Thanks! And thoughts on the final draft grade?
 

Just wanted to give a hat tip to a few people here for their work over the draft season.

Dante for the visits tracker and insane work on getting info on the picks up so quickly

Crow for the immense detail and knowledge provided on prospects. I always learn stuff from you each year. Much appreciated.

Staylor for the mock draft. Amazed we made it, thanks for putting in the effort to keep it on the road man

Coach for starting loads of interesting threads to ponder and general enthusiasm for all things draft. You seem like a real solid dude as well.

And then there's a load of you who know loads more than I do about scheme fits and specific skillsets etc.which includes those above, but also DJ, Duncan, Chris Meck, Run...probably loads of others.

Thanks all, I really enjoy this time of year, and I'm pretty happy with how this year's draft has gone. Reckon I'd give it an -A. What do you think?

A lot of risk with Simmons and ONL, but Veach and Co did their due diligence and signed off on them. This draft has insane potential to be one the best, excluding the Mahomes draft. I’ll go with a solid A-. Love it so far.

Thanks, OP. I'm just a big old nerd with too much time on his hands and a brain that doesn't stop until I'm asleep.

Here's my thoughts on grade:

Present: B+.
I actually really like everything the Chiefs did in this draft, aside from the amount of risk they took on in Round 1. Royals and Smith are excellent fits and should help add some explosion back to the offense. Williams and Bassa and Gillotte are all immediate nice depth pieces, and possible future starters. Anudike-Uzomah doesn't take a step? Fine. Flush him and slide in Gillotte as your cheap partner for Karlaftis on his second deal. Tranquill sucks ass again in coverage? Bassa offers an alternative. Watson gets hurt, Fulton gets hurt, Josh Williams continues to make the staff not trust him? Hello, Nohl. Norman-Lott is probably never a starter, but you can see the value of the player.

So why is it a B+ if I love that all so much? It's Josh Simmons.

I'll reference the Barney Stinson crazy-hot X-Y axis theorem. We'll call it the Duncan Idaho Draft Nerd Risk-Reward X-Y axis. Theory goes, a potential partner must be as hot as they are crazy. If they are crazier than they are hot, you should stay away. For me, Simmons' potential reward factor IS significant. Like, a 9 on a scale of 10. The problem is that I see the risk factor as a true 10/10. The risk is as bad as it can get. I will acknowledge that some might disagree and see the reward factor as higher, or the risk factor as lower (though I think you're layering on an awful lot of hope in that case). But for me, this pick by itself is a D. Maybe a D+ if I inflate my grades a bit.

Simmons - D+ (which, if the team is right, morphs into an A+)
Norman-Lott - B
Gillotte - B+
Williams - A
Royals - A+
Bassa - B+
Smith - A+

Potential: A+.
Because if Simmons is healthy, he's going to be an above-average LT.

OP is spot on! This place rocks! Thanks to all you guys!

I’d give every pick a B- to A, except Simmons.

I almost just have to give that an incomplete for now. My grade would be such a wide range on that one.

I think I'm very close to your evaluation of all of those picks, and agree that the Simmons pick really muddies the water.

Simmons - Man, i didn't like the risk. Factoring in the upside, I guess I'd say - C-

ONL - B - I'm lower than other guys here, but he did look like maybe the best left. I think even at 24 and with worse competition I might have gone Alexander

Gillotte - B+

Williams - B+ - great fit, not sure I wanted that pick at that point with Starks around

Royals - A

Bassa - B

Smith - A

Minus the risk of Simmons, there's none i dislike in isolation.

Here’s what PFF says. Their grades are dumb, but I like their draft stuff a lot more. They seem to be somewhat close to what the Chiefs like to do.

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS: A

1 (32): T Josh Simmons, Ohio State

Simmons — After watching Patrick Mahomes get pressured over 40% of the time in the Super Bowl, the Chiefs look to give their franchise quarterback some time to do what he does best. Simmons is coming off a season-ending knee injury but showed impressive movement skills, flexibility and balance at the left tackle position. He allowed just one sack the past two years and posted an 82.2 true pass set pass-blocking grade in 2024.

2 (63): Dl Omarr Norman-Lott, Tennessee

Norman-Lott — Norman-Lott was arguably the best true pass-rushing defensive tackle in this draft class. His 18.9% pass-rush win rate led the nation, and his 88.3 true pass set pass-rush grade ranked above the 95th percentile. Norman-Lott plays with violence and speed and should provide the Chiefs with another pass-rushing force to rotate into their lineup.

3 (66): ED Ashton Gillotte, Louisville

Gillotte — The Chiefs have bolstered the trenches with their first-, second- and third-round picks. Gillotte is an effective pass rusher, earning an 89.9 pass-rush grade in 2024. He is also a stout run defender, who posted run-defense grades of 84.8 and 78.0 in 2023 and 2024, respectively.

3 (85): CB Nohl Williams, Cal

Williams — The Chiefs love their press-man cornerbacks, and Williams fits that mold. His length and physicality are exactly what defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo looks for in his defensive backs. His seven interceptions in 2024 powered his 80.0 PFF overall grade.

4 (133): WR Jalen Royals, Utah State

Royals — Royals can play inside or outside and brings some depth to the Chiefs’ wide receiver group. The No. 60 overall player on the PFF Big Board earned an 80.6 PFF receiving grade in 2024.

5 (156): LB Jeffrey Bassa, Oregon

Bassa — Bassa began his career at Oregon as a safety before making more of an impact as an off-ball linebacker. Throughout his career, he’s shown a good ability as an effective blitzer, which fits very well within Spagnuolo’s defensive scheme.

2 (228): RB Brashard Smith, SMU

Smith — The Chiefs get an offensive weapon and a tremendous value with Brashard Smith. He is a former wide receiver who transitioned to running back at SMU, and his receiving chops showed up in his 90.8 PFF receiving grade in 2024. Kansas City can get creative with his usage.

Id just like to say thanks to everyone who puts in the work here. I got promoted in October and didnt have the time to even dabble like I’ve done the last two years. Wednesday morning a good friend, that I’ve coached youth sports with for 4 years, died tragically. He saved his wife and oldest son in the process. He left five kids and a half remodeled house behind. I’ve been an absolute wreck since. Any time that I wasn’t at their place or at work I’ve immersed myself in the draft forum. You guys unknowingly helped me keep it together when a hurting family and team of 12 year old football and baseball boys needed me to have it together.

Also sorry to anyone I may have been overly aggressive with about Simmons. I’ve let my life spill into my takes on that knee a little.

I love this place, it’s the best place on the World Wide Web.

We got you, bro.

Hang in there. I’m sorry about your friend but as a dad and husband know that’s a trade I’d make every day of the week and twice on Sunday and have no regrets.

100%. He died a hero and changed the headline from three dead to one.

Saved his 17 year old who’s already been in contact with a few colleges including Texas A&M about playing OL for them. He would have been watching OL draft prospects for size and speed all weekend.

I give the draft a solid B. Not high on the Simmons pick but I think they got good value everywhere but arguably Norman Lott for me. And I can see the path for him.

After careful consideration, and being really critical about this draft Brett Veach put together, I think I am going to give it a grade of: B.

I would grade it higher, but looking over the list, I feel like we only got four first ballot hall of famers and maybe one multiple pro bowler. Veach needs to do better next year.

Why do you hate the Chiefs?

I’m giving it an A- grade.

I’ve been on the Simmons bandwagon since the start, didn’t think he’d fall to us but was stoked we were able to get him. Add to that an additional 5th round pick, very impressive.

In my opinion, Lott and Gilotte could really make this draft. If those two turn our pass rush up, this draft was lights out.

Love the Williams pick, we could really use a ballhawk in the secondary.

Royals and Smith were great value picks. I especially LOVED the Smith pick, he’s been my guy all draft season, he’s a perfect fit for Andy.

I frequently mocked Simmons, Williams, and Smith for us and was stoked to see us take a few of “my guys”. Was also really happy with the positions taken, starting with 3 straight trench guys, sealing up the LT spot, investing in pass rushers, grabbing the top ball hawk, and adding a couple of home run threats with clear paths to playing time in the later rounds. Chef’s kiss.

I've moved my Simmons grade up to a C/C+.

A -- I wasn't quite as out on him as you were to start. I'd have very possibly gambled on him with a 2 anyway. So if you figure I'd have probably taken him with that Titans 3rd at worst (as I wouldn't have felt like I needed to take Gillotte until the end of 3), we took him about 35 spots sooner than I would've. That's a disconnect, but not a horrifying one.

B -- the way the rest of the draft went kinda took some of the sting out of the opportunity cost.

If we take Burden at 32, we probably don't take Royals. If we take Henderson we don't take Smith. It just makes the 'math' difficult when I'm trying to figure opportunity cost for either of them. Ezeiruaku is another guy that I'd have looked really hard at there but I wonder if he's just a little too small for Spags.

So in trying to come up with a pure proxy without having to take anyone else off, I'm' looking at maybe Sanders (who can play the Nose), JT Tuimoloau, Mason Taylor, Nic Scourton.

I sait it in the Simmons thread -- the interesting question, and what would've kept this in the D range for me due purely to risk and opportunity cost, is Conerly. Had he been there and we'd have taken Simmons instead, that would've been too much for me.

As it stands, I still wouldn't have done it. But the rest of the draft mitigated some of that opportunity cost.

So I'll give it a C(ish) pick.

Draft as a whole then gets a B+. If only because I can't give a 1st round pick a C and then the draft writ large an A.

The player I'd have ended up losing out of this draft is Nohl Williams.

As I play around with the draft and what I'd have likely done, I just can't see a scenario where I take Williams. It's just awfully hard to know exactly, but I kinda scratch my head whenever I hear "this is such a Spags corner" when he's lived on ball skills and zone ability.

He looks pretty rough in man. And while he's generally physical, I just worry we won't be able to risk him in press because if he doesn't jam the shit out of the guy, he doesn't have the fluidity or burst to stay with him if he frees on the release. And we don't have the athleticism at safety to really cover for that.

Honestly, as I look at Williams I see a Spags safety much more than a Spags corner.

And to be completely honest, I would LOVE him at that spot. If we decided to convert him to FS, I think he and Hicks could be a dynamite long-term pairing back there. And we talk about Watson as though losing him is a foregone conclusion but guys Cook is also a pending FA and has done a HELL of a lot less to deserve a second contract here than Watson has.

I just kinda wonder if Williams won't end up at safety when it's all said and done. And he may be a real monster there if he does.