gotta have a guy on the left side.
I mean, Patrick Mahomes is fantastic.
He's coming off a knee injury, and we're, we're in a situation now where, you know, is it really all that important to, you know, get these d- or these offensive linemen and, and protect them?
Obviously.
I- it's one of the most important things we have to do with this upcoming, sort of era of Chiefs Kingdom.
So, I think Josh Simmons could definitely be that dude.
He's one of those guys that when we looked at in the draft, we had some questions about.
I think, we both, you know, looking back, he was a guy, hey, you know, there's some injury concerns, maybe some things off the field that we don't, you know, necessarily agree with, and then he comes out, he plays like he did last year, and you're like, "Go shit, never mind, he's fantastic."
Yeah.
let- let's just lock him up.
And, if the Chiefs do that and he is, you know, the guy at left tackle for 2030, I think smash, ballpark, home run, hit out of the park, this is a fantastic pick by Brett Veach.
Very excited about my number two.
I thought long and hard about this.
Do you think Andy Reid is still the coach of the Kansas City Chiefs in 2030?
How old is he right now?
He's 70-something, right?
He's 68.
68.
Yeah.
Oh, that's right, he would be 70, yeah, 70-something.
Probably not.
I, I mean, yeah.
I, I'll go with no.
My number two most important person to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2030 is Kyle Shanahan.
I think that this makes a lot of sense.
I think at some point, the Niners, whether right or wrong, will fire him because of the consistent failures.
You look at what he's going against the next couple years, still got the Super Bowl champion Seahawks in his division.
Still has the Rams, who are somehow better than they were last year.
It's a tough division.
It's a tough conference.
And I think at some point, if he has a, you know, a down year, I think that he could look to get out, a, a mutual parting of ways.
There is a lot of Andy Reid in Kyle Shanahan, a guy who everyone unanimously agrees is one of the best scheme guys in the league, who consistently came up short in the playoffs because he had good, not great quarterback play.
Blown leads, those type of things.
He's been associated, obviously, with the OC in that 23 game against the Falcons.
The Chiefs, they are familiar with the Shanahans from the years with the Broncos when his father was coaching them, too.
I think that if Andy Reid First off, if we know when Andy Reid is retiring, like, if he comes out and says, "This is gonna be my last year," I think that the pieces will already start being put into place, right?
Like, it'll be a tectonic shift.
And this isn't just about Patrick Mahomes, because, like, yeah, Kyle Shanahan would be coming in here to coach the back half of Mahomes' career.
But it's also about opening a new stadium, a ownership that is very highly regarded in the league, and a team that has put a ton of s- really successful infrastructure out there over the last decade or so to be one of the top franchises.
All those things will be coveted.
And for that reason, I think that when the Chiefs go to look for a head coach, I think that they will have many suitors, and I think that, you know, we could see.
Like, I know some people have, talked about, like, Mike Tomlin or someone like that.
Like, I, I, I hope, I think the Chiefs will not do the, like, "Okay, Spags is head coach now" thing.
I think that they realize that this is a, a moment in time that requires a lot of it.
So for that reason, Kyle Shanahan is turning Mahomes You know, at this point, Mahomes' arm talent, Mahomes' mobility, it's probably a lot closer to what Shanahan's been scheming up for some guys for years.
And like, "Hey, we're gonna have Emmit Johnson running the outside zone.
We've got Sam LaPorta, another Iowa tight end, who's a, a better blocker.
I'm gonna be designing things up for there, and we're gonna take Mahomes' back half into his career with great scheme, take him into a new stadium."
I, I, I like it.
I think it makes sense.
I think maybe Spags sticks around.
We know that the 49ers tried to hire Spags as the defensive coordinator, so there's obviously some interest there.
So, there's that connection.
Boom, we've got a, a simultaneous, like, a nice cohesive piece.
The Chiefs have their next head coach, Kyle Shanahan.
Your lack of faith in EB is disturbing.
Y- you don't think he comes in, he's not the next Andy Reid?
That's crazy.
I- I'm gonna go with the other 32 NFL teams who have also agreed with me on that.
Yeah, yeah.
Th- I, and I agree with you wholeheartedly.
This is, I think, you never see a job like this open up.
Or when you do, at least as far as head coaching goes, like, it is highly coveted.
You have the Lamar Jackson situation, where it's like, "Hey, listen, he's not even the best quarterback in the league."
There were coaches clawing their eyes out to be the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens.
Um- Another very stable organization, too.
Yes.
Yeah, of course.
same thing with the Steelers.
Like, the, another situation where, you know, excellence maybe not so much over the past half decade or decade, but, definitely one of those places where you look at ownership and their meddling and, you know, lack thereof, I guess.
and it's a place that a lot of coaches wanna be.
This is not gonna be the same type of thing as the offensive coordinator position, where, you know, you are essentially an underling of Andy Reid, and it's gonna be his show on offense.
Like, this is somebody taking over the organization.
If you, if you look at the, the influence that Andy Reid or most h- head coaches have on their franchises, it is substantial.
And so coming into, you know, Kansas City, with Patrick Mahomes and with all these other guys that we talked about as pillars of the team, like, very, very coveted spot.
I think we will get the, the best of the crop, whoever's available.
for my number two, I, I actually didn't go with a coach.
I thought we were doing straight players.
I went with Mance Ordelain, who, we've talked about, again, ad nauseam here.
he's in the catbird seat.
Like, we've got Meredith as DB coach.
Spagnuolo's defense, you know, doesn't necessarily ask a lot of the cornerbacks on the outside.
I think that, you know, just because you are not an incredibly athletic freak, doesn't mean that you cannot excel at the position.
And I think if anybody was gonna come in and play, you know, an All-Pro, multi-year All-Pro, you know, type of play, I think it's gonna be Mance Ordelain.
Hey, I, I certainly hope you're right.
And, you know, it would, it would You've got him signing two corners, so a real paradigm shift there for the organization.
Um- Yeah I hope, I hope you're right.
my number one is a no-brainer.
It's Patrick Mahomes.
I mean, we've already talked about it.
I think the only thing here is, like, his game evolving, him kind of transforming into the next level of his game.
Matt Stafford, Aaron Rodgers, that's the, that's the hope, is that, like, all right, the mobility, it's more of a tool to get open in the pocket to throw with good arm talent, rather than we're sprinting right, throwing to the left hash, those type of insane things that we've seen from him in the past.
But hey, make no doubt about it, Mahomes is gonna be still getting top quarterback money.
He just reset the market.
If this team is going to be a, a dynasty or continue the dynasty, Mahomes has got to be Mahomes.
Like, it starts and ends there.
If he starts, if his play falls off, this team is gonna be handicapped for a long time, so he's got to be the guy.
Yeah, I, he's my number one as well.
I think just, you know, um- K- kind of goes without saying.
He's the best player on the team now.
He will be the best player on the team in 2030, hopefully.
my only question is, does he start to take a little bit less?
Like, is he, does he sign an extension again for 2030, add a few more years, maybe not a top of the market play, and, you know, we get to spread out that cap hit a little bit more?
I think that that is a real possibility.
and, you know, he has been open to taking multi-year deals in the past and, and freeing up cap space, so, seems like something he would do as well.
Now, I, not that I'm expecting it, obviously, but for Patrick Mahomes to do something like that, I mean, that would just, you know, add to his, his legacy even more.
I think his contract, the value in his contract is more about the ability to, like, lock it in long term, meanwhile being, like, cap flexible versus, like, cash flexible.
'Cause, like, cash-wise, he's not been underpaid.
It's just cap-wise, when you pull up the a- the average annual value, he had fallen down to, like, close towards, like, 10th and stuff.
Yeah.
So, it's kind of how you depend on, it depends on how you look at it.
I, the, the thing that he has done that is team-friendly is the length, right?
Like, him not doing three or four years makes it so he can fall down in average value, and then they kind of keep tacking years on, instead of having to tear, to tear the whole thing up and redo it, which is kind of like the situation like Lamar or Dak Prescott have been in before.
So, that's it.
That's our most important Chiefs for 2030, the final season in Arrowhead, headed into a new stadium.
Kyle Shanahan scheming up stuff for Sam LaPorta.
Chris Jones- And Jeremiah Smith.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yep, and, and, yeah.
The, it's gonna be exciting.
Let's hope- yeah, let's just com- combine our lists.
Combine our lists.
Yeah, two Manteo Lanes.
Yeah.
Two Josh Simmons.
We're gonna be doing great when we clone those guys, just put one Simmons on each side of the line there.
but yeah, that, that's our list.
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