12/26/2023 0 Comments 2021 chiefs rosterIf not Reiter, then who and how? Again, my point about Reiter is that he was affected by the flux on the OL. You might recall that I had penciled in Niang as the SW/T for 2020 and he would thus be ready to take on a starter role for 2021… because I assumed that both Fisher and Schwartz would need replacement soon. In other words, Andy Reid and Andy Heck had a kluged together OL out of the gate, which put great pressure on both Wylie and Reiter. No wonder the Chiefs OL had great struggles in 2020. Where I saw a good group of players in early spring, was now depleted by a factor of 4: LDT, Niang, Osemele and Schwartz. Keep in mind we must consider the fact that Lucas Niang decided to opt out the 2020 season due to the Covid-19 Virus and just before that occurred, LDT decided that his medical experience was something that he had to morally pursue due to the virus as well. It was a good move in adding both men to the crew, but what happens in 2021? Veach had added his talent back to the equation, but too late to effectively enter as a starter and to move the strength needle of our gauge back to a more “fueled” front five. Veach had wanted to retain Wisniewski but was unable to make that happen because Stefan wanted to return to his home turf and that meant signing with the Steelers. For depth, Veach had added Mike Remmers and then when Stefan Wisniewski was cast off from the Steelers late in the year, Veach signed the Wiz as well. Then? First Osemele was injured and lost to the 2020 season, and then it was Mitch Schwartz. With so much in flux on the OL, and it being further exacerbated by the season of Covid-19, plus no warm up games, ie no scheduled Preseason games, I have no doubt that both Wylie and Reiter were affected. The Chiefs weakest and newest players have been Andrew Wylie and Austin Reiter. The instability of the front five came to fruition due to injuries to players, namely Mitchell Schwartz and Kelechi Osemele, while at the same time intermittently having players fill in who were not part of the unit that worked to get positioned to start as the season opened. Is there someone who can replace Austin Reiter? Do the Chiefs need to get this done and how will Brett Veach approach strengthening the Offensive Line so that we can support a powerful run game and at the same time keep QB Patrick Mahomes pants clean?įirst, let’s make an assumption. I saw in the second half of 2020 some failures in doing this effectively. This player should be someone who is good at pass blocking and handing off blocking - mid-play –appropriately. I would really like Brett Veach to be able to find a solution for the role of Offensive Center. That is valuable experience for 2021, something that gives us three men on whom we can pin our hopes. He took over due to injuries at LOG and didn’t look back. I am not slighting what Nick Allegretti accomplished in 2020 either. At the same time though, Reiter’s execution should improve merely because he has two stable, experienced and dependable OG’s next to him. What retaining Osemele and adding LDT back in 2021 does is… give the Chiefs a far more solid interior line with the weakest link being: Austin Reiter. I do think we should offer Kelechi the same type of deal that he had for 2020 – a Vet Minimum deal, an incentive to prove his value as a starting OG. I don’t know if the end of the contract extended due to LDT sitting out for the 2020 season or not. The return of LDT is an issue that puts his contract back into full effect. Solidifying the interior is my main task for the offensive line in 2021… and I hope for the Chiefs as well. I suggest that he would be well spent money to bring back for 2021 at LOG. I felt things began a downturn when Osemele was lost for the year. The run game was pretty strong and it seemed to me that the weakest link was Reiter, but we also had a weakness at ROG as well. According to my eye-test, he was a good fit between Fisher and Reiter. His Free Agent cost was a bit north of $1M. Laurent Duvernay-Tardif (LDT) and Kelechi Osemele: I don’t know if the Chiefs will garner a return of Osemele. I will be posting articles in this series as the postseason rolls along. Here, I am trying to consider Player Efficiency/cost at the same time. How do I resolve this with players I want to keep along with those who are already under contract and likely Free Agents who fit the future. In 2021, teams will have perhaps only $175M for Cap Space. Instead, seeing the success of the Chiefs since 2013, and especially 2018-today, I want to look into what the Chiefs might look like with the personnel for the new season which begins in March. There is so much fanfare, a flooding of bandwidth, different people drumming up controversy that I decided not to write about it. The Chiefs 2021 Roster: THE OFFENSIVE LINE, Series Part I – Everyone is up on the game at Arrowhead versus the Browns.
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