National ESPN insiders Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano recently “emptied their notebooks” from the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, and the article included several Kansas City Chiefs-related nuggets.

The Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs will have a hard time keeping several free agents. They’re preparing to lose the receiver Mécole Hardman, who should have a good market despite only playing eight games last season. Some teams believe he’ll hit a pretty good number on an annual average. Safety Juan Thornhill it should also do very well. Some teams consider him the #1 safety. 2, a viable option for those who can’t afford Jessie Bates III.

The expectation is that the Chiefs will tag along offensive tackle in the franchise Orlando Brown Jr. and try to sign the recipient again JuJu Smith-Schuster, but this will cost him. Some teams have running backs Clyde Edwards-Helaire on their radar as a potential business option, although I don’t think Kansas City is actively buying it. It might be more of a “we’ll listen” situation.

WR Mecole Hardman and S Juan Thornhill

As general manager Brett Veach noted, building a roster for the league comes with its own challenges given the league’s salary cap. Sometimes tough decisions have to be made, and it looks like the question will be whether the Chiefs will be able to retain the services of wide receiver Mecole Hardman and Safety Juan Thornhill.

Kansas City drafted two players — wide receiver Skyy Moore and safety Bryan Cook — in the second round of last year’s NFL Draft. This could indicate that the club is ready to lean on second-year players rather than paying a premium for Hardman and Thornhill.

LT Orlando Brown Jr. and WR JuJu Smith-Schuster

That hasn’t happened as of this writing, but it’s a foregone conclusion that Veach will choose to Franchise Orlando Brown Jr., and we’ll have to see if the two sides can come to an acceptable deal this time around. Brown finally played on the title last year after Veach and Brown’s team failed to secure a long-term deal. The Chiefs said they appreciate wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster as a compliment to tight end Travis Kelce. Despite his six years of NFL experience, the receiver is still only 26, which is within the age range of players Kansas City has agreed to deal in the past (more on Smith-Schuster here).

RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire

For a while, it looked like running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire might be in for a change of scenery going into the final year of his rookie contract, especially considering the emergence of seventh-round rookie Isiah Pacheco. At this point, arguing about whether Kansas City should have used a first-round pick over Edwards-Helaire makes no sense. Maybe the Chiefs can turn the player into a conditional day three pick from a team looking to bolster the depth of his rushing room. And hopefully Edwards-Helaire can thrive with a new group.

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