Chiefs Tabbed as Team to Watch for Allen Lazard in Free Agency
The NFL's free agency season is beginning to heat up, and so are rumors about which teams could be interested in those hitting the open market.
For the Kansas City Chiefs, general manager Brett Veach is tasked with completing the second leg of a retooling process that started a year ago. When the Chiefs traded superstar wide receiver Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins, it was in an effort to get out ahead of needing to rebuild multiple position groups on the roster. Those needs still remain at wideout, defensive end and offensive tackle, but Kansas City is at least a bit better equipped to handle things now.
Less than 12 full months after already having done so, Kansas City's receiver room is set to potentially undergo some additional renovations this offseason. JuJu Smith-Schuster, Mecole Hardman and Justin Watson will all be free agents, and it's far from a guarantee that the team will be able to retain any of them. They very well could be replaced by an external addition or two.
Matthew Berry of NBC Sports noted in a post-NFL Combine column on March 6 that the Chiefs were a team to watch in regards to Green Bay Packers free agent wideout Allen Lazard. Berry noted that the Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens "really like Lazard," and ESPN's Dan Graziano doubled down on that notion on Sunday when he tabbed Baltimore and Kansas City as teams to watch in the event that Lazard doesn't return to the Packers:
Packers WR Allen Lazard could end up wherever Rodgers does, but I don't think it would be for that reason. Lazard is a coach's favorite due to his ability and willingness as a blocker in addition to his abilities as a receiver. Packers coaches refer to him as their "enforcer" on the field. He's expected to have a market independent of his relationship with Rodgers, and he could end up one of the higher-paid receivers in a thin WR free agent market. I'm watching the Ravens and the Chiefs for him if the Packers don't bring him back.
Lazard just wrapped up his fifth season with Green Bay, and it was the best of his career. Starting 15 games, the 27-year-old set career-high marks in targets (100), receptions (60), receiving yards (788) and first downs (45) while helping lead a committee of otherwise young and unproven Packers weapons for Aaron Rodgers. With the increase in volume, however, Lazard saw stats like catch percentage and yards per target take a tumble.
Standing at 6-foot-5 and weighing 227 pounds, Lazard is a vertical and red zone threat who doesn't offer a ton in terms of short-area agility or yards-after-catch creation. With that said, he's coming off a solid campaign and projects to be one of the higher-paid receivers on the market this offseason. Spotrac's calculated market value has him garnering a three-year deal worth $37.6 million (roughly $12.5M on an AAV basis), which is consistent with others like Jakobi Meyers ($12.5M AAV) and not too far off of Smith-Schuster's estimate ($14.6M AAV).
