1-16 | LT Christian Darrisaw, Virginia Tech (6'5" 322)
Kansas City trades 1-31, 4-144, 2022-1st to Arizona for 1-16.
As painful as it is, I see no way around the fact that KC needs to move up significantly in this draft to secure a left tackle that fits Andy Reid's scheme. The bulk of this class isn't a fit from length to athleticism to positional translation. I see Sewell (Bengals) and Slater (Chargers) coming off the board first before Darrisaw. I think the Vikings opt for a guard like Vera-Tucker and move Ezra Cleveland out to his natural position. KC could trade up using other picks, more likely a 2nd and 3rd in some combination, but I think for making the team better now, you look at trading a 1st next year instead. Darrisaw has prototypical size, height, arm length, and overall athleticism. While he needs some work on his pass-blocking technique, he was much improved in 2020 in that regard. Veach goes and gets what he needs, simple as that.
2-63 | WR Dyami Brown, North Carolina (6'1" 189)
Brown is a phenomenal deep ball receiver with plenty of route running acumen underneath to set up and ditch defenders. He's a near prototype for what you'd look for as an X in this offense with his ability to make defenders pay for the single coverages he should face regularly.
3-94 | DE Payton Turner, Houston (6'5" 270)
Turner is a solid LDE prospect in that he offers great get-off at the snap, good size, anchor, and decent bend on the edge with the strength to handle more powerful RTs. He has the ability to line up at multiple spots on the defensive line depending on the set (experience at DT), which Spags often does in racecar sets on 3rd and long. Turner's versatility should be a huge draw for the Chiefs.
4-136 | LB Derrick Barnes, Purdue (6'0" 238)
Barnes is a chess piece to deploy for Spagnuolo. He comes in as a twitched-up, highly energetic player with experience at the MIKE and as an EDGE. He has great range, speed, and the strength to hold up to and break down lineman. He could develop into an eventual MLB at the NFL level similar to Joe Schobert, and he comes in as a similar player. He probably cuts his teeth as a SAM prospect with a lot of utility work early on while he better learns playing as an off-ball linebacker.
5-175 | SS Joshua Bledsoe, Missouri (5'11" 201)
Bledsoe is a versatile safety that shows the ability to bump down in coverage on TEs and RBs while also being able to stick with WRs in man coverage. He's energetic and a solid tackler. While solid, he can sometimes overplay the run or his man and be left out of position.
5-181 | OL Royce Newman, Ole Miss (6'5" 310)
Newman is an athletic lineman with the ability to play every spot on the offensive line. He has solid pass pro skills with the ability to lock on and stay on his block and plus mirroring. He also has the ability to get out into space and stick blocks at the second level. The plus is, he's big, nasty, and sports a mullet and goatee. All he needs now is a Camaro and some BBQ and he'll fit right in.
6-207 | RB Rakeem Boyd, Arkansas (5'11" 213)
Boyd is a physical runner and solid receiver out of the backfield with some juice that should go much higher if all were based on talent alone. His academic issues are definitely going to cause him to slide as teams may be less inclined to think he can pick up the playbook. There isn't a lot of pressure here in KC for him to start and can take some time developing while contributing in a short-yardage role early.
Roster
QB: P. Mahomes, C. Henne
RB: C. Edwards-Helaire, Dar. Williams, R. Boyd
WR: T. Hill, D. Robinson, D. Brown, M. Hardman, B. Pringle, A. Calloway
TE: T. Kelce, N. Keizer, B. Bell
LT: C. Darrisaw, M. Rankin, P. Tega Wanogho
LG: J. Thuney, N. Allegretti
OC: A. Blythe, R. Newman
RG: L. Duvernay-Tardif, K. Long, Y. Durant
RT: M. Remmers, L. Niang
DE: F. Clark, M. Danna
DT: C. Jones, T. Wharton
DT: D. Nnadi, J. Reed, K. Saunders
DE: T. Charlton, P. Turner
SLB: W. Gay, D. Harris
ILB: A. Hitchens, D. Barnes, E. Smith
WLB: B. Niemann, D. O'Daniel
CB: C. Ward, L. Sneed, R. Fenton, T. Keyes, D. Baker
S: T. Mathieu, J. Thornhill, D. Sorensen, J. Bledsoe, A. Watts
Orlando Brown Jr., a 3rd round pick who played mostly RT, had a historically slow 40 time as well as finishing last in the bench press, with really low agility scores as well. Good player in the NFL, though, and played well at LT due to injuries.
But nobody we could possibly draft, including the more than a handful of guys that have all vastly outperformed Brown's really bad combine scores could be expected to play OT for Kansas City.
Originally Posted by htismaqe:
Not sure Eichenberg is a a LT in a legitimate pass offense. Or Slater, who might be a guard. Cosmi and Darrisaw might not be ready day 1. Jenkins and Mayfield are most likely right tackles.
There really isn't a guy in this draft that checks all of the boxes, not even Sewell.
It's a bad year to need a LT and an even worse one to want to trade up for one.
I don't think Brown is a LT in this offense. I really don't. He's a massive road grader, but I don't think he's going to fare well if you ask him to pass protect 40-50 times a game. [Reply]
Cosmi, Jenkins, Radunz, Brown, Little, Christiansen, Forsythe all fit the physical requirements Reid has typically looked for.
Cosmi's arms are a tad short. And honestly, of these 6, I feel like he's less prepared for this type of offense. Doesn't mean he won't be a better player than some of them, I expect he will, but maybe not here.
I see no reason why Radunz can't be a starting LT here. He dominated at the senior bowl, showing he belongs against the better talent. His physical measurables were very good. So are Brown's.
Day one? maybe not. But sooner than later. [Reply]
Orlando Brown Jr., a 3rd round pick who played mostly RT, had a historically slow 40 time as well as finishing last in the bench press, with really low agility scores as well. Good player in the NFL, though, and played well at LT due to injuries.
But nobody we could possibly draft, including the more than a handful of guys that have all vastly outperformed Brown's really bad combine scores could be expected to play OT for Kansas City.
Got it.
Could they play LT? Sure.
Will they? Unknown.
Brown is a known quantity. Nobody in the draft is a sure thing.
If you're trading 1st round picks, you better damn well get a sure thing.
Hence why I'm not trading 1st round picks. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Chris Meck:
Cosmi, Jenkins, Radunz, Brown, Little, Christiansen, Forsythe all fit the physical requirements Reid has typically looked for.
Cosmi's arms are a tad short. And honestly, of these 6, I feel like he's less prepared for this type of offense. Doesn't mean he won't be a better player than some of them, I expect he will, but maybe not here.
I see no reason why Radunz can't be a starting LT here. He dominated at the senior bowl, showing he belongs against the better talent. His physical measurables were very good. So are Brown's.
Day one? maybe not. But sooner than later.
I don't care as long as they're not trading 1st rounders to go up to get one of those guys.
That's the whole argument for Brown - if you're going to trade 1st round picks, go get a sure thing, even if the ceiling is lower. At least you know he can step right in and play adequately. [Reply]
I see where you’re coming from, but we DON’T know that Brown is a better fit than Niang or Jenkins or Cosmi or Radunz or anyone else they could draft.
The Chiefs don’t KNOW either, but they have more knowledge about what they need and their plan than we do, even as die hards who love scouting and the draft.
So to me... if the a chiefs trade up a little to get Jenkins or Cosmi, that says they like the cost and pick combo more than the cost and player combo of Brown.
If they trade up a LOT for Darrisaw, same type of lesson (but more extreme).
If they sit still and take Radunz or whoever is available at 31, again we learn that they’re comfortable with that guy - or Niang - at LT.
All the moves thus far really have done a nice job building up the Chiefs depth on the OL. They have 4 guys they can throw at C and RG, with some upside in Long and Allegretti. With bringing Remmers back, it improves their depth at RT as well and sets them up to potentially be starting just a single rookie
On the outside (coincidentally, next to a star LG who has helped a lot of LT look great).
That depth has created flexibility at T. Maybe the Chiefs end up in a situation where their best day 1 OL alignment has Niang or a 21 draftee at LT, with vets everywhere else. Maybe the rook and Niang claim both T spots (which would be exciting/awesome for KC considering that would mean one of them beat out Remmers, who was good at RT last year).
Outside Kc, people still are going to see a weakness and pick at it.
But here? We’re gonna be better along the OL than non-Chiefs people realize. Just like the defense in 2019... [Reply]
I think wiht this offseason being what it has been, we should really be careful taking guys with injury issues. The staff likely hasn't gotten the normal look at them as they woudl in a normal draft process.
