Going to offer up my opinion on the best values in the draft. Feel free to post your own too.
1. Round 5, Selection 145 - OL Darian Kinnard, Kentucky - Kansas City Chiefs
It's not often you get an All-SEC lineman and two-time All-American (3rd team in 2020 and 1st team in 2021) in the 5th round but that's exactly what Kansas City got here. Even if he ends up inside at guard instead of right tackle, KC got a steal. Kinnard was projected to go in the middle of day two. To me, this was the biggest value in a draft that saw quite a few, especially for the Chiefs who make my list three times.
2. Round 1, Selection 26 - DE Jermaine Johnson II, Florida State - New York Jets
Widely considered a surefire top-15 player and potentially a top 8 selection in the days leading up to the draft (some even projected him at 4 to the Jets), Johnson fell down the board. The Jets flew up from the second round to grab Johnson where I quickly proclaimed "they won the draft" after landing outstanding players in Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson in the top 10. There's little doubt Johnson will be an immediate impact contributor in New York.
3. Round 3, Selection 76 - NT Travis Jones, Connecticut - Baltimore Ravens
Jones was talked about in most publications as a potential first-round pick and near-unanimous top 40 player, yet the Ravens snagged the powerful lineman in the middle of the third round. Jones gets to marinate in the rotation early on in Baltimore but could have been an immediate starter for most teams. I rank this amongst the best value propositions, especially with his scheme fit and the team he went to.
4. Round 3, Selection 103 - LB Leo Chenal, Wisconsin - Kansas City Chiefs
Widely considered among the top five linebackers in this class and the best strong-side projection, including the most ability to affect QBs ala Micah Parsons, Chenal ended up the 10th LB drafted and fell from a surefire second-round player to a late third-rounder. Chenal is a monster that is going to stake claim to his side of the field and thou shalt not pass.
5. Round 6, Selection 185 - CB Christian Benford, Villanova - Buffalo Bills
As teams were taking fliers on other FCS and Division II corners, the Bills waited and struck gold in the 6th with Benford who was the best CB in the FCS the past couple of seasons and probably should have been a 4th rounder. Benford had 47 career pass breakups and 14 career interceptions, including 18 and 7 respectively as a senior. Those are insane totals and he also has NFL size at 6'0" 208 to go with solid 4.5 speed and a 35" vertical. Those types of ball skills and attributes usually make it in the league.
6. Round 1, Selection 21 - CB Trent McDuffie, Washington - Kansas City Chiefs
Widely regarded as the 3rd best corner in the draft and a top 15 player (top 10 for some), the Chiefs were able to snag a potential star in the mold of Jaire Alexander at 21. The Chiefs will be able to deploy McDuffie all over the formation to take advantage of matchups. The fact they stole McDuffie from their newest rival in Buffalo probably just makes it a bit sweet for them.
7. Round 2, Selection 42 - CB Andrew Booth Jr, Clemson - Minnesota Vikings
Touted as one of the best press-man corners in the draft and a consensus round one player, the Vikings traded down and snagged Booth in the middle of the second round, getting tremendous value at a position of major need. The Vikings manipulated their draft position beautifully and ended up with two impact starters in their secondary as a result. Kudos.
8. Round 3, Selection 88 - WR Jalen Tolbert, South Alabama - Dallas Cowboys
There was no doubt that Tolbert exhibited a minimum of second-round talent but the Cowboys didn't subscribe to the run on WRs in the late second and let this guy fall into their laps after most teams took their guy earlier. Tolbert projects as a tremendous value and is similar to current Cowboy Michael Gallup. There is more than a passing chance that Tolbert outplays his draft position and ends up one of the better receivers in the crop.
9. Round 5, Selection 151 - RB Tyler Allgeier, Brigham Young - Atlanta Falcons
Allgeier is a horse with tremendous balance and power and showed out at BYU with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, including 1,600 yards in 2021 and a nation-leading 23 TDs. He doesn't bring a ton of 3rd down ability right out of the gate but he can be the lead in a committee and a damned fine one at that. In a league that takes RBs too early, the Falcons were patient and got a stud, which I expected to come off two rounds earlier, that fits their coach's style perfectly.
10. Round 7, Selection 223 - DE Isaiah Thomas, Oklahoma - Cleveland Browns
Thomas was never likely a day two prospect but most felt, and myself included, like high in the 4th round was probably where Thomas should go. The Browns ended up snagging this cat in the 7th round. Any time you can get a guy with his build and 7+ sacks in multiple seasons in a Power 5 conference, I think you have something to work with. Once this guy strengthens his lower half, he could be a really nice sleeper that can be starting strong side end that can get you 6-8 sacks regularly.
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Originally Posted by RealSNR:
Oddly enough, I think Kinnard might be my least favorite pick of the entire Chiefs class even though just about every person (including me) thought it was pretty damn good value.
Things seem pretty cemented at OL, so unless he can play tackle some day (perhaps in the future, but maybe not this year) it looks like he's primarily going to be a replacement for Wylie down the road. That's okay... it's the 5th flipping round. It's just harder for me to get excited about something like that compared to everybody else we got.
Maybe that's Veach's fault for fucking nailing the first four rounds so goddamn hard that a fatty in the 5th (even one as promising as Kinnard) just seemed like a bit of a let down.
I think he has an outside shot (<10%) of being a day 1 starter at RT. 50/50 he starts a game at RT.
I'm also an idiot, but nonetheless.
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I think Kinnard beats out Wiley. He's just such a physical upgrade I can see it happening easily.
A healthy Niang is a different matter; I know a lot of people here were complaining about Niang-but before he got hurt he was doing pretty good for a first year OT, getting better every game.
but is a healthy Niang a pipedream? Maybe so.
I'd say it's 50/50 Kinnard is your starting RT by season's end.
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Good write-up, agree with your picks.
In terms of Travis Jones, I'd even go so far as to say he could've made your list if we had picked him at #62. I'm a big Veach fan and Cook is an intriguing guy - really smart and plays really mean, which we definitely need. But man if we had grabbed Jones at 62 I would've been doing cartwheels. Just would've addressed every need so perfectly. On the flip side, it's not like we didn't need another Safety. No Sorensen, and pretty sure they're not 100% sold on giving Thornhill a 2nd deal of any magnitude yet, which is fine by me. He needs to have a big season.
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