The Kansas City Chiefs began the earliest phase of their offseason workout program on Monday.
A piece of that is the team’s ability to conduct meetings, virtual or in-person, between coaches and players again. One of the first things on the agenda for the Chiefs’ coaching staff is to undergo what Andy Reid describes as scheme evaluation.
Various members of the coaching staff work throughout the offseason to go back through every ounce of offensive, defensive and special teams tape to spot inefficiencies, problems and areas where they can improve. In doing so, they map a path forward for the upcoming season.
“As we go forward, we cover all the things that we need done with our scheme evaluation in the offseason,” Reid told reporters on Monday. “Coaches spent a lot of time and effort putting together and going back through each play that we ran and evaluating them, so that we can give the players a good teaching tool while adding new things to the package offensively, as well as defensively and special teams. So, all three phases, the players will get a good evaluation of the things that went on and any changes we may have made.”
Scheme evaluation isn’t exactly a rigid process, though. This is something that is very flexible throughout the offseason. The Chiefs already made several personnel changes this offseason, but those changes won’t necessarily impact the team’s ability to do these scheme evaluations. They’ll still add more pieces to the puzzle during and after the 2022 NFL draft.
The next step of the process really comes in Organized Team Activities, which is when coaches are finally able to get with some players and give some instruction. At that point, they’re going to get a better idea of what some of the new players are capable of and how they’ll fit.
“As time goes on, you see a little bit more of what you’re going to have to work with and where guys are at,” Reid explained. “That will continue on because there will be some more changes – we’re going to have additions with the draft at different spots and you’re going to have whatever free agents we sign as we go forward. You’ve got to stay a little bit flexible. If you just keep in mind through that you’re going to go in and try to utilize the guys’ strengths, that’s where you can see certain things that maybe you didn’t see before. ‘You know what, this kid’s pretty good at this. Maybe we need to look at increasing this role right here.’”
These evaluations are also something that the team carries over into the regular season. The groundwork done now will help influence how the team is able to adjust on the fly during the course of the season, especially during the bye week.
“We do a pretty good job of staying on top of the problems during the season,” Reid continued. “Obviously, during the bye week, you’re able to go back and rehash what you’ve done there with a little more condensed time. You’re able to put everything together. You’re also able to spend some time looking at new ideas, how they might fit into the offense and defense and special teams. And also, how those fit in with the players that you’re trying to utilize.”