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.)
There are two analyses of Wright, and which one you venture down is going to depend on how Wright interviews and performs during draft season. Put simply, Wright is a massive, former-five-star tackle with fantastic length, high character off the field, and Trey Smith levels of brutality on the field. He is a pretty good technician, but isn't the top end nimble athlete you'd expect of a franchise LT -- for now. That's where the analyses diverge.
At 6'5', 330 lbs, you could bring him in to be your right tackle of the future, and alongside Humprey and Smith, create the nastiest right side of the line in football. He's got the look, right now, of a career right tackle for a power run team, which right now is where the strength of the Chiefs OL is. He could be a great fit at that position.
The question: can you get him to lose some weight and increase his athleticism to have him lock down LT? At the very least, if that experiment doesn't work out, you could just keep him slotted at RT. Personally, I think he's a pretty good fit for the Chiefs if they feel Orlando Brown's contract demands are a bridge too far, but he's not the slam dunk replacement at the LT position. Five cap-controlled years of a really good RT is a really good backup option. I'm going to see how all the testing turns out, but right now he might be in the running for the Chiefs' first pick. [Reply]
Am I missing something Jaxon Smith-Njigba? Outproduced Olave and Wilson at Ohio last year but most people are putting him down as a late first round pick.
Wright looks promising but most people seem to have him as a late second round/early third round pick. Would be great if we could get an edge in the first and a starting right tackle in the 2nd. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Direckshun: DE Lukas Van Ness, Iowa
Here's a guy who I am increasingly fascinated by, and may warrant a second day pick. Van Ness is a Spags-sized end, 6'5", almost 270. He is a Karlaftis clone with (I would surmise) more athletic upside, with the ability to reduce down to the interior. He's played 5-tech, wide DE, and passing down DT. His power is unquestionable, his athleticism is there.
I'm going to watch his Combine tape closely -- because this guy is raw as hell. He's only started this season, and he's scored half a dozen sacks on a rotational basis. He's got all the tools, but his lack of a snapcount is going to warrant all kinds of technique work. If he lights up the Combine, I'd sniff him out with a 3rd -- but probably a 4th given the huge question marks around him. If he doesn't perform well at the Combine, I may take him with a late 6th or one of my 7ths.
Dan Brugler had him going 17th in his mock! [Reply]
Originally Posted by Dull Tools:
Dan Brugler had him going 17th in his mock!
I like Brugler and i'm sure he'll be much closer to where he goes than I'm thinking, but that sounds awfully rich. His production isn't near Karlaftis' as far as I can tell, and Karlaftis wasn't close to a top 17 pick for a reason. I'd maybe take him as a late 2nd tops, but I don't see anything that's 1st rd material. [Reply]
Originally Posted by kccrow:
DE Tuli Tuipulotu is a guy I think deserves some talk. Dude is playing great football. He's a big end but he's pretty quick. I likes.
This isn't relevant or anything, but the amusing thing about the 2020 NFL Draft is that we spent our first selection on RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire, and a 4th on CB L'Jarius Sneed. We all grouse about the Edwards-Helaire selection but honestly if the Chiefs had taken Sneed with that 1st and Clyde with that 4th, it all would have slotted perfectly.
I just mention that because Antonio Johnson is the closest this draft has to L'Jarius Sneed, and would be a good candidate for our 1st round pick. He is a tall, rangy defensive back who shows great athleticism and instincts, though with his 6'3" height I'll be interested to see how fluid he is at the Combine. He blitzes, he plays man, he plays shallow zones, he plays nickel linebacker. He's the complete package and he fits Spags' defense to a T.
The only problem is that we already have a Sneed, of course. I think we all expect Sneed to end up extended this year or re-signed next year. In the off chance the Chiefs find Sneed too rich for their blood (chances I'd regard as very low), getting a replacement for him a year ahead of schedule fits what the team has historically liked to do. [Reply]
My draft crush that I wish the Chiefs could have landed in 2022 was Jordan Davis, a 350 lbs blockers-eating monster who also had the burst to get up field and threaten the backfield. Combined with Chris Jones and choice personnel additions elsewhere, that would have solved virtually all of the Chiefs DL problems for the 2022 season, DL problems that I believe are still the team's biggest Achilles heel.
Ika is not Jordan Davis, not even on this forum, where he's gotten a lot of juice as a potential pick. Seen by some as a successor to Vita Vea's style, his gargantuan size, bear-level strength and phone booth quickness would look great in front of Nick Bolton, who is ready to become a Top 3 linebacker in the NFL the second he gets a true blocker-eating NT in front of him. The question of course, is whether he's Vita Vea, who is an indispensable, three-down NT who clogs the run and gives you juice in the passrush, or if he's Danny Shelton, a one-dimensional (if effective) plugger.
I think he's somewhere in the middle, but I worry he's Phil Taylor. His strength and size are unquestionable but I worry primarily about his effectiveness on 3rd down. I also have slight concerns about arm length, but I just read about that, I have no literal idea about it yet. Right now I have him in my head as a 2nd day pick, but the Senior Bowl and Combine will tell us a lot more about where he stands relative to his peers. [Reply]
All needs being equal, all things considered, where would you have been willing to take RB Isiah Pacheco knowing what we know now? I think we'd consider taking him late 2nd day, early 3rd day. Well if you dial Pacheco's talents up a notch -- just a notch -- that's probably what you get with Bigsby.
Watching Bigsby tape, about 90% of the time, seems extremely similar to watching Pacheco tape. He is an angry north-south runner who makes one cut, hits a crease, and if need be can turn on the burners. He's also shown increasing use in the passing game, upping his receptions each season -- though I'd like to see how he fares at the Senior Bowl and Combine on those fronts. The Senior Bowl will be fascinating, too, because he'll have actual blocking for that, rather than the notoriously bad blocking Auburn gave him this year.
The additional notch that Bigsby has that Pacheco doesn't, is that he's got some wiggle. There are plenty of moments over the past season where free defenders crashing blitzers bring heat to Bigsby and he sometimes has the ability to exhibit insanely quick lateral speed. I'd like to see how he tests, but right now he has the look of an above average starter. I'd give him hard looks in the 3rd, but if he tests great, I may move him a round. [Reply]