Houston was supposed to be a liability in pass coverage. He was not excellent in the NFL by any stretch right off the bat and had limited snaps. I use the Houston example because he also came from a competitive college program and should have been "NFL ready" and there were reasons that dropped his draft grade lower than it should have fallen.

Even though Houston was graded lower, I liked his potential early on more than I like Ford's now. But the point is it took him some time to find his stride or get meaningful snaps.

Not that anybody gives two shits, but I endorsed the Chiefs to draft Justin Houston with our first rounder in 2011. I had Dee Ford eventually graded out as a high 2nd rounder this year.

As for Dee Ford, I believe he just needs time to marinate before we can effectively judge his play. Defensive lineman (including OLBs in the 3-4) need three years before you can accurately judge them.

That's the common sense approach. I don't understand the obsession with "he has to contribute immediately" especially in a year that should be a rebuild year. Or the obsession with CP suddenly judging rookie ceilings by how they play in the first few rookies games. I don't know when or why this started happening