Kansas City Chiefs: Wide Receiver Is Top Priority in 2011 Offseason

The Kansas City Chiefs will soon be heading into their third offseason with the current regime of Scott Pioli/Todd Haley, and the debate begins for what holes need to be filled for the 2011 version of the team.

One position that sticks out like a sore thumb is wide receiver, as Dwayne Bowe was the only KC wideout to really establish himself in the Chiefs offense in '10.

There are many ways they could go about improving this important part of the offense as disgruntled Arizona Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald has already mentioned that he would play anywhere for Chiefs coach Todd Haley.

After all, Fitzgerald is arguably one of the best receivers in the NFL even after finishing off one of his least productive seasons this year.

However, trading for a player of Fitzgerald's character could require giving up multiple high round picks for this year's draft, something that Chiefs GM Scott Pioli might not want to give up regardless of who he is getting in return.

Then, there is the more conventional route of drafting a guy in the first round of April's NFL draft, and with the 21st overall pick, there could be many solid options when it comes to Kansas City's turn.

Julio Jones and AJ Green are two players that stick out the most when looking at next year's rookie wide receiver class.

Jones is built like Pro Bowler Andre Johnson, with a solid combination of speed and size as he utilized his talents to rack up over 2,600 yards and 15 touchdowns in just a three-year career at Alabama.

Green could also be a great addition, as he is a big target like Jones, standing at 6'4" and had nearly the same amount of yards in college with eight more touchdowns than his fellow conference opponent.

Another variable to look at is the fact that both of these guys come from the SEC, which many believe is the best conference in college football.

More importantly, Pioli/Haley seems to love SEC players as five of their seven draft picks from the '10 class came from that conference and several other starters and role players such as Tyson Jackson, Glenn Dorsey, Tim Castille and Wallace Gilberry came from there as well.

Also, this looks like it could be one of the better WR draft classes in recent memory and the Chiefs need to take advantage of this.

Signing another mediocre free agent receiver isn't an option this time around and KC should know this after failed multiple failed acquisitions such as Devard Darling, Mark Bradley and more recently, Chris Chambers.

Matt Cassel needs a new weapon on offense and any of these guys could get the job done next season for the Chiefs.

Now, it's time for the Chiefs brass to make it happen.