Should the Kansas City Chiefs Keep Dwayne Bowe or Brandon Carr?

Sooner or later I need to give Scott Pioli credit for something, so let's start with free agency.

Pioli is a quiet guy who keeps to himself and likes to stay out of the public eye. He also speaks only when he has to, but like the saying goes, "Actions speak louder than words."

While people have accused him of being cheap and not going after the big names that pop up every year in free agency, that is not entirely fair.

Pioli wants to build through the draft and hopefully tie up his core players based on performance. Over the last year or so, he has done that. Signing Jamaal Charles, Derrick Johnson, Tamba Hali and Brandon Flowers to long-term extensions certainly doesn't support that.

LaMarr Woodley in Pittsburgh couldn't come close to what Hali got.

When considering the salaries of Brandon Albert, Matt Cassel, Jonathan Baldwin, Dwayne Bowe, Glenn Dorsey, Tyson Jackson and Eric Berry, it begs the question of where that word "cheap" comes from.

All listed were first-round picks, except Cassel, and a handful were top-10 picks. He also may be holding on to just enough to make that big signing when he's convinced the Chiefs are close, like he did with Moss in New England.

Free agency is approaching, and there is actually more quantity than quality this year, but before people start making lists of the who's who out there, maybe it's better to concentrate on the Chiefs' own first.

And they do have quite a few of their own.

A few may be sacrificed, such as Wallace Gilberry—one of their better pass-rushers over the few seasons—but all eyes are focused on the top two: Dwayne Bowe and Brandon Carr. The Chiefs will certainly will keep one, but the other may be out the door.

If that happens, then I believe the Chiefs will have to use their first-round pick in this year's draft to replace one who leaves—maybe Michael Floyd if it's Bowe or Dre Kirkpatrick if it's Carr.

It's too bad though, because that first pick should be either an OL or a NT.

So how does one decide? It's like comparing apples to oranges. Ideally, the Chiefs would like to sign one to a long and very expensive new deal while slapping the franchise tag on the other.

But do either deserve the tag?

Yes, that tag is used as a last resort, but the compensation is the average salary of the top-five players at their position. In doing so, they would be paying Bowe or Carr contracts that would be equal to being the third best at their position in the entire NFL.

Obviously, they are good, but not in the top three. Nevertheless they must tag one—but which one?

Dwayne Bowe has had his share of ups and downs. He is a great receiver, and easily their biggest threat. On the positive side, few WRs in the NFL have his strength and tackle-breaking ability. He does have a tendency to allow his mind to drift from game to game. This past year at times, he looked lazy in his execution and didn't always seem like he had his head in the game.

Of course, he has had one bad rap that has been unfairly overblown—his hands are better than you think. Pro Football Focus notes when it comes to pass catching percentage, which calculates numbers of catches vs. drops, Bowe's ranking is average.

Some big names had hands a lot worse—Roddy White, DeSean Jackson, Brandon Marshall, Greg Little. In case you are wondering, Arrelious Benn was horrible, catching 30 passes but dropping eight, Roddy White dropped 15 passes but also caught 100.

Best hands? Dez Bryant caught 63 passes and had only one drop. Malcom Floyd only had one drop all year and both Marques Colston and Reggie Wayne only dropped two catchable passes all season. Also making the top 10 best hands list, Kansas City's own Steve Breaston.

Brandon Carr is a cornerback they don't want to lose, either. Javier Arenas is quick in the slot but is too small and slow to play one-on-one outside. Travis Daniels played better than expected, but he is not the ideal starter. He is a big dropoff from Carr, who continues to excel both against the run and the pass.

But there's more.

Brandon Carr excelled last year, grading out in the top 10 of all starting CBs in the NFL. When you look at quarterback ratings when opposing QBs threw to the WRs he was covering—that QB's rating was only 61.7. That is eighth-best of any CB in the NFL.

He also allowed only 50 percent of the passes thrown his way to be caught. He broke up one out of every two—that's not bad, even Flowers was behind.

Overall, Darrelle Revis graded out by far higher than any CB, and the results of the worst CB is Tracy Porter. He allowed three-fourths of all passes to his side to be completed and is the worst tackler I have EVER seen.

So what do they do? It's hard to imagine replacing Bowe, but good cornerbacks are awfully hard to come by and even harder to replace.

Let's hope they sign both.