Mock (3/5)

[Direckshun]

I'm going to accept as fact the rumor that the Chiefs are going to let Schwartz walk. I'm also going to accept the fact that we're either going to bring back TJax (more realistic IMO) or sign his replacement (Red Bryant's my dream there, so that's what I'm with today).

Assumptions:

1. The Chiefs extend QB Alex Smith 4 years, $60m ($36m guaranteed), and S Eric Berry 6 years, $45m ($23m guaranteed).

2. The Chiefs place a 6th round tender on NT Jerrell Powe.

3. The Chiefs re-sign ILB Akeem Jordan to a minimal deal.

4. The Chiefs let walk: WR Kyle Williams, WR Dexter McCluster, OT Brandon Albert, OG Jon Asamoah, OG Geoff Schwartz, DE Tyson Jackson, OLB Frank Zombo, S Kendrick Lewis, S Quentin Demps, S Husain Abdullah

5. The Chiefs sign OT Marshall Newhouse (Packers) to a 2 year, $4m deal, NT/DE Red Bryant (Seahawks) to a 4 year, $28m deal ($12 guaranteed), S Nate Allen (Eagles) to a 1 year, $1.5m deal.

On with the show:



1.23. WR Brandin Cooks, Oregon State

The choices here boiled down to Jace Amaro, Dee Ford, and Cooks.

The Chiefs are looking to do several things this offseason, but clearly the most important priority is giving Alex Smith more options downfield. He needs more people who can threaten a defense deep, and the Chiefs have, to Dorsey's credit, done a good job adding speedsters who can theoretically do that. Avery had an iffy year, but he clearly had an early rapport with Alex Smith, and is a sharp route-runner. AJ Jenkins could be our poor man's version of Percy Harvin -- maybe he can't be a great route-runner, but he can use his rare speed in space if we can make that happen. In these two players, the Chiefs already have two guys who can run sub-4.3 40s.

Well, make that three. Cooks ran a 4.30 at the Combine, but that's not what makes him attractive. His prolific work in a non-elite program like Oregon State against frequently-superior competition with little help from his teammates make Cooks an extremely attractive WR who has exactly what the Chiefs need and what Dorsey looks for: speed and quick route-running. Cooks can be our deep threat or he can be our Percy Harvin. He's an enthusiastic (though unpolished) blocker and team captain. He's what you hope to land with a first round pick: a great potential player at your most important position.

3.87. OT/G Joel Bitonio, Nevada

Let's just call this what it is: the Chiefs are letting three starter-caliber players at the offensive line walk this offseason, two of them at guard. They have two promising young guys in Rishaw Johnson and Rokevious Watkins, but it's unlikely at this point that the Chiefs favor either to start. They have a promising young guy in Eric Kush at center, but it's unlikely still that they bring him up and move Rodney Hudson over. The most likely course of action is that the Chiefs bring in an offensive lineman to start in free agency (in this mock, they do bring in 25-year-old Marshall Newhouse) and/or draft a guy high.

I debated hard at this point between Joel Bitonio, Dakota Dozier, and JuWuan James. All three would be solid picks, but Bitonio's athleticism simply makes him more versatile inside and outside. Dozier's probably at the bottom of the list because he projects only as a guard, and James is a bit more boom-bust than all three. Bitonio is one of the more polished tackles in this year's draft, and his smart technique work and excellent get-off make him a primary candidate to win the starting RG job over Marshall Newhouse and Rishaw Johnson. He can also slide outside to either tackle position, giving the Chiefs an option there as well.

4.119. OLB Jackson Jeffcoat, Texas

Not a ton of great options in the 4th round, but you do have an excellent choice amongst 2nd-day players who have fallen like a rock. One of those players is Jeffcoat, who teams are reportedly souring on because his size is inadequate!? Not sure how on earth that's possible, considering he is 6'4", 247 lbs, which is near-perfect for a 3-4 OLB, but I'm not complaining with a 4th.

Jeffcoat does provide the Chiefs an excellent threat off the edge, a guy who has tons of experience smoking tackles with a small variety of passrush moves. His game is a little one-dimensional at this point, but I'd rather coach a pure passrusher into being more complete than coach a more complete player into being a passrusher. Most importantly, the Chiefs are likely going to be at a crossroads with Tamba Hali in 2015, and Jeffcoat would ideally give them some leverage so they don't have to sell the farm to keep him.

5.151. CB Terrance Mitchell, Oregon

Mitchell has dropped like a rock for the usual reasons in Draft season. He hasn't made headlines at the Combine, and he hasn't said anything for anybody to care about, but he is the ideal player to last until the midrounds. Mitchell has all the technique today of a 8-year quality starting corner in the NFL. There have been analyses done breaking down the various talents of corners across the board, and Mitchell performs right along part with the best of the best.

Mitchell is the kind of guy the Chiefs absolutely need to land in this draft: a midrounder who has the ceiling to become a quality starter.

6.177. S Hakeem Smith, Louisville

If the Chiefs are in the market for a single-high this offseason, no player in the draft has more experience playing that exact position than Hakeem Smith, the guy who manned single-high for the Cardinals so that Calvin Pryor could fly all over the place and become the World Beater we assume him to be. A great FS allows a SS to flourish, and we have a great SS in Berry. The question is, how will Smith's talents translate to the NFL?

His Pro Day will tell us much of what we need to know, since he did not perform at the Combine. Smith is a smart, athletic safety, but the question remains whether he has the sheer speed to cover large swaths of real estate necessary to translate to the NFL? If he doesn't, the Chiefs honestly don't have that guy anyway, so going with a two-deep approach would be a fine way to use Smith.

6.183. TE Jake Murphy, Utah

Murphy is frequently written to be an H-back, but that's not fair to his abilities. First of all, he is a really fast receiver downfield with really good hands. Second of all, he's not small: 6'4", 250 is more than enough size in today's NFL as a tight end. The Chiefs need more reliable talent at the TE position, and McGrath is a great guy in the locker room but honestly is JAG that Murphy blocks better than and receives way better than. He also has the added benefit of coming from a school and area that Andy Reid clearly loves to pluck talent from, and has NFL bloodlines.

[Direckshun]

Setting the bar a bit high there, OS.