Unfamiliar Territory-- Chiefs Have Offensive Line Issues to Address in Offseason

Every offseason for the past several years, Chiefs' fans have clamored for change. Changes on defense. Changes at wide receiver. Changes within the coaching staff.

But never the offensive line. Why would they have to? For years, the Chiefs boasted the best offensive line in the league, made up of veterans who were still in their primes.

Last offseason was a taste of something slightly different. There were worries that Will Shields would retire, but not many people seriously expected him to retire. It wasn't until training camp that we all of a sudden learned Willie Roaf would not return and John Welbourn purported to retire.

This offseason is completely different. The offensive line was not particularly dominant, and was downright bad at times. The only surefire starters are Brian Waters and Casey Wiegmann, and Shields' potential retirement is more realistic now.

By most accounts, left tackle is the most worrisome position. Although I felt that Jordan Black played fairly steadily for most of the year, he is certainly not Willie Roaf, and his performance in the playoffs was, shall we say, regrettable. Further, I have opined previously that the Chiefs did an awful job this year of picking up blitzes; one has to wonder if that was the case because there was more help assigned to Black, rather than in detecting blitzers. The Chiefs appeared to have been grooming Will Svitek for the job, but Svitek was extremely raw as a rookie and missed most of this year with injuries. Kyle Turley simply cannot be an option anymore.

Questions loom on the other side as well. Welbourn does a decent enough job at right tackle when he isn't rusty. However, Welbourn has not proven that he can stay out of disciplinary trouble. Further, if Shields retires, Welbourn may get first crack at the job, since his more natural position as at guard. That leaves the Chiefs with a couple of options. Chris Bober has starting experience, but has generally performed poorly in extended time at tackle. Chris Terry was highly regarded a few years ago and performed pretty well in limited action this year; he may be given a shot at the starting position. And then there is Kevin Sampson, who apparently has not met an injured list he doesn't like.

Which brings me to Shields. Although I don't think his performance the past couple of years has been nearly as dominant as the previous 10, his departure would leave a huge void. As I opined above, Welbourn would probably get a shot at taking over Shields' spot. The Chiefs also have Bober, but he has generally proven that his value is more in his versatility as a backup, rather than as a starter at any position. Unfortunately, Waters and Shields have proven to be so dependable and durable, the Chiefs have not felt the need to develop any guards. If the Chiefs are not active in free agency, it may be Welbourn/Bober or bust, because it is unlikely the Chiefs would spend a high draft pick on an offensive guard.

It has been so long that the Chiefs had offensive line issues in January, you certainly have to hope that Carl Peterson remembers how to sign or draft offensive linemen. With Herm Edwards indicating his desire to change offensive philosophies, the need for elite offensive-line performance isn't as great as it was for the Coryell offense. Nonetheless, Larry Johnson needs to have faith in his blockers, and whoever the quarterback is next year needs to have faith that he can take a full dropback. I, for one, will be interested in seeing what the Chiefs' offensive plans are for their offensive line.