Just a rundown of some players I like. I'll use the OP as a collection of the posts I've made on them. (Strikethrough means they are returning to school.)
Originally Posted by JPH83:
Has anyne discussed BJ Thompson? He made Darnell Wright look silly on a couple of reps. He's still a little undersized but I bet he moves up boards pretty quick.I'd love him as an athletic projection from R5 on, suspect someone pulls the trigger earlier.
Haven't watched much of SFA this year but I didn't catch some highlights of Thompson. He looks pretty solid. I'm with you though, probably in the 4th/5th based on what I have seen. [Reply]
Brian Bosarge from Draft Countdown put him to us in his mock in Round 1 in January and said "pass rush help for the Chiefs."
I do easily see him as a Reddick/Parsons type of LB that could bring alot off the edge plus more but Spags hasn't ever really employed that type of rusher and he hasn't used the two guys KC has been capable of that in that capacity.
If KC needed a LB, I'd be screaming from the treetops for this kid but I don't know about him fixing the pass rush with Spags. [Reply]
I love how like three months ago, this was the weakest OT class in years, but now there are three or four first rounders. And in a class with probably three or four QB's in that first round, too. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Chris Meck:
I love how like three months ago, this was the weakest OT class in years, but now there are three or four first rounders. And in a class with probably three or four QB's in that first round, too.
Seems like there are always comments like that based on the Seniors because t the college football season is only halfway through and they aren't positive about the standout Juniors that might declare.
Obviously, this class is significantly strengthened by Paris Johnson (Jr), Peter Skoronski (Jr), Broderick Jones (RSo), Anton Harrison (Jr), Blake Freeland (Jr), Dawand Jones (RJr), Darnell Wright (RJr), Warren McClendon (RJr), and Wanya Morris (RJr) declaring.
Based on Seniors, your top tackles would be Matt Bergeron, Jaelyn Duncan, Ryan Hayes, and Connor Galvin. No doubt you expect some Juniors to declare, but OLine is one of the least guaranteed to do it. The volume at the top end was great this year and really boosted the class a ton, to the point I'd call it one of the better classes through the first three rounds that there's been in the past five years. [Reply]
Originally Posted by kccrow:
Seems like there are always comments like that based on the Seniors because t the college football season is only halfway through and they aren't positive about the standout Juniors that might declare.
Obviously, this class is significantly strengthened by Paris Johnson (Jr), Peter Skoronski (Jr), Broderick Jones (RSo), Anton Harrison (Jr), Blake Freeland (Jr), Dawand Jones (RJr), Darnell Wright (RJr), Warren McClendon (RJr), and Wanya Morris (RJr) declaring.
Based on Seniors, your top tackles would be Matt Bergeron, Jaelyn Duncan, Ryan Hayes, and Connor Galvin. No doubt you expect some Juniors to declare, but OLine is one of the least guaranteed to do it. The volume at the top end was great this year and really boosted the class a ton, to the point I'd call it one of the better classes through the first three rounds that there's been in the past five years.
Well, that's good for us, because honestly, we need a couple. [Reply]
Ladies and gentleman, allow me to introduce you to the Kansas City Chiefs' second round pick, Jaelyn Duncan. Hell, they may trade up for him. The team has been grappling for a year now as to how they can get LT Orlando Brown, Jr., under contract. They may not be able to. They may have to tag him and ride out another season.
In that case, or really whatever they decide to do with him, allow me to provide you an athletic tackle who has been showing off all week at Mobile. Duncan has 40 games under his belt as a left tackle, and has the fantastic size and length the Chiefs love at the tackle position. He has the power to roadgrade, he has the athleticism to get out in space (which is really what HC Andy Reid wants). He has the nimble feet to reach block and effective anchor to stymie bullrushes. On paper, and at the Senior Bowl, he is the real deal. In this offense, with all the help we are willing to give right tackles sometimes, he is a plug-and-play right tackle, with left tackle flexibility.
But I struggle with him as a first rounder, because he has some deprogramming to go through. He looks like and runs like the type of tackle the Chiefs traditionally covet under Reid's tenure, but he has some major technique work to do. This is a guy who impatient fans will crap all over in September in October, only to straighten up under OL coach Andy Heck's tutelage by Week 12. Of course, I am making assumptions about intelligence and character but I may change my tune if there's reporting out of the Combine that he interviewed poorly. [Reply]
After absolutely torching the NFL by rebuilding the entire offensive line in one offseason a couple years back, GM Brett Veach lapped the field last year by rebuilding the entire secondary. The work that Veach, DC Steve Spagnuolo, DBs coach Dave Merritt, and S Justin Reid have done getting all of these first year players up to snuff has been nothing short of remarkable. Spags is truly, historically underrated. The Chiefs' CB position enters the 2023 NFL Draft as bodied out as any on the roster.
But hear me out: if Kyu Blu Kelly had been in the NFL draft, he's a Chief, right? He's long-played for an excellent program, his dad was an 11-year NFL veteran, he is clearly a smart guy, he's currently torturing WRs at the Senior Bowl. He's long, he's a track star in both the 100m and 200m, so he's going to be a better athlete than most of the guys he's covering. So we can't dismiss the idea of drafting a CB high completely out of hand. He looks really good getting in and out of breaks, but I do want to see how he performs at the Combine on that front. I bet he runs a 4.3, however. And at 6'1", it's hard not to love that.
That said, I don't see him becoming a Chief, because there's just too many "but"s that would have to happen. First of all, the CB room is very solid in KC, so he'd have to drop in the draft to end up here. Second, he's fantastic in press man, but struggles with all the eye candy in zone; he reads receivers well but QBs can toy with him. Last but not least, and this is a big deal in the Spags scheme: there are entire games where he just plays soft. Not super enthusiastic attaching the run, and unless he's going up against a slot receiver, he's not crazy about fighting through blocks.
Where would he have to fall for the Chiefs, who probably love this guy's moxie, to take him? The 3rd? The 4th? Other teams will value him more and he'll likely go well before then. [Reply]
Here's fun value: a Tyrann Mathieu style leader in the slot who is coming back from a couple of major injuries. Smith was already not a top notch athlete before, but a heady, instinctual player with a nasty attitude for a safety under 6' and 200 lbs. He's been an emotional leader on a fantastic Georgia defense, and though the team still steamrolled everybody in 2022, it was missing a few highlight hits across the middle.
The basic questions, he's already answered. He's excelled for years in a pro-style defense. His coverage in the slot is strong and he possesses the tenacity to challenge tight ends who have six inches and fifty pounds on him. Like Mathieu, he's not great at covering large distances of field, but the Chiefs don't play a ton of single-high anyway. Whether his coverage translates against NFL receivers is going to depend on how he tests.
But of course, that's the biggest question of all. He can't test. He's recovering from an ACL in October. There's a legitimate chance this guy goes undrafted. But that's the gift of having five-to-six picks in the 6th and 7th round. They cost you nothing, and they do ensure that a guy who starred in a defense at a program known for transferring extremely well to the NFL. With arguably the best athletic trainers in the NFL working on him for his entire rookie season, I suggest we invest. [Reply]
BJ Kissel, now a Chiefs commentator for his own Kansas City Sports Network, said just a few weeks ago that he hung out with GM Brett Veach at some practice years ago when Kissel worked for the Chiefs. Veach told him something that now, years later and out of the organization, he can share: sometimes a players "unique traits" are worth betting on. He was referencing NFL prospect WR Justin Watson at the time (who Veach would later scoop up years later for the 2022 season), but the true could be said of Zach Evans.
This is a guy who has perennially disappointed everywhere he's gone, but with good size and fantastic speed, he offers a one-cut sprinting talent that pulls away from defenders. It's a promising set of characteristics, and it's why he was once ranked the #2 RB in America. But since then, he's flopped out of TCU, couldn't own the starting job at Ole Miss, and ended the season in a timeshare where he rarely caught passes and exclusively ran the same run.
This guy's probably a UDFA. The Chiefs have actually drafted him before, in 2009 they drafted Tennessee State RB Javarris Williams in the 6th round, who sent on to play four games in his career and average a yard a carry. Williams was bigger, and more proven, than Williams. But there's a real show Evans runs a 4.3 at the Combine. If he flops, why not take a flyer after the draft concludes? [Reply]
Originally Posted by Direckshun: CB Kyu Blu Kelly, Stanford
After absolutely torching the NFL by rebuilding the entire offensive line in one offseason a couple years back, GM Brett Veach lapped the field last year by rebuilding the entire secondary. The work that Veach, DC Steve Spagnuolo, DBs coach Dave Merritt, and S Justin Reid have done getting all of these first year players up to snuff has been nothing short of remarkable. Spags is truly, historically underrated. The Chiefs' CB position enters the 2023 NFL Draft as bodied out as any on the roster.
But hear me out: if Kyu Blu Kelly had been in the NFL draft, he's a Chief, right? He's long-played for an excellent program, his dad was an 11-year NFL veteran, he is clearly a smart guy, he's currently torturing WRs at the Senior Bowl. He's long, he's a track star in both the 100m and 200m, so he's going to be a better athlete than most of the guys he's covering. So we can't dismiss the idea of drafting a CB high completely out of hand. He looks really good getting in and out of breaks, but I do want to see how he performs at the Combine on that front. I bet he runs a 4.3, however. And at 6'1", it's hard not to love that.
That said, I don't see him becoming a Chief, because there's just too many "but"s that would have to happen. First of all, the CB room is very solid in KC, so he'd have to drop in the draft to end up here. Second, he's fantastic in press man, but struggles with all the eye candy in zone; he reads receivers well but QBs can toy with him. Last but not least, and this is a big deal in the Spags scheme: there are entire games where he just plays soft. Not super enthusiastic attaching the run, and unless he's going up against a slot receiver, he's not crazy about fighting through blocks.
Where would he have to fall for the Chiefs, who probably love this guy's moxie, to take him? The 3rd? The 4th? Other teams will value him more and he'll likely go well before then.
Did you see the Stanford WR, Wilson i think, who torched him in the 1 on 1s? I like the guy but in truth I came away a little more impressed by his teammate! Might dig into him a little more. [Reply]
Keondre Coburn had a good week at the East/West Shrine Game.
He's similar to Joseph Ossai in that he's another Longhorn who didn't reach his potential in college, but has a ton of room to grow. He'd be great next to Jones on the line and is a beast filling the gaps on runs. [Reply]
Originally Posted by ntexascardfan:
Keondre Coburn had a good week at the East/West Shrine Game.
He's similar to Joseph Ossai in that he's another Longhorn who didn't reach his potential in college, but has a ton of room to grow. He'd be great next to Jones on the line and is a beast filling the gaps on runs.
Totally agree, think i put him on my list a few weeks back. Guy is large but has pretty impressive lateral speed. If he's around at the back end of the 3rd I'd be tempted. Think he'll take a bit of time to polish up but he could be the run stuffer with a bit of juice we need next to Jones. [Reply]