{"id":13831,"date":"2017-02-25T12:16:30","date_gmt":"2017-02-25T17:16:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/?p=13831"},"modified":"2021-03-29T17:31:46","modified_gmt":"2021-03-29T21:31:46","slug":"kansas-city-chiefs-2017-off-season-top-3-needs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2017\/02\/25\/kansas-city-chiefs-2017-off-season-top-3-needs\/","title":{"rendered":"Kansas City Chiefs 2017 Off-Season: Top 3 Needs"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Super Bowl is over and that means the NFL off-season is in full swing. The Kansas City Chiefs had a great 2016 season with them winning the AFC West. They came up short in the playoffs though losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers without giving up a single touchdown.\u00a0 The off-season debates are heating up with the possibility of Tony Romo<\/a><\/strong> going to a team that might be a quarterback away from a Super Bowl run.\u00a0Alex Smith<\/a><\/strong> has his flaws but quarterback is not one the biggest three flaws for the Chiefs as of right now.<\/p>\n

Kansas City Chiefs 2017 Off-Season: Top 3 Needs<\/h2>\n

Inside Linebacker<\/h3>\n

Derrick Johnson<\/a><\/strong> went down with a torn Achilles in Week 14 and the defense was never the same.\u00a0D.J. Alexander<\/a><\/strong> showed some promise in the Pro Bowl but it\u2019s hard to really use that game to judge.\u00a0Ramik Wilson<\/a> <\/strong>and Alexander both were in their second season so it is hard to gauge how good they could possibly be.\u00a0This is likely an area that the Chiefs look at in the draft due to the age of the talent at the position. Johnson has suffered the same injury in two out of three seasons.\u00a0The Chiefs all-time leading tackler isn\u2019t getting younger either so he might not have a lot of seasons left in the tank.<\/p>\n

Guard<\/h3>\n

2016 fourth-round draft pick Parker Ehinger<\/strong><\/a> tore his ACL in Week Eight.\u00a0 The former Cincinnati Bearcat started week one but missed two more games with a concussion.\u00a0This gives the Chiefs a small sample size of the rookie left guard.\u00a0Right guard, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif<\/a><\/strong>, played his third season with the Chiefs and has shown promise each year. Guard is the weak spot, however, when it comes to the offensive line.\u00a0Mitch Morse<\/a><\/strong> has done well at his role at center. Mitchell Schwartz<\/a><\/strong> and Eric Fisher<\/a><\/strong> have played very well at tackles.\u00a0When Ehinger went out with his injuries he was replaced by Zach Fulton<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0 Fulton has since proven that he is not a reliable starter for the Chiefs at guard.<\/p>\n

Receiver<\/h3>\n

It was not\u00a0that long ago that Dwayne Bowe<\/a><\/strong> was the Chiefs number one receiver.\u00a0Since that time the Chiefs have\u00a0featured a more improved receiving group lead by Jeremy Maclin<\/a><\/strong>. Maclin had over 1,000 yards receiving in 2015 but battled injury all 2016.\u00a0Travis Kelce<\/a> <\/strong>lead the Chiefs in receiving yards last season with over 1,100 yards.\u00a0 Kelce is a Pro Bowl tight end though, so it doesn\u2019t help the receivers outlook.\u00a0Rookie sensation, Tyreek Hill<\/a><\/strong>, led the receivers followed by Maclin. Both had over 500 yards receiving.<\/p>\n

Chris Conley<\/a><\/strong> also put up 500-plus yards in his second season with Kansas City. The former Georgia Bulldog is showing signs of progress with each season and hopefully has a better 2017 season. Albert Wilson<\/a><\/strong> finished out his third season with Kansas City with the lowest number of receiving yards he\u2019s ever had in a Chiefs uniform.\u00a0De\u2019Anthony<\/strong> Thomas <\/strong><\/a>had a whopping 35 yards receiving last season. Thomas has never been the Chiefs biggest receiving threat since he\u2019s used more on special teams.\u00a0However, Hill\u2019s emergence this season has all but sealed Thomas\u2019 fate with Kansas City.<\/p>\n

Main Photo:<\/p>\n

\n
Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n