FanHouse Brandonflowers

Last year, the Chiefs put together one of the most impressive two-day draft showings I can remember. Glenn Dorsey, Branden Albert, Brandon Flowers, and Jamaal Charles -- all taken in the first three rounds -- saw significant playing time as rookies, and fifth-round defensive back Brandon Carr started every game. (Worth pointing out: the Chiefs might try to move Dorsey.)

It wasn't enough to save Herman Edwards' job; after taking the Chiefs to the playoffs in 2006, he only managed six wins the last two seasons. But new general manager Scott Pioli and new head coach Todd Haley have plenty of young talent to rebuild the team, and in March, they traded for their franchise quarterback: former Patriots backup Matt Cassel who, according to NFL Network's Mike Lombardi, just signed a six-year, $36 million deal. Not Matthew Stafford money, but it'll keep him comfortable.

Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.

After winning just twice in 2008 and six times in two seasons, the Chiefs have decided to blow up the whole operation and start over. Scott Pioli and Todd Haley have replaced Carl Peterson and Herm Edwards, and the rebuilding process is currently underway.

Conventional wisdom suggests that such turnarounds might take a couple seasons, but after what the Atlanta Falcons and Miami Dolphins were able to accomplish, expectations are almost certainly higher -- which means that Kansas City could be just a few personnel moves from returning to the playoffs. The issue, of course. is which personnel moves will give Kansas City the best chance to make a postseason run in '09.

If you had asked most people what the Chiefs (0-3) needed to beat the Broncos (3-0) on Sunday, suggestions would have ranged from "a time machine to take them back to 2003" to "Larry Johnson somehow learning to play quarterback." What you would not have heard is "Oh, they just need their 35-year-old career backup quarterback to take the reins, manage the offense, and make key plays, along with their young defense turning in its best performance to date."

But that's exactly what the Chiefs got in their 33-19 win on Sunday, snapping a 12-game losing streak in the process and providing some much-needed hope and relief for a struggling franchise, a highly-questioned head coach and front office staff, and a suffering fanbase.

Damon Huard didn't put up many yards (160) and he hardly had any highlights aside from a floater to Tony Gonzalez in the fourth quarter that put the game out of reach for the Broncos, but he did have one very big number. Zero. As in zero turnovers, good for a 100.3 rating.

In the rebuilding plan of Herm Edwards, this one pretty much set the mold for what he hopes to accomplish in Kansas City.

For 18 games last year, Josh McDaniels' offense in New England was a well-oiled machine, inflicting pain and embarrassment on any defense that had the audacity to cross its path. The Patriots scored at least 30 points in 13 of their first 18 games (never scoring fewer than 20) and at times resembled somebody playing a game of Madden with the difficulty set to beginner.

Then, in the Super Bowl, in a somewhat shocking development to everyone except Plaxico Burress, the Patriots offense was shut down by a relentless New York Giants pass rush, registering only 14 points in the teams only loss of the season. According to Christopher L. Gasper at the Boston Globe, that game, and performance, is still sitting with McDaniels, and he's looking to do something about it.

Judging by McDaniels's mannerisms answering that question, he is motivated by the way the offense sputtered in the Super Bowl. He is eager and excited to correct his mistakes, starting tomorrow at Gillette Stadium against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Not satisfied with an offense that was nearly perfect last season, the 32-year-old McDaniels spent the offseason tinkering and tweaking and rethinking the playbook to counter any so-called "blueprint" the Giants may have laid down and to find new ways to get the ball into the hands of his playmakers

Training camps are underway, the NFL season is right around the corner, and to get you ready for 2008, FanHouse previews all 32 teams, "heat index" style. We'll rate each club in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Quarterbacks: Oh, holy God. Do we have to start here? Can't we start at defensive line? Or even offensive line? No? Okay. So last season, Damon Huard was such the pinnacle of mediocrity, he may have redefined the word for decades. It wasn't so much that Huard was spectacularly terrible, throwing constant interceptions as he heaved them down the field, Rex-Grossman-style, it was that he looked singularly incapable of actually getting the ball downfield to begin with. So, after far too many games watching the offense set new franchise lows, Brodie Croyle who had been waiting in the wings, finally took the reins. The results were less than spectacular. Chiefs fans support Croyle because the kid has shown flashes of leadership and a pretty solid arm. The trouble is, the protection was so bad last year, no one knows whether to pin the offense's disastrous play on an inability by Brodie to produce, or a result of the fact that Croyle spent so much time on the run it's a wonder he's not dead in the cold, cold ground. So with a retooled and slightly upgraded offensive line, he should be better? Right? Right? Oh, Jesus, where's the bottle? Wait, what? Huard's still on the team? Must get bigger bottle. Heat Index: 2

Hey, look at that, the Steelers finally caught a break when it comes to the offensive line. Sure, it's not their o-line, but it could've been. The Chiefs second first-round pick, guard/tackle Branden Albert suffered a foot injury last week, hasn't practiced since, and the prognosis for the rest of preseason doesn't look so hot.

In fact, Albert says he'll need a "miracle" to play in a real live game before September, which sorta puts him behind in his battle to win a starting job. In other first-rounder news, defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey is also on the mend after suffering a knee injury during Saturday's Family Fun Night, which, presumably was much more fun for the families in attendance than it was for Dorsey or head coach Herm Edwards, who generally seems like a fun-loving guy.

If Chiefs fans are looking for a bright spot heading into tonight's preseason game against the undefeated Bears, there's always Dwayne Bowe. It also looks like rookie second-round pick, cornerback Brandon Flowers will start, and Edwards expects that to be the case from here on out.

That's one of the benefits to having the BEST DRAFT IN THE HISTORY OF TACKLE FOOTBALL: even when you lose a few players to injuries, there are plenty of other guys who can fill in the gaps.

I think we can all agree that the Chiefs had the best draft in the history of the world last month. After having close to 50 picks, Kansas City landed a starting lineman (Branden Albert), a potential Pro Bowl defensive tackle (Glenn Dorsey), a nickel back (Brandon Flowers), and a change-of-pace back to compliment Larry Johnson (Jamaal Charles).

Kansas City also added a humongous tight end (6-8 Brad Cottam) and a heady safety (DaJuan Morgan), and every one of these selections were made in the first three rounds.

But maybe the most important pick (or one of the most important -- it's hard to think anybody will overshadow the impact Dorsey should have) is Missouri's Will Franklin, drafted 105th overall.

Coming off a four-win season usually means a team has any number of needs. The Chiefs did a swell job of addressing most of them, but depth at wide receiver remained a huge question, even after Kansas City added 12 guys to the roster via the draft.

Last year's first-rounder, Dwayne Bowe, emerged as the team's only legit downfield threat a year ago, but the Chiefs may have found another young starter on the outside in Franklin:

Kansas City Chiefs 2008 Draft Picks:

Round 1 (5): Glenn Dorsey, DT, LSU
Round 1 (15): Branden Albert, OG, Virginia
Round 2 (35): Brandon Flowers, CB, Virginia Tech
Round 3 (73): Jamaal Charles, RB, Texas
Round 3 (76): Brad Cottam, TE, Tennessee
Round 3 (82): DaJuan Morgan, S, North Carolina State
Round 4 (105): Will Franklin, WR, Missouri
Round 5 (140): Brandon Carr, CB, Grand Valley State
Round 6 (170): Barry Richardson, OT, Clemson
Round 6 (182): Kevin Robinson, WR, Utah State
Round 7 (210): Brian Johnston, DE, Gardner-Webb
Round 7 (239): Mike Merritt, TE, Central Florida

The Good: See all 12 picks above -- that's the good. Kansas City added value with every single selection they made, and addressed nearly every need they had. Glenn Dorsey was considered by some to be the number one player available, while Albert, Flowers, Cottam and Robinson (special teams) all add significant talent to positions in need. And what about the other nine players selected? They all have tremendous upside as well and each represented solid value at the position they were taken.

The Bad: Is there any? The Chiefs made 12 picks this past weekend and on paper, it looks like they made every single one of them count. If there's one knock on anyone, it's that Braden Albert will be a "work in progress." Still, that's hardly a negative for someone who figures to be a quality NFL starter for a very long time. Beyond that, the only other negative that presents itself was the failure to draft another quarterback.

The Grade: A. In comparison to the other 31 teams, Kansas City left Radio City Music Hall on top. They had a fantastic draft and appear to have secured a bright future. Although they may not make it to the playoffs this coming season, they've certainly given their fans something to be excited about.

Click here to read other draft grades.

Virginia Tech cornerback Brandon Flowers was generally recognized as the best of the second-tier cornerbacks. There were the big four of Mike Jenkins, Leodis McKelvin, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Aqib Talib, and then Flowers was supposed to be at the top of the next tier.

So it's a little surprising that Flowers fell behind not only the big four, but also behind Antoine Cason, who went to the Chargers with the 27th pick. In any event, the Chiefs took Flowers with the 35th pick, and he's the third potential 2008 starter the Chiefs have added today. With Glenn Dorsey and Branden Albert in the first round and now Flowers in the second, you have to like what you saw today if you're a Kansas City fan.

Previously on FanHouse:
Herm Edwards Wants the Chiefs to Have Every Pick in This Weekend's NFL Draft

With each pick of the FanHouse mock draft, we get into the head of an NFL general manager and let you know who he'll pick and why.

Last year Pittsburgh was in need of linebackers in a draft that didn't have any linebackers worthy of the No. 15 pick. So they took a linebacker anyway, and a year later, Lawrence Timmons is being moved from outside to inside linebacker, because he couldn't earn a starting job at outside linebacker. He's not a sure bet to start at inside linebacker either.

Here we are a year later. Pittsburgh needs guard and left tackle help more than anything. And of course, with pick No. 23, they'll probably find themselves without any good options left at either of those two spots.

So the Steelers have a choice, they can force a pick at a position of need, or they can take the best player available. The best offensive lineman left on the board with this mock draft is offensive tackle Gosder Cherlius, but Cherlius is a right tackle, which is one of the positions of least need on the line for the Steelers.