This quote on Zach Baun makes me take pause: "To take a guy in the first round at a position he’s never played is kind of bizarre. You’re not talking about a tackle playing guard. You’re talking about a defensive end playing inside linebacker. That’s a whole different world.”


Woof. Yeah I'd be real uneasy about this. That's a potential miss among the linebackers.

Baun looks like a SAM backer to me and that's not an easy transition at all. Lots of responsibilities there.

Agreed. I’ve been doing mocks to play out the different scenarios and I just don’t see any way there isn’t somebody at EDGE, LB, CB, or S that’s worth taking at 32.

I'm also pretty reluctant to trade back though.

Because by the 36-38ish range, you're counting on luck before you fall into that pool of pretty evenly matched guys that runs through 60-70.

There's a ton of risk in a trade back, IMO.

As previously mentioned, the problem with the Chiefs signing UDFA's, besides all of the medical issues, is that there are very few roster spots available.

I would imagine that outside of a couple positions, agents will steer their clients away from the Chiefs because those players will have a much better chance to make another team's 55.

That's just another reason why the absence of a 6th and 7th hurts the Chiefs this year.

Didn't they expand the rosters though? And the practice squad size?

If you're an agent w/ a skill position player, the Chiefs are a FANTASTIC landing spot. Lots of turnover inevitable at WR in the next 2 years and a RB room that's wide open in the near and long terms. No real backup TE apart from some flyers and a coach who likes to use different kinds of guys in those roles anyway.

I disagree completely - this is an offense that can make guys look outstanding and has a proven track record of getting production beyond a guys initial standing. The first contract will be nominal either way so it will be the 2nd deal that matters for those guys.

And over the next 2-3 seasons (when a guy's due for his second deal) a skill position player will have a far greater chance to demonstrate his ability here than he would most places. CB and LB is a similar situation given the performance of the defensive coaching staff in '19.

Roster spot limitations cut both ways - your position is that we'd like to have last day picks to fill 'em, mine is that by NOT having those picks, we stay in the running for those UDFAs because those guys are all on equal standing to win the roles.

Queen.

I agree. His stock is high enough that someone will have to take a risk to draft him, by that I mean taking him fairly high for his lack of experience.

But he has played off the ball at times and between that and Senior Bowl week, he’s shown he’s capable of that transition.

I mean, maybe. That seems like a small sample size to then draft him in the first and hand the keys to the defense to him.

There are a lot of guys I'd rather have than Baun in the first round. If Veach drafts him though, expect me to not worry. Obviously he'll have thoroughly vetted him and come to the conclusion that he can do it.

Maybe have to take a 'Hardman' sort of flyer on him.

Veach pretty much said "**** the production; gimme some tools" and grabbed Hardman at least a round before predicted. And those tools translated immediately in at least a gadget sort of role.

It'll be interesting to see if the downside of that equation presents itself over the coming years. We still don't know if he can play with the polish to be a true X in this offense and that's why he wasn't widely projected to go as early as he did. Whereas someone like McLauren would've probably made Watkins expendable as early as this season.

Not often that both the upside and downside to a player emerges so quickly. The good news is that demonstrating the upside is the hardest part; the downsides can often be handled through coaching and experience.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Draft tidbits: <br>— The player teams just like the best seems to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OU?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OU</a> LB Kenneth Murray. No negative words on him.<br>— <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Louisville?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Louisville</a> LT Mekhi Becton is the player scouts get most excited about. Potential.<br>— <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UGA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UGA</a> OT Andrew Thomas is the player most overlooked publicly who goes highest.</p>&mdash; Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/1252653869705854977?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">More draft tidbits:<br>— Sweet spot for the RBs is 26-32. Could see 1 or 2 taken there, with many (not all) having D&#39;Andre Swift as 1.<br>— GM told me he has more than 32 1st round grades for the first time ever. Deep draft.<br>— Houston LT Josh Jones has the biggest range: 1st to 3rd.</p>&mdash; Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/1252656812891033600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Based on most of the mocks out there, it looked stupid of me to take Andrew Thomas over Tristan Wirfs in the CP Mock. I just think he's just flat-out a better player. I don't know necessarily if he'll go ahead of Wirfs, but I took him for the Browns, so anything ahead of 10 would be swell.

Watch Murray go in the top 10.

Yeah, that fits what I've been thinking as well.

Like I said yesterday, I see about 28 guys that I like as 1st rounders for the Chiefs specifically and another 3-4 that I'd have put a 1st round grade on, just not for KC for various reasons.

So yeah, 30-32 1st rounders feels about right.

As the drafts gotten closer I've found myself more and more surprised by the depth of the 1st round and more and more comfortable with our draft position.

Josh Jones gonna go in the first

Tackle class has been shit mostly for awhile...think teams are gonna ****in go ham over them this year.

Better 12 than 29.

It'll be a bit like the year Derwin James went friggen 17. I was just watching him sit there thinking "man I'd love to have that guy" but since we'd dealt our 1st for Mahomes, there was no reasonable way to get in range of him.

Had he somehow slid into the mid-late 20s and we hadn't moved mountains to go get him, I'd have been frustrated.

Anytime I think "man, X player just won't be there for us, he's too good and teams are too smart" I have to remind myself that Derwin James went 17. WTF? That isn't even a 'Dontari Poe outplaying his expectations' thing - James was OBVIOUSLY going to be a great player.

How the hell did he fall that far?

Though in fairness - that was a pretty damn good draft.

I don't understand this post because it doesn't make any sense to me.

Undrafted Free Agents aren't going to sign with the Chiefs in the hope of making the 55, then go through at least one more TC in which the team has brought in more competition, and in the Chiefs case, as many as 9 drafted players in 2021, for a shot at a roster spot in 2022.


I competely disagree with this notion as well. The Chiefs have signed multiple UDFA's in the past few seasons that have had opportunity to impress offensively - who's taken advantage of that gift?

Deiter and Kemp have had opportunities and they've done nothing to date. Jody Fortson was supposed to be a great signing and the dude never was never added to the 53 last year.

Yeah, I don't buy that, at all, in terms of UDFA's because history shows us that most of those guys don't end up on the Practice Squad, let alone, on the 53.

LB and CB were just the "few positions" that I indicated wouldn't see as much competition but I still believe the chance any of them stick with this 55 man roster are slim.

The chance that any UDFA in 2020 sticks with the Chiefs is incredibly low as compared at least 25 other NFL teams. Plus, you're now forced to overpay a UDFA because you want him, leaving a very slim chance he makes it through waivers and ends up on the practice squad.

Last year, people were raving about Cody Thompson, who was signed by Seattle and Gary Johnson, who didn't even make it to camp. Smart agents will steer their best clients away from the Chiefs.

Baun makes a ton of sense for Baltimore with the scheme they run and where they are weak mixed with the fact that they're having contract issues with Judon.

Depends on the draft class. This class is loaded with talent. The class I think that compares to this one the most is 2016. Loaded positional group (that year it was DL) and a good class on top of that.

The first 7 picks of the 2nd round were:

Emmanuel Ogbah
Kevin Dodd
Jaylon Smith
Myles Jack
Hunter Henry
Chris Jones
Xavien Howard

One could argue that Ogbah was never used properly in the hell hole known as Cleveland and his true talent shown through on a competent staff like ours last year.

That’s a pretty goddamn good group to trade back for, no? What I’m saying is that this draft class is better.

There’s very good talent on top of WR and with 6-7 projected OT’s being taken in the first on top of the strong WR class, that’s gonna push a ton of players down the board.

Especially if you buy into Ezra Cleveland being the Browns guy...

Myles Jack and Jaylon Smith were the 2 guys I wanted from that, when Jack went ahead of us I was annoyed.

False.

Simmons doesn't really have a position, so while some teams see him at CB, others may see him at LB. If he's stuck at the CB position, most teams may choose not to even challenge him, which erases any late night game planning against him. If he's at LB, teams will scheme around him.

Considering he's most likely a Top 10 selection, he'll go to a bad team and in some cases, a bad team that has a history of GM and coaching turnover, so there's a good chance he ends up in multiple defensive alignments and positions during the course of his rookie contract. There is absolutely no guarantee that he'll even be used in a way that will maximize his talents because DC's are often stubborn or just plain dumb.

Chase Young will have no such issue. It appears he'll land in DC, with an excellent defensive HC in Ron Rivera and a good defensive coordinator in Jack Del Rio, along with a studly defensive line that may rival the 2019 49er's starters in terms of talent.

Young is the winner here, hands down.

Simmons real talent is he is one of the very few players athletic enough to take way TEs in todays game. That is a great piece for a defense, if it's a shitty defense it's eh.

Sure but OC's aren't going to stress out over Simmons as a 3rd down linebacker covering TE's like they will with Chase Young coming for their QB each and every down.

Here's a bit of info from Albert Breer's column this morning regarding the Chiefs:

https://www.si.com/nfl/2020/04/21/nf...ert-ruggs-lamb

32. Kansas City: Kristian Fulton, CB, LSU

A nice, safe pick. Despite some missteps early in his college career, Fulton grew up quickly and should be a solid starter at the NFL level. He was tested plenty last year playing opposite a true freshman some at LSU felt was the best player on their defense (Derek Stingley Jr.), and held up fine. So he should be ready to go.

I have, by the way, heard the Chiefs like D’Andre Swift. But it’s hard to see, given Andy Reid’s track record (he’s spent no first-rounders, and just one second-rounder, on a running back in 21 drafts). And if someone wants to come fishing for Jordan Love here, I’d bet Brett Veach would be all ears.

I can see Veach trading this pick

The problem I see there is if Love makes it outside the top 20 (I don’t think he will), it’s highly doubtful a team like the Seahawks or 49ers doesn’t do the same thing.

I just find it hard to believe Love makes it to 32.

Fulton is a fine player, reminds me a lot of Tre'Davious White, Swift though does make a ton of sense he is a perfect fit here.

Agreed.

I don’t see why some of these mockers are afraid to put Swift at #32 because Reid’s never chosen a running back in the first round.

First off, it’s #32, not #12 or #22, and it’s glaring hole on the offense. I’ve seen some guys say it would be “frightening” to see Swift as a Chiefs and to that I say, hell yeah!

IMO, there isn’t a single draftee that would make a bigger impact on the 2020 Chiefs than Swift. The ground game goes from a negative to a positive and it would most likely help Damien Williams to stay healthy and available since the majority of touches would go to Swift.

I don’t see anything other than a massive win for the Chiefs by taking Swift and I’m sure the rest of the league would fear the Chiefs even more.

Quick real overall draft convo here, why is Joe Burrow so highly regarded? I'm not seeing anything eye popping, I see a high floor but a low ceiling..

5600 yards and 60 TDs will make people take notice and get you drafted high.

Exactly, why not put Chase Young in there if he's the next Lawrence Taylor as someone said earlier?

Dwayne Haskins had ridiculous numbers...


We're talking about a dude that is 24, spent a lot of years in college to start 1 year, transferred out of Ohio State because he couldn't beat out Haskins for the starting gig. Haskins a guy a lot of people think is a scrub.....

He also put up those numbers with a ton of high level NFL talent on it, Chase, Jefferson, Moss, Helaire, that's a hell of a supporting cast. Lawrence has one too but you see his physical tools pop, you see the projection.

I don't see Joe Burrows tools stand out, I don't think Joe Burrow is as physically gifted as Alex Smith, what is he gonna do when his guys don't just physically beat the competition at the next level?

Jamarr Chase/Justin Jefferson/ Clyde Edwards Helaire is a better trio than some NFL teams are throwing out there.

I don't think that's the case. Everyone made everyone else better on that LSU Offense in 2019.

QB starved league

Good ones that is , I think everyone hoping for the next great one

Yeah, I think the whole "they've never done it before" argument is really dumb. They had never traded up to draft a QB in the first round before, as an entire organization, either. First time for everything and all that.

If the choice is between Swift, the 5th best CB or 3rd best LB or 6th best OL in the draft, or trading back to take one of those players later and add a 4th round pick, I think they pop for Swift unless they really believe someone available at 63 or 96 can give them the same thing. Draft for impact.

It's the field vision, accuracy, and pre-snap work.

Burrow doesn't have a world-beating arm, but he diagnosed quickly and at the line, seemingly always made the right decisions, delivered the ball accurately, and had great vision.

He can make plays outside the pocket, delivering the ball downfield and still with accuracy.

He wouldn't work great in every system - putting him in a system built on downfield passing, for example, probably wouldn't be great. The arm strength is only "good enough" (something he might be able to improve a tick with better mechanics and a pro strength and conditioning regimen).

He's just a very polished guy. I've seen some "He's Sam Bradford" comparisons, but Bradford also sat in a completely clean pocket all the time and wasn't anywhere close to as mobile as Burrow, or able to make plays when moving his feet.

The Chiefs are not picking up a RB in the first round, Dane. Simmons will go in the top ten, and part of the reason I like him so much is he is a Swiss Army knife of a player, and yes he does create match up problems for the opposing team, which also keeps coordinators up late at night. Also, I like Clemson... Why not have your favorite player on your favorite college team play for your favorite NFL team? I know Chase is a beast, and he'd be the right pick, but for me I'm taking my boy Simmons, and there's nothing you can say to convince me otherwise heh.

Ok I'm going to do the first round QB's for the last 2 years, this year and next year......if you had 1 pick who are you taking...

Baker Mayfield
Sam Darnold
Josh Allen
Josh Rosen
Lamar Jackson
Kyler Murray
Daniel Jones
Dwayne Haskins
Drew Lock (why not)
Joe Burrow
Tua
Justin Herbert
Jordan Love
Trevor Lawrence
Justin Fields


If you can look at that list and tell me Joe Burrow is in your top 3, I'll listen but I'll disagree.

I'm not going to compare against future guys until they declare.

I would put Burrow ahead of Tua, Lock, Jones, Jackson, Rosen and Allen.

I think he's in that next tier range with Darnold, with Mayfield and Murray ahead of them.

Best pure thrower in the draft, IMO. Not jump off the page arm strength, but really good ball placement. He has solid athleticism as well and seems to be a smart, coachable player.

A Matt Ryan kind of ceiling (as he ages and his legs go) isn't out of the question with him. An Andy Dalton floor on a rookie wage scale (though admittedly, more expensive as 1.1) has value in its own right.

Matt Ryan isn't a horrid comp...

My point is at 1.1 it's like ehhh, like if Lawrence was in this draft would anyone take Burrow over him?

Murray
Lawrence

That's a definite 1-2 for me. Allen, Haskins, Fields, Rosen is the final 4.

The rest has a lot of variability. Hard to say how I'd rank 'em but I could talk myself into Burrow as #3 as a pure prospect.

To me Lawrence is the best prospect of them all, I think he's the best prospect since Luck.

I think I'd go in this order:

Murray
Lawrence
Jackson
Mayfield
Burrow
Jones (I know this is high, but I like him)
Tua
Darnold
Lock
Herbert
Allen
Love
Haskins
Fields
Rosen

If you want a good laugh, check out PFF's mock draft:

https://www.pff.com/news/draft-three...ove-in-round-3

It's very tone deaf and doesn't take into account reality.

Yeah, as a pure prospect I think I agree with you. But I have a year of Murray in the NFL and he looked, at times, incredibly good. Like, future MVP candidate caliber good.

Having actually seen Murray perform at an elite level in the NFL, I have a hard time saying I'd deal him for a prospect of any stripe.

But I certainly wouldn't argue with anyone that would be willing to do so - Lawrence is as good a 'pure' quarterback prospect as you'll see. The only question is whether or not some of those traditional traits are simply becoming unnecessary at this level given the rise of the spread offenses. If new offenses offset some of the refinement and size advantages that Lawrence has over Murray, then Murray's premier athleticism can put him ahead of Lawrence.

I'm hoping that an NFC team like...Washington or Carolina is complete balls this year so he can end up over there. Don't want him in the AFC or especially our division.

Raiders and Broncos have just enough talent that I can't see them being that bad. San Diego always has just enough weird shit happen to them, though...

Yeah, I'd prefer keep him out of the AFC but at some point that's just getting greedy...

If I was going to pick an AFC team to just completely shit the bed and get him it would be Jacksonville...

I would add to this that his mental processing and overall football IQ is outstanding.

Watch him vs OU and Clemson. Those teams did everything they could to confuse him and he just destroyed them. He’s advanced in that regard as well as his feel in the pocket.

I think the Matt Ryan comp does not do him justice. The Jared Goff comparisons from league sources also does not do him any favors bc he’s way better.

Burrow reminds me of Andrew Luck. I’m not saying he’s got the same hype as him or that he’s that good of a prospect, but they are just so similar in their play style and preparation. They are just so similar.

PFF dude is not happy his mock is being shit on...

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Why do you want a mock that is 3% correct based on faulty information? <a href="https://t.co/kjbwb9hagp">https://t.co/kjbwb9hagp</a></p>&mdash; Steve Palazzolo (@PFF_Steve) <a href="https://twitter.com/PFF_Steve/status/1252679037488693250?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Then another dude calls him on them having Becton in the second round and he tries to defend it.

I don't think so. Andrew Luck was on a totally different level than Joe Burrow.

I've seen him compared to Tony Romo and I think that's a comparison that I like.

Never underestimate the Jets ability to completely shit the bed.

But yeah, Jags have no long-term liabilities to speak of, a pretty lousy team and a cheap QB who's easy to move on from (and probably sucks).

Easily the leader in the clubhouse out of the AFC.

Yea I think Tony Romo is his absolute ceiling.

But he has such a good feel in the pocket and his IQ is off the charts, so I think he has a really high floor.

I think Carson Palmer is his floor barring catastrophic injury.

Luck was an athlete damn near on par with RGIII (better in many ways) and had a !@#$ing CANNON.

Dial down Luck's athleticism and raw arm strength and I think Ryan is essentially who you end up with. I think you're selling Ryan short a bit - dude's not just some game manager. Ryan's a great passer and a really smart player. There's not a lot to dislike in Ryans game, he's just not a guy with truly plus plus arm strength or athleticism (though he was a decent athlete at Burrows age).

Burrow is absolutely not Andrew Luck. Luck's a guy you'd draw up in a lab - there was nothing missing on that kid. Powerful arm, great mind, great size and premier athleticism. If you were building a QB in Madden you'd build Andrew Luck.

Burrow ain't Luck.

Jay Gruden is a pretty good OC and will get some production out of Minshew. They won't be good, but they won't be bad enough to be #1.

Palmer was a very toolsy sort of QB before injuries zapped it all away unless we're talking like Oakland tier Carson as his floor or something.

Then who do you like at 1 next year....who wins the Trevor Lawrence sweepstakes?

I don't think Andrew Luck would have had to transfer to play.....people also forget Andrew Lucks major at Stanford wasn't some athlete major he took what was it business drafting or something, dude is legit smart.

Which version?

Because 27 year old Palmer was looking like he was going to become the best QB in the league. Then he plateaued a bit, got hurt and ultimately kinda underwhelmed a bit through the middle half of his career.

I’m just talking overall career. At worst he has a similar career to a guy like that.

I just think he’s a really safe player because of his intelligence, feel in the pocket, and intangibles.

I do think he’s overrated, but it’s his floor that makes him a #1 overall caliber QB.

It's going to be an NFC team.

Giants, Bears, Lions if Stafford is injured again, Panthers or Redskins.

There is no middle ground on this one. This is either the greatest mock draft of all time or the absolute worst mock draft of all time.

I'm leaning toward the latter.

He is safe, but safe doesn't win titles, Watson was a safer pick than Mahomes....If you have Joe Burrow and your competition is Pat Mahomes and Trevor Lawrence you probably lose.

Giants would be hilarious cause old Gettleman would be fired and then we'd see if a new GM would stick with Jones or draft Lawrence and trade Jones away...

Yea I don’t think he’s going to be an MVP caliber QB. He’s going to need a great team around him again at this level to win it all.

The Giants are in pretty bad shape.

They've made all sorts of moves on Defense to get a collective wet queef of a result. They are weak at the tackle spots and well the weapons game is horrible when your top asset is Engram.

The Redskins have jack shit on Offense, but I do wonder if the D will overachieve anyhow.

Bears are a real darkhorse. If they can't establish good QB play early on I think the whole team is going to quit on wanna be Andy.

Here is the real darkhorse......what if Bill Belichick tanks the **** out of this year and starts Jarrett Stidham so he can ride all the way to Trevor Lawrence.

Definitely morseo mid to late career Palmer.

He was a badass early on so I wouldn’t day his floor is that high, just talking about a similar career trajectory.

Bears will pivot at QB if Trubisky still sucks. Foles will keep them competitive. Rivera is a damn good coach and a guy who's been in the league a long time, I can't see the Redskins being truly terrible if they can get representative QB play from Haskins.

I've already mentioned that I like Jones and there's a little too much parity in the NFC East for me to think they'll get steamrolled in the division.

1.1 will probably be a 2-3 win team. Panthers seem a possibility w/ an untested (though talented) head coach and a limited Bridgewater. Though the Lions pick is a home run if Stafford isn't fully recovered. They'll suuuuuuuuck.

Ultimately I think the Jags roster is just trash. If I were betting, it would be on them. That's gonna be a strong division from top to bottom. They have very little buy-in throughout the organization. Doug Marrone appears to be on borrowed time. I mean there are just a ton of ingredients for the kind of wholesale implosion you need to get to 1.1.

The Redskins DL is going to be so nasty that I can’t see them ending up with the #1 overall pick.

Between that and Rivera it’s hard to imagine them being worse than in 2019.

No one likes my idea because well it would suck ass.

I dared not speak it into existence...

I mean do we really think it could happen? Would he stake his reputation as the greatest coach ever to go 1-15 on purpose?

I change my pick because I know Patrick Queen wont make it to 32 and we won't trade up for a LB'er. This pick is courtesy of Kay Adams...

Grant Delpit, S, LSU

No he’s not and again I’m not saying he is the prospect Luck was. I didn’t want to bring him up bc it’s basically a sin to compare prospects to him, but he’s a bit like Peyton Manning, who also did not have great mobility or a cannon arm that Luck had, but had elite football IQ and feel for the pocket.

I can’t think of a recent QB prospect that has the mental processing and football IQ that Burrow does. Luck is the last one that comes to mind, but before him? Probably Matt Ryan.

Burrow is already throwing the ball in the right places to receivers, exploiting zone coverage, reading most blitzes pre-snap, understanding defensive coverages and just seems like he’s every bit prepared for anything. Brent Venables is a damn good defensive coordinator. He’s been even better with the insane talent he’s got at Clemson. And Burrow wrecked them. He just beautiful destroyed that defense with his goddamn mind the same way Manning and Luck did to defenses.
Matt Ryan was pretty good but never that good. Neither was Romo.

Prospects like Burrow don’t come along very often.

Bill Belichick is a Machiavellian sociopath. I don't think he worries about his reputation beyond how he can elevate it. If he eats shit for a year and never recovers, he's still the guy who's won more championships than any coach in history.

But if you told him he could tank a single season and set himself up for another 10 year run where he could 'prove' once and for all that it was him, not Brady, that made everything work?

I think he'd take that deal in a heartbeat.