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The Kansas City Chiefs are locked in on the Miami Dolphins for super wild-card weekend, but few would argue that no matter the outcome of the 2024 NFL playoffs, KC must upgrade at wide receiver this spring.
Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine suggested two routes that the Chiefs could take in doing that on January 10. The first involved spending big money on one of the more consistent veterans in the entire league: Tampa Bay Buccaneers impending free agent Mike Evans.
“Outside of Rashee Rice, it’s hard to get too excited about what the wide receiver group did for the Chiefs this season,” Ballentine wrote in a January 10 story on “every NFL roster’s biggest weaknesses and team needs” ahead of the 2024 offseason. “The group routinely had costly drops and, despite having multiple promising prospects, no one outside of Rice really stepped up.”
“Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes represent a great foundation for the passing attack,” Ballentine wrote, “but going out and signing a veteran like Mike Evans could bring this Chiefs offense back to its former glory.”
Chiefs Have the Cap Space to Afford Mike Evans in 2024
It’s not the first time KC has been connected to Evans — a superstar who helped win the 2021 Super Bowl over the Chiefs. The difference in 2024 is that the Buccaneers veteran will likely hit the open market as an unrestricted free agent.
Over the Cap projects that Kansas City will have a little over $34.8 million in available cap space next spring. Of course, the Chris Jones decision will certainly factor into the final amount.
If Jones walks for more money than the Chiefs care to pay, they could look to make a big splash elsewhere and who better than Evans?
“Evans has been the model of consistency with at least 1,000 yards in each of his first 10 seasons,” Bleacher Report stated as part of their argument. He also earned over $95 million (with incentives) after signing an $82.5 million extension in Tampa Bay — a contract percentage earned of 116% according to OTC.
How often do you see NFL players achieve that sort of return on investment?
Not only does Evans offer consistency and bang for your buck, but he’s also got playoff experience — not to mention that, at 6-foot-5, he fits KC’s need for an outside WR.
The Chiefs could save $10 million by cutting WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling in 2024, adding to that $34.8 million in space. Not only can they afford Evans in 2024 free agency, but general manager Brett Veach should finally splurge on this position for Mahomes.
“If he’s interested in leaving Tampa, the Chiefs should be dialing his number,” Ballentine wrote, and most KC fans would probably agree that they’re right.
Option 2: Chiefs Continue to Spend Premium Draft Picks at WR
The second route Ballentine suggested was the NFL draft.
“The Chiefs still need to find a true X receiver who can go up and get the ball downfield,” he wrote. “That’s exactly the kind of role [BR draft scout] Derrik Klassen sees the 6’4″, 215-pound [Keon] Coleman taking over in the league.”
Coleman was a two-year starter who transferred from Michigan State to Florida State in 2023. His current draft projection is a late first-round pick or early second, which would mean yet another premium selection spent on the position.
In recent years, Veach tried his luck on Skyy Moore and the aforementioned Rice in round two — with mixed results — and the Chiefs GM has also traded draft capital for Kadarius Toney. If KC targeted Coleman in 2024, they’d be continuing down that more youthful road at WR.
Of course, you never know if a draft pick will live up to expectations.
“For teams looking for a top target outside the numbers, [Coleman] fits the bill,” Klassen outlined in his scouting report. “Coleman’s physicality and ball skills give him a high floor, and he has just enough pop down the field and with the ball in his hands to be a real difference-maker.”
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