Kansas City

Chiefs

The 26-year-old returns for a fourth season in Kansas City on a one-year deal worth $3.2 million. In 2024, Johnson appeared in 16 games during the regular season and made two starts in the playoffs. He posted a career-high 53 tackles, along with one sack and three passes defensed. However, he was the lowest-graded defensive back for the Chiefs last season, according to PFF. He’ll be useful depth as things stand in 2025.

The team, according to Teicher, had no intention of letting Brown explore free agency this spring. After missing much of the 2024 season with a shoulder injury he sustained in the preseason, Brown, entering his age-28 season, re-signed with the Chiefs on a one year deal worth $11 million. Kansas City coaches and players have been effusive with their praise of Brown, who had nine catches on 15 targets over two regular season games in 2024. “What impressed me so much about Hollywood is that everybody told me he was a fast guy but not everyone told me how much he can actually do on the football field and you could see it,” Patrick Mahomes said. “He can run those over-the-middle routes. He can run really good routes and he can run deep. It’s not like fast is the only thing that he can do.” Brown will join Xavier Worthy and Rashee Rice in three-wideout sets in 2025. KC’s offense used three receivers on about half of its offensive snaps last season.

Taylor forecasts that cutting Taylor (sorry) could save the Chiefs $20 million against the cap if they release him in 2026. Lavished with a huge contract prior to the 2023 season, Taylor has produced PFF grades of 49.8 and 60.1 over his two years with the Chiefs so far. It wouldn’t at all be surprising if the Chiefs decided — barring a big year — that the right tackle wasn’t worth a $27.3 million cap hit in 2026. Taylor brings this up in the context of the Chiefs drafting a tackle in a mock draft, which would set Kansas City up with an obvious succession plan at right tackle.

Pennel totaled 25 tackles and three sacks for the Chiefs last season while appearing in all 17 games. The 11-year vet also tied a career-high with seven starts, turning in one of the best seasons of his career to date. Pennel will likely be tasked with reprising a similar role to what we saw last season, but after averaging nearly 18 snaps per game, he should see plenty of time on the field.

Omenihu had an abbreviated season in 2024, returning from a late 2023 ACL tear. He still notched 12 quarterback pressures and one sack in six games, though. This is a smart deal for the Chiefs. Bolstering the pass rush via a low-cost, one-year deal allows them to continue searching for valuable free agents.

Before appearing in two games for the Chiefs in 2024, Tuipulotu was with the Eagles for three seasons. The 25-year-old has three sacks through 30 career games. He has spent his time in the NFL as a rotational defensive tackle for two of the best teams in the league and now returns to Kansas City to compete for a similar role.

Hardman has spent all but five games of his six-year career with the Chiefs. Mostly playing as a gadget receiver and return specialist, Hardman has won three Super Bowls with the Chiefs and made the Pro Bowl as a returner during his rookie season. He ventured outside of Kansas City for the Jets in 2023 but was traded back to the Chiefs after just one catch in five games. Hardman returned 20 punts for 203 yards and five kicks for 132 yards last season. The Packers add him as reinforcement, though his traits overlap with Jayden Reed’s, making him unlikely to see a consistent role unless Reed is out. Expect Hardman to primarily operate as a returner for Green Bay.

The top two receiver spots in Chicago are locked down by DJ Moore and Rome Odunze but the team now has a relative vacancy in the slot following the departure of Keenan Allen. They seemingly addressed the need earlier in free agency with the signing of Olamide Zaccheaus but evidently still feel the need to add cheap depth. Hardman has not been fantasy relevant in years but there are worse teams to land on considering the recent hiring of the offensive-minded head coach Ben Johnson.

Nnadi was a six-year starter for the Chiefs, but was relegated to a lightly-used backup last season. The veteran tackle started just one of the 17 games he appeared in while posting a career-low 11 tackles on 221 defensive snaps — also a career-low. He’ll be 29 at the start of next season, and could have a chance to earn a more significant role with the Jets in camp.

Smith-Schuster returns to the Chiefs on a one-year deal after serving in a complementary role with the team in 2024. The financials have not yet been released, but they are unlikely to turn many heads. Smith-Schuster was responsible for modest returns outside of the one game he played without all of Rashee Rice, Hollywood Brown, and DeAndre Hopkins, putting up a massive 8-130 receiving line in Week 5. While Nuk is no longer in town, the team also re-signed Brown, have promising second-year speedster Xavier Worthy, and will likely be getting back Rice, pending any legal ramifications from his previous troubles.