Teicher: Chiefs' draft gambles often go bust

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http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansas...s/11413901.htm

Chiefs' gambles often go bust

For KC, must-have turns into must-go

By ADAM TEICHER The Kansas City Star


If you're wondering why the Chiefs were 7-9 last year and watched the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl, the teams' different approaches to the 2002 draft are as good a reason as any.

The Chiefs needed defensive tackles to be immediate starters. They drafted Ryan Sims and Eddie Freeman in the first two rounds and hoped they had the problem solved.

The Eagles passed on immediate needs and instead saw the bigger picture. They were getting old in the secondary and decided it was time to do something about that, so they drafted a couple of cornerbacks and a safety in the first two rounds.

Fast forward to 2005. Sims hasn't lived up to his potential, and Freeman lasted only two miserable seasons before being cut. The Chiefs last year had to sign one defensive tackle, Lional Dalton, and used their top draft pick on another, Junior Siavii, to cover for these failures.

Meanwhile, Philadelphia's top 2002 draft picks, cornerbacks Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown and safety Michael Lewis, played little as rookies. But they now are starters for one of the NFL's best defensive teams.

The draft has become one big vicious circle for the Chiefs. As this year's talent lottery looms next weekend, the Chiefs have cornerback and linebacker at the top of their must-have list.

Why? Because their recent high draft picks at those positions, William Bartee and Julian Battle at cornerback and Kawika Mitchell at linebacker, haven't panned out.

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Since Dick Vermeil arrived as head coach in 2001, the Chiefs have continually forced needs in the early rounds of the draft. From Sims and Freeman in 2002 to running back Larry Johnson and Mitchell the following year and Siavii last season, the Chiefs drafted for what they perceived to be a need.

They varied from that formula only with the second of last year's two second-round picks, and they eventually might be richly rewarded for it. They went for Kris Wilson, the best available player on their draft board regardless of position.

Wilson filled no need. He just gives the Chiefs something they don't have: an H-back/tight end hybrid who can be a problem for opposing defenses to check because of his size and pass-catching ability.

The Chiefs had big hopes for Wilson last year before a preseason ankle injury ruined his season. They are optimistic he will rebound to make his contribution this year.

Even if he doesn't, the Chiefs won't be stuck in a future draft trying to find someone to take his place. That approach, and the way the Eagles have done it, appears to make more sense.

“That makes a lot of sense because the reality is that very few rookies contribute,” said Russ Lande, a former NFL scout who now runs an Internet scouting site at www.gmjr.com.

“It's a very small number, so why would you bank on a rookie to come in and help you in his first year? That's an unrealistic expectation. Rookies just struggle in the NFL.”

Trying too hard to fill immediate needs appears to be the Chiefs' biggest draft problem, particularly on defense. The Chiefs have only a couple of good, young defensive players in linebacker Scott Fujita and end Jared Allen. Fujita's ankle injury is threatening his season.

It's more than a little telling that both were second-day picks (Fujita in the fifth round in 2002, Allen in the fourth last year). Their other recent first-day defensive draft picks (Sims, Mitchell, Battle, Siavii and linebacker Keyaron Fox) don't qualify as good young defensive players, though that could still change.

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The Chiefs' scouting staff, including player personnel director Lynn Stiles and college scouting director Chuck Cook, have received plenty of criticism for the poor drafts. But they are generally well-respected around the NFL.

“I don't know if there's a direct correlation between the competency of the personnel office and success in the draft,” said a player agent who had dealt with the Chiefs. “That's like saying a really sharp businessman is going to do better in blackjack in Las Vegas than somebody who's not a sharp businessman. There's such a huge unknown factor when you're dealing with a draft choice, and I think the Chiefs have been as unlucky as they've been bad. That luck has to turn sometime, you'd think.”

The problem may not be the competency of the people making the Chiefs' draft decisions but the number of them. Stiles, Cook, Vermeil, pro personnel director Bill Kuharich and president/general manager Carl Peterson all have their say. Assistant coaches, particularly coordinators Gunther Cunningham and Al Saunders, have been known to lobby for particular players.

That's a lot of voices.

“They have so many people at the top that it can be hard sometimes to come to a consensus on a player,” Lande said. “There's the possibility of too many differing opinions.”

The Chiefs are Vermeil's third team. Asked how draft preparations are different in Kansas City than Philadelphia or St. Louis, he answered, “There are more people involved in the evaluation process.”

Another difference: Vermeil also had the final say with the Eagles and Rams. Peterson is the Chiefs' ultimate decision-maker.

“I have no problem with the way it is here, especially in the middle rounds,” Vermeil said. “I've never had to get up on the table and fight for somebody. Carl and I work very well together.”

Vermeil wasn't pleased when the Chiefs drafted Johnson. He filled what the Chiefs thought would be a need two years ago because of uncertainty over Priest Holmes' hip injury.

But even though he's a backup, Johnson is one of the Chiefs' better draft picks. He played well last season and appears to have a future in Kansas City.

“I just felt we needed a defensive player,” Vermeil said. “It was nothing against Larry Johnson. As it looks right now, we did the right thing.”

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Circumstances conspired against the Chiefs in Vermeil's first draft. They lost their second-round draft pick for the right to hire Vermeil and didn't have a quarterback.

So they sent their first choice to St. Louis for quarterback Trent Green.

The lost draft picks left the Chiefs scrambling at key positions, most notably defensive tackle. So the first time they had their first two picks, the Chiefs attacked the problem.

“Initially we were pushed into drafting defensively,” Vermeil said. “Both of our big defensive tackles (Chester McGlockton and Dan Williams) were gone, and we were sort of pressured into forcing some guys into being what you want.

“That's why you've got to be careful of moving a person into a rating that allows you to say you're drafting the best player available.”

That's probably the biggest reason the Chiefs' defensive tackles haven't worked out. The Chiefs needed them so badly that perspective was lost.

The pick that to this day confounds the Chiefs is Sims. He's a starter, but not the dominant player a lot of people expected him to be.

“Everybody had him as a can't-miss prospect,” Lande said. “There were even people at North Carolina who would tell you they liked him better than (Julius) Peppers.”

The Chiefs repeated the process last year when they needed a defensive tackle again. Siavii wasn't the top available player on the Chiefs' draft board, but they took him anyway.

“He's got a way to go, but he showed some great potential,” Vermeil said. “It's going to take time.”

Now the Chiefs have a similar issue at cornerback.

Bartee has never developed as the Chiefs predicted when they drafted him in the second round in 2000.

At least Bartee has been able to play. Battle, the Chiefs' third-round pick in 2003, has struggled so much he can't even get out on the field.

Battle, like Bartee and Eric Warfield, played a lot of safety in college and hasn't made the transition.

“Battle has tremendous potential,” Vermeil said.

“He's not a failure. He's got some maturing to do, like all 23- and 24-year-olds do. I believe he'll be a fine player. If he doesn't become one, it's not because he doesn't have the talent. It'll be because he didn't mature at a fast enough rate to take advantage of his opportunities.”

That's been the problem with many of the Chiefs' recent defensive draft picks. It was particularly acute with Freeman. The Chiefs gave up on him quickly for a second-round pick.

Maybe the Chiefs should have listened to their first instinct.

After getting Sims with their first pick, they were going to draft a wide receiver that April of 2002.

Once on the clock, they changed their minds. That indecisiveness turned out to be costly.

“Kansas City does a great job of preparing for the draft,” the agent said. “They research guys well and are as knowledgeable as any team. But their draft management is horrible. Their decision-making process appears to really suffer. At best, that's an arguable point.

“What hinders teams is not sticking to whatever strategy they intend to use and calling audibles on draft day itself.”