FanHouse Kansas City Chiefs

Mike Brown was drafted out of Nebraska in the second round of the 2000 draft by the Chicago Bears. Since then, he's been in Chicago, mixing in solid safety play with lots of injury issues. One thing no one would dispute: When he's on the field, Mike Brown is a very good NFL player.

Earlier this offseason, the Bears cut ties with Brown --his contract had expired and they decided not to re-up -- after exactly 100 games of service. According to a report from KansasCity.com, the Chiefs have decided to sign the safety. He'll likely compete with Bernard Pollard and Jarrad Page for a shot to start in the Kansas City secondary. At the very least, he adds plenty of depth and experience.

I can understand why a room full of grown men might not respond well to daily dressing downs, particularly from a new head coach not much older than than they are. But that's the situation in Kansas City.

Herm Edwards got his walking papers after a 2-14 effort last season, which, inexplicably, was only half as many games as he won the year before. Scott Pioli, who replaced Carl Peterson as the team president and general manager, hired former Cardinals offensive coordinator Todd Haley to help turn things around.

The Chiefs got right to work on the rebuilding: they sent a second-round pick to the Patriots for Matt Cassel, giving them a franchise quarterback and somebody for Haley, whose success in Arizona landed him this gig, to build the team around.

Jason Whitlock has reason to be concerned about Matt Cassel. He's the Chiefs new quarterback, doesn't have much in the way of experience, and will make nearly $15 million in 2009. Oh, and it's easy to be skittish when Cassel succeeds the likes of Damon Huard, Brodie Croyle and Tyler Thigpen.

Of the three, Thigpen probably has the most potential, but the new regime made it clear that he wasn't in their long-term plans when they traded for Cassel. But that doesn't mean Whitlock is convinced.

Specifically, he's worried that the Chiefs "have little interest in signing Matt Cassel to a long-term contract before the start of the season." There were rumors during draft weekend that the Chiefs gave Cassel a six-year deal ($36 million guaranteed). Untrue, it turned out.

Just over a year ago Tony Gonzalez asked for a trade. The Chiefs were coming off a 4-12 record, and Gonzalez, then 32 and a nine-time Pro Bowler, wanted to play for a winner. Can't say I blame him, really.

Nothing came of the request, Gonzalez was again the centerpiece of the offense last season, catching 96 passes for 1,058 yards and 10 touchdowns. Good news: Gonzalez was named to his 10th Pro Bowl. Bad news: Kansas City managed just two wins.

In the three drafts prior to Scott Pioli's arrival in Kansas City a few months ago, the Chiefs selected in the first round defensive end Tamba Hali, wide receiver Dwayne Bowe, and defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey.

For varying reasons, all three players could be elsewhere a year from now. Pioli, who came to Kansas City from New England, hired Todd Haley to replace Herm Edwards, and Clancy Pendergast to rebuild a defense that lost its way in recent seasons under Gunther Cunningham. This includes a switch to the 3-4 defense, a scheme Pendergast had some success with during the Cardinals' 2008 late-season surge.

Who moved to the head of the NFL class during the draft? Find out with FanHouse's team-by-team 2009 Draft Grades.

Compared to last April, the 2009 Chiefs draft was unremarkable. A year ago, the team landed five players who contributed immediately, and a handful of others will get opportunities this season.

But unlike 2008, Kansas City finally has a franchise quarterback. New general manager Scott Pioli sent a second-round pick to New England for Matt Cassel (and linebacker Mike Vrabel). Cassel, who went nine years between starts, led the Patriots to an 11-5 record last season and parlayed that into a handsome payday (eventually) and a starting gig.

The Chiefs continued their Scott Pioli-led roster overhaul, signing unrestricted free agent center Eric Ghiaciuc away from Cincinnati. Ghiaciuc started 16 games for the Bengals last season, and made at least 12 starts each of the last three seasons.

Kansas City already has two centers on its roster, including Rudy Niswanger, who made 15 starts in 2008. What happened prior to Pioli's hire, though, seems to be pretty inconsequential these days -- case in point, Tony Gonzalez's unloading last week. Pioli has made it very clear that he will be heading into 2009 and beyond with a roster filled by guys who fit his vision.

Ryan Succop's draft journey to the 256th-overall selection, and Mr. Irrelevant status at the 2009 NFL draft, certainly won't rank up there with Babe Ruth's famous called home run or Joe Namath's Super Bowl guarantee, but it's interesting nonetheless.

The former South Carolina kicker hoped to hear his name called on the draft's second day, preferably by a team that might give him a shot to win its starting job. So when Succop glanced through the selection order for rounds three through seven, and compared that to the list of teams he had worked out with, he found one spot that made sense.

It just so happened to be the final spot in the draft.

UPDATE: Rex Ryan all up in my face, kid: Jets have made a play for Mark Sanchez by trading into the top five. PK calls it "paying a ransom."

Before the draft started, many folks across the realm of sports media predicted that Mark Sanchez could fall all the way down to the Redskins, mostly predicated on the Chiefs taking Tyson Jackson third overall. Or, at the very least, the 49ers. This was in stark contrast to the earlier notions (even leading up to the Rams' pick) that he could go as high as second.

But Sanchez might have wisely avoided New York for the lack-of-public-embarrassment-safety of California. Why? Because the Chiefs just picked Jackson.

ESPN's John Clayton is reporting on ESPN Radio that the Chiefs and Falcons may get together for their second trade in three days with Chiefs' defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey heading to Atlanta for the Falcons first and fourth-round picks.

Of course this rumor could end up being nothing, but it's a trade that doesn't have to take place for a couple of more hours as the Chiefs can wait and see what is on the board when Atlanta picks.

The trade makes a lot of sense for both teams. Dorsey was awful last year, but a lot of that was because the Chiefs asked him to do something he's not. In Kansas City's defense, he was lined up head-up on offensive guards and asked to try to control his man, which didn't allow him to use his quick first step to try to fly into the backfield.