Yesterday marked cut day for NFL franchises, and with the Chiefs there were quite a few transactions that I would like to talk about today post-cuts. The Chiefs made some pretty surprising moves, moves that I am most certainly not criticizing as I trust in #VeachBlackMagic but surprises nonetheless. Let's go over a few now.
Josh Gordon: I knew Josh was going to be on the bubble of making the roster, what with the advent of Justin Watson as well as the extremely deep wide receiver corps during camp. He didn't impress in preseason and while he showed flashes of promise with building more lean muscle and *ahem* staying off the weed, it wasn't enough. What surprised me though about this was that the Chiefs completely released him. Perhaps this gives him an opportunity to look elsewhere for a team? Another rebirth of Josh Gordon? I have my doubts, but I do know he's not even on the practice squad, which either means the Chiefs wanted him to have a chance at getting signed by a wide receiver needy team, or that they didn't like what they see. My guess is the former, but who knows.
Danny Shelton: The Danny Shelton experience was fun while it lasted I guess, the behemoth lasted about 2 weeks on the Chiefs roster before being released by the organization entirely. His size did concern me, as Shelton would have to have the speed and physicality to match, and so far in his career he's really only shown flashes of legit athleticism. Other than that he's just a massive body to keep in the middle of your defensive line. Again, a fun thought, but not a practical one in the eyes of Chiefs coaching.
Shane Buechele: Shane ended up making the 53 man roster, which came as a surprise. With how he performed in preseason he didn't exactly look spectacular, but did show flashes like the other two mentioned. The game against the Packers I feel was his best performance, and that must've been enough to impress Matt Nagy enough to keep him around. The Chiefs still have Chad Henne on their roster as well, and this could hint at a potential changing of the guard for backup quarterback given Henne's age. Shane has been a real program guy with the Chiefs in his tenure, and could be serviceable as a backup to the starter. I just hope we don't see him during the season this year (I just jinxed it didn't I?)
Ronald Jones: With the injury to Derrick Gore, this one isn't as surprising, but there was a real case to be made for Jones not making the final roster. He was pretty inconsistent, lacked any sort of big play ability, and kind of was just a body out there for the offense on about 50% of his snaps. Tayon Fleet-Davis, the undrafted rookie out of Maryland, in my opinion showed much more explosiveness and big play ability. However, I do know with age comes experience, and with such a young core at running back right now sans Jerrick McKinnon, Jones's knowledge of the game I'm sure is appreciated. Expect him to possibly get some rotations or special teams work.
Overall, I think this preseason definitely was beneficial in terms of getting a glimpse of what a Chiefs offense will look like this year. A well-balanced attack with plenty of weaponry and targets for Mahomes. Running backs will more than likely be by committee, and we may see an interesting tight end set with the signing of Kendall Blanton along with the tight ends already on the roster. As for the defense, we saw what a fast, aggressive, and smart defense looks like for the first time since Derrick Johnson was here. They're young, but man do they have firepower. The linebacking corps consists of leaders looking to prove themselves, and the secondary, though the youngest of the group, has physical playmakers who will catch on quickly. The defensive line looks poised for a breakout year as well, with basically the entire defensive line roster looking stellar in preseason. It'll be a fun and interesting year for the Chiefs. Like pretty much everyone in Chiefs Kingdom I believe this team is criminally underrated, and I think they'll show it come Week 1 against Arizona. It'll be a great litmus test, as Arizona is definitely worth their salt too, but if we see what we saw in preseason translate to the regular season we could see some fireworks.
Burn Notice: 10/10 "'Cause Baby You're a Fiiiiiirework, Come on Let Your Colorsssss Burst!" It's stuck in my head now sorry.
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