He played LT up until this year when he moved inside to guard. I just think it's a strength issue to start out with. He's going to need to play guard and I think once he gets there with the strength he's going to be pretty good.

This year's IOL class is extremely weak overall. I'd have to think he'll be a 4th rounder and might even flirt with the 3rd round based on traits.

A couple of other guys with solid traits that could end up there that you may want to review are Braeden Daniels from Utah and Caleb Chandler from Louisville. I like their athleticism and growth potential.

We don't have a need for a starter on the IOL or I'd be calling on Jarrett Patterson from Notre Dame. He's a good-looking center that has also played guard. I think he's going late 2 or in 3.

I haven't studied the shit out of the IOL this year because I just don't see some gaping need if they bring back Wylie or Allegretti or both.

DT Calijah Kancey, Pittsburgh

This is destined to be my most unpopular player projection, because it's tied to the fate of DT Chris Jones. There is a non-zero chance this team elects not to extend Jones, right? Mahomes is due $137.4m over the next three years. $137m. If the Chiefs need to pay Jones, say, $100m over three years, then you're talking about roughly 35% of your cap going forward tied to two players. Two incredible players, but two players. There is a very real chance that can't work.

And if it can't, you've got Chris Jones for one more year (or less, if you trade him off). As a result, the Chiefs are going to be aching for penetration in the middle of the defensive line. DT Tershawn Wharton is a fine player, but he's a role player. Calijah Kancey out of Pittsburgh is not a fine player. He is a ferocious force of nature, and has some of the best film of any player in the draft. He fascinates me, because you think this guy, a mere 6'1", 275 lbs, should be run over, but he's too clean in his technique. He disengages fast, he shoots a gap as fast as Dee Ford does on the edge. This isn't DT Aaron Donald, but he may very well be DT Tommy Harris.

Obviously the biggest problem is the size. He's going to get road graded his rookie year, and can only really be trusted in obvious passing situations. He's going to pack on pounds, and he's going to need to work overtime in an NFL strength and conditioning program. But I wouldn't bet against this sucker, hell no. And since Jones and (probably) Wharton will be on the roster, you can bring him along slowly as he develops for a year. But Chris Jones is the straw that stirs the drink on Kansas City's defense, and if he doesn't come back, you're going to need to make huge investments there. Kancey, with his size limitations, is a fascinating selection to do that in the 2nd round.

Gilbert transfered to Nebraska for this upcoming year. We will see if he even plays there's serious questions about his mental health.

Has anyne discussed BJ Thompson? He made Darnell Wright look silly on a couple of reps. He's still a little undersized but I bet he moves up boards pretty quick.I'd love him as an athletic projection from R5 on, suspect someone pulls the trigger earlier.

I love him. I know lots of people are "the next Aaron Donald" and unsurprisingly that doesn't pan out. But the get off and hands are top notch. He's going to be an immediate problem for guards on pass-rush reps

Haven't watched much of SFA this year but I didn't catch some highlights of Thompson. He looks pretty solid. I'm with you though, probably in the 4th/5th based on what I have seen.

Is Drew Sanders a guy we should talk about?

Brian Bosarge from Draft Countdown put him to us in his mock in Round 1 in January and said "pass rush help for the Chiefs."

I do easily see him as a Reddick/Parsons type of LB that could bring alot off the edge plus more but Spags hasn't ever really employed that type of rusher and he hasn't used the two guys KC has been capable of that in that capacity.

If KC needed a LB, I'd be screaming from the treetops for this kid but I don't know about him fixing the pass rush with Spags.

I love how like three months ago, this was the weakest OT class in years, but now there are three or four first rounders. And in a class with probably three or four QB's in that first round, too.

Seems like there are always comments like that based on the Seniors because t the college football season is only halfway through and they aren't positive about the standout Juniors that might declare.

Obviously, this class is significantly strengthened by Paris Johnson (Jr), Peter Skoronski (Jr), Broderick Jones (RSo), Anton Harrison (Jr), Blake Freeland (Jr), Dawand Jones (RJr), Darnell Wright (RJr), Warren McClendon (RJr), and Wanya Morris (RJr) declaring.

Based on Seniors, your top tackles would be Matt Bergeron, Jaelyn Duncan, Ryan Hayes, and Connor Galvin. No doubt you expect some Juniors to declare, but OLine is one of the least guaranteed to do it. The volume at the top end was great this year and really boosted the class a ton, to the point I'd call it one of the better classes through the first three rounds that there's been in the past five years.

Well, that's good for us, because honestly, we need a couple.

Yeah I dunno. There will be a few good tackles come from the class but which ones I’m not so sure are easily predictable

OT Jaelyn Duncan, Maryland

Ladies and gentleman, allow me to introduce you to the Kansas City Chiefs' second round pick, Jaelyn Duncan. Hell, they may trade up for him. The team has been grappling for a year now as to how they can get LT Orlando Brown, Jr., under contract. They may not be able to. They may have to tag him and ride out another season.

In that case, or really whatever they decide to do with him, allow me to provide you an athletic tackle who has been showing off all week at Mobile. Duncan has 40 games under his belt as a left tackle, and has the fantastic size and length the Chiefs love at the tackle position. He has the power to roadgrade, he has the athleticism to get out in space (which is really what HC Andy Reid wants). He has the nimble feet to reach block and effective anchor to stymie bullrushes. On paper, and at the Senior Bowl, he is the real deal. In this offense, with all the help we are willing to give right tackles sometimes, he is a plug-and-play right tackle, with left tackle flexibility.

But I struggle with him as a first rounder, because he has some deprogramming to go through. He looks like and runs like the type of tackle the Chiefs traditionally covet under Reid's tenure, but he has some major technique work to do. This is a guy who impatient fans will crap all over in September in October, only to straighten up under OL coach Andy Heck's tutelage by Week 12. Of course, I am making assumptions about intelligence and character but I may change my tune if there's reporting out of the Combine that he interviewed poorly.

CB Kyu Blu Kelly, Stanford

After absolutely torching the NFL by rebuilding the entire offensive line in one offseason a couple years back, GM Brett Veach lapped the field last year by rebuilding the entire secondary. The work that Veach, DC Steve Spagnuolo, DBs coach Dave Merritt, and S Justin Reid have done getting all of these first year players up to snuff has been nothing short of remarkable. Spags is truly, historically underrated. The Chiefs' CB position enters the 2023 NFL Draft as bodied out as any on the roster.

But hear me out: if Kyu Blu Kelly had been in the NFL draft, he's a Chief, right? He's long-played for an excellent program, his dad was an 11-year NFL veteran, he is clearly a smart guy, he's currently torturing WRs at the Senior Bowl. He's long, he's a track star in both the 100m and 200m, so he's going to be a better athlete than most of the guys he's covering. So we can't dismiss the idea of drafting a CB high completely out of hand. He looks really good getting in and out of breaks, but I do want to see how he performs at the Combine on that front. I bet he runs a 4.3, however. And at 6'1", it's hard not to love that.

That said, I don't see him becoming a Chief, because there's just too many "but"s that would have to happen. First of all, the CB room is very solid in KC, so he'd have to drop in the draft to end up here. Second, he's fantastic in press man, but struggles with all the eye candy in zone; he reads receivers well but QBs can toy with him. Last but not least, and this is a big deal in the Spags scheme: there are entire games where he just plays soft. Not super enthusiastic attaching the run, and unless he's going up against a slot receiver, he's not crazy about fighting through blocks.

Where would he have to fall for the Chiefs, who probably love this guy's moxie, to take him? The 3rd? The 4th? Other teams will value him more and he'll likely go well before then.

S Tykee Smith, Georgia

Here's fun value: a Tyrann Mathieu style leader in the slot who is coming back from a couple of major injuries. Smith was already not a top notch athlete before, but a heady, instinctual player with a nasty attitude for a safety under 6' and 200 lbs. He's been an emotional leader on a fantastic Georgia defense, and though the team still steamrolled everybody in 2022, it was missing a few highlight hits across the middle.

The basic questions, he's already answered. He's excelled for years in a pro-style defense. His coverage in the slot is strong and he possesses the tenacity to challenge tight ends who have six inches and fifty pounds on him. Like Mathieu, he's not great at covering large distances of field, but the Chiefs don't play a ton of single-high anyway. Whether his coverage translates against NFL receivers is going to depend on how he tests.

But of course, that's the biggest question of all. He can't test. He's recovering from an ACL in October. There's a legitimate chance this guy goes undrafted. But that's the gift of having five-to-six picks in the 6th and 7th round. They cost you nothing, and they do ensure that a guy who starred in a defense at a program known for transferring extremely well to the NFL. With arguably the best athletic trainers in the NFL working on him for his entire rookie season, I suggest we invest.

RB Zach Evans, Ole Miss

BJ Kissel, now a Chiefs commentator for his own Kansas City Sports Network, said just a few weeks ago that he hung out with GM Brett Veach at some practice years ago when Kissel worked for the Chiefs. Veach told him something that now, years later and out of the organization, he can share: sometimes a players "unique traits" are worth betting on. He was referencing NFL prospect WR Justin Watson at the time (who Veach would later scoop up years later for the 2022 season), but the true could be said of Zach Evans.

This is a guy who has perennially disappointed everywhere he's gone, but with good size and fantastic speed, he offers a one-cut sprinting talent that pulls away from defenders. It's a promising set of characteristics, and it's why he was once ranked the #2 RB in America. But since then, he's flopped out of TCU, couldn't own the starting job at Ole Miss, and ended the season in a timeshare where he rarely caught passes and exclusively ran the same run.

This guy's probably a UDFA. The Chiefs have actually drafted him before, in 2009 they drafted Tennessee State RB Javarris Williams in the 6th round, who sent on to play four games in his career and average a yard a carry. Williams was bigger, and more proven, than Williams. But there's a real show Evans runs a 4.3 at the Combine. If he flops, why not take a flyer after the draft concludes?

Did you see the Stanford WR, Wilson i think, who torched him in the 1 on 1s? I like the guy but in truth I came away a little more impressed by his teammate! Might dig into him a little more.

Keondre Coburn had a good week at the East/West Shrine Game.

He's similar to Joseph Ossai in that he's another Longhorn who didn't reach his potential in college, but has a ton of room to grow. He'd be great next to Jones on the line and is a beast filling the gaps on runs.

Totally agree, think i put him on my list a few weeks back. Guy is large but has pretty impressive lateral speed. If he's around at the back end of the 3rd I'd be tempted. Think he'll take a bit of time to polish up but he could be the run stuffer with a bit of juice we need next to Jones.

Evans is good but a huge headcase

DT Calijah Kancey ...Why isn't anyone talking about this guy? He's been productive the last 3 years.

https://www.nfldraftbuzz.com/Player/...-DL-Pittsburgh

I agree, he's undersized is why. But he looks damn good to me. The get off, the hands, he's going to be a handful on obvious passing downs.

OT Dawand Jones, Ohio State

Dawand Jones arrives on draft boards at a difficult time for the Chiefs to potentially draft him. He is not a great fit in Kansas City in both his skillset and current slate of needs. At this exact moment in time, with us on the outside unsure of how likely it is that LT Orlando Brown Jr. may return for future seasons, the Chiefs should be targeting a right tackle with positional flexibility to left tackle, in the off chance their talks with Brown collapse. But Jones is the least positionally flexible in the entire draft: at 6'8", 360 lbs, he is far too long to play guard, and he is not nimble enough to manage left tackle. He is a pure right tackle, and I think he's going to drop in the draft, maybe to Day 3.

If the Chiefs were to take Jones early, however, you can pretty much bet that Brown is locked in for the foreseeable future. Jones is Phil Loadholdt reborn, a mountain of a man that provides just as much nasty as you'd expect. Next to Trey Smith, you'd have the angriest right side of an OL in football. He is as close as you get to a trump card in the run game: he is longer than the guys he's blocking, he's bigger than the guys he's blocking, and he's pretty technically adept for a guy his size. Not enough people talk about a Chiefs OL that is strong against the pass but despite its size, struggles to move people in the run game. Jones is an answer to that.

The question then becomes: do you want two mountainous tackles with slow feet at the same time on the same OL. I don't think we do. He has fantastic arm length, like Orlando Brown, to force the quicker passrushers wide. He also cannot be bullrushed, like, at all -- maybe a bit for now until he gets his technique further down. But his feet are even slower than Brown's. He's going to need a ton of help for at least a good while, and may have to "slim down" to 320 before he's an athlete you can trust on the edge.

Ultimately, this is a guy who can provide some answers for the Chiefs on the right side, and present challenges as well. If he falls to the 4th, I am interested. Earlier than that, and there's just other players who give us more without the hamstringing he's going to come with for a while.

DE Derick Hall, Auburn

There has been a forum-wide debate on retaining Frank Clark in 2023. We've had this debate all season. And I don't know what the correct answer is -- he obviously clears a ton of cap space that his play does not justify. But his presence allows you to speed up the development of younger passrushers, in addition to playing out of his mind in the playoffs. I only discuss Frank Clark this much, because the decision to keep him affects how I feel about going for Derick Hall in the 1st round.

Derick Hall, if this team develops him up to his potential, is the cure for everything this defensive line needs. It needs more dynamism on the edge, with a guy who can provide nonstop motor to provide essentially 50 snaps a game where every passrush has two rushes. The initial explosion and then the hustle as the play drags on. He is faster than all of our defensive ends, and though he is not an ideal Spags size (6'3", 250 lbs), he plays strong as a bull on run downs, not unlike Melvin Ingram. The Tigers dropped him into coverage a lot as well, which Spags doesn't really do but who knows.

The problem is that he's going to need something close to the Dee Ford-esque redshirt year. He has a lot of refinement in his technique left to do, and the potential explodes off the screen. Most of the things he does, however, offensive tackles can find ways to negate. It's possible that, like Dee Ford, he doesn't realize his potential until the last year or two of his contract. He's going to have that degree of a learning curve. Giving him Joe Cullen and a year or two of Frank Clark's tutelage is the recipe here if you're going to spend a 1st.

As an Ohio State fan, I can tell you there is absolutely no way whatsoever that Dawand Jones falls to day 3. I don't like his footspeed for this offense but teams like the Steelers, Ravens, Titans, etc are going to love that kid. He's nearly impossible to get around. He struggles with pure speed to the top of the arc (not a positive with Patrick Mahomes) and he struggles when those same types of speed rushers set him up and cross his face. I think you can coach that latter part up some. He might even be looked at as a LT in the same mold as Orlando by the teams I listed. He is absolutely going high 2nd if not the 1st round.

As for Derick Hall, I don't think he has the learning curve you suggest. He's pretty good at using his hands to get into the chest of the defender and playing off of that. He has some work to do with his hands overall but I see him as no less refined than Karlaftis was coming in.

CB Nic Jones from Ball State seems like a Veach Value Pick later on. I'd say 5th or 6th-round guy. He's physical, he mirrors and engages the WR at the catch point. Had a really nice week out at the E/W Shrine from what I've read and watched.

S Brandon Hill from Pittsburgh is a guy I kind of like. Decent ball skills, decent hitter. Tries to be an enforcer but he won't be in the NFL. Gets his head around and can play in coverage, including the slot. Might be a good developmental guy. Late type, 6th or 7th round probably.

if he's around, i'd take hunter luepke in the 7th. gadgety "fullback" who andy might be able to do something with. good short yardage toughness too. he's nursing a shoulder injury right now though, so maybe that's a bad sign.

TE Dalton Kincaid, Utah

It's time to start game-planning how to TE Travis Kelce-proof this offense. God forbid any injuries happen, but even if they did, Kelce admitted in an interview that this was the most physically taxing season of his life. It might be time to transition to an offense that needs him as a "1A" or a "1B" for a season or two, before going full Jason Witten and keeping him on-roster as a reliable 2nd or 3rd option until he retires. But this does mean that investments will be necessary. Controversially, I think that means the team needs to consider blue chip running backs. But mostly I think they need to start exploring tight ends, and man-oh-boy does Dalton Kincaid check a lot of boxes.

Now, Kincaid is not a complimentary tight end for Kelce. He's not a guy who will be effective blocking, like TE Blake Bell or TE Noah Gray. Not yet, anyway. For now, he is a pure receiving threat. At 6'4", 242 lbs, he's essentially a big slot, which Kelce-levels of wiggle in his routes and has a gorgeous stride for someone his size. This isn't a guy, like Kelce, that you need to send on traditional in-line routes. He can run, and will be able to run, the entire TE route tree -- and maybe the entire WR route tree as well, depending on his Combine. He has outstanding hands, with a huge catch radius. Again, god forbid anything happens to America's favorite sports podcaster, but Kincaid gets you close to Kelce-proofing the roster. And, lest we forget, he comes from a college program that Andy Reid adores.

He's not Kelce, of course. Kelce is an absolute freak of nature, being as big as he is and still being one of the most athletic tight ends the league has seen. Kincaid is fairly smaller, but he plays way smaller. His blocking is, frankly, really, really bad. It's going to take him a couple seasons to get better there. But they carved out a role for TE Jody Fortson, a bad blocking TE who has good ballskills, this past year. Kincaid has Fortson's hands but better athleticism and upside. If Kincaid blows up the Combine, I'd like to see a 1st spent on him. Aside from that, he fits this roster best as a 2nd.

TE Luke Musgrave, Oregon State

At some point, I would bet my life that GM Brett Veach and TE Travis Kelce have a seat and Veach grills him some on where his body is, how many years do you have left in the tank. Can we keep you as a true focal point of our offense for 20 games for another two or three years? My guess, just based on Kelce's public statements, is that he has one more year of True Focal Point in him. He got the tar beat out of him this year, while having yet another fantastic season. The smartest thing the Chiefs could do is start mapping out a future where Kelce transitions into late-career Jason Witten. Kelce has a couple more years before he is that guy, but better to plan too early than too late. It would be wise to extend his career anyway.

The last time the Chiefs won the Super Bowl, they spent a 1st round pick on a heat check luxury pick that they didn't obscenely need, in RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire. That clearly didn't work out, but Luke Musgrave could very well be that pick this year if Musgrave fell to 31 -- or far enough for the Chiefs to trade up. Musgrave is not as athletic as people make him out to be -- he's extremely fast but he lacks Kelce's in-the-box quickness. But the speed he does have is going to be a nightmare if it's properly schemed, and it will be with Andy Reid. Some of the best coverage prospects failed to cover him in the East-West Shrine. And the numbers Musgrave is going to put up at the Combine with a 6'6", well built frame? I'd be shocked if he lasts to 31.

But what does he do for you? He gives you functional blocking with upside to be Kelce-level-decent. If you lose Kelce for a while, Musgrave can replicate a lot of his routes. Musgrave is going to be a red zone threat every single time you're within the 30 yard line, and his catch radius is phenomenal. Musgrave does not look to me like a Travis Kelce, but more of a TE Dallas Goedert, and I think most of us would be extremely satisfied with that performance over the course of his rookie contract. Under Andy Reid, his upside might be even higher.

Based on past posts...avoid these players

RB Jahmyr Gibbs, Alabama

There is an alternate universe where RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire became the back for us that he was for LSU. He offers some fundamentally sound running between the tackles, but is the third down back for eternity, whipping wheel routes and juking angle routes, creating separation in short yardage and chunking off 8 yard gains in near-unstoppable chemistry with Mahomes. Naturally, that never came to fruition, as (I'm guessing) his pass protection was so poor they never put him in obvious pass situations, and his between the tackles running, while initially exceptional, collapsed almost entirely after his injury his rookie year.

But we can rebuild him. We have the technology. And his reborn form would be Jahmyr Gibbs. A fundamentally sound running of a somewhat slight frame to allow him to get in and out of jukes in a hurry, Gibbs' primary talent comes from being effective in the passing game. He seems to have the route-running ability of a slot receiver sometimes, with far more speed upside than Edwards-Helaire had. He has great hands, good feel for zones, and far too much quickness for even the average NFL linebacker. He may be a more slight, but faster version of RB Joseph Addai.

I'm warning you: don't underestimate this as a future Chiefs pick. The Chiefs clearly value this type of running back (some might argue over-value). The Chiefs clearly believe they need this player. McKinnon is the closest we have, and he's entering the offseason as an oft-injured, 30 year old free agent. Edwards-Helaire is literally on the roster now but he's likely to be traded. And the Chiefs clearly value the position so much they were willing to spend a 1st round pick on it in 2020. Now, I don't value this type of RB as much as the Chiefs do, but I'm just a guy in a chair. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Chiefs make a move in the 2nd round, though, if he's still on the board.

DT Mazi Smith, Michigan

One question: what's the line of scrimmage worth to you? For me, it's everything, especially for a DC Steve Spagnuolo defense that proved that it can unlock its true capability if they take the run away from teams. Smith is not a slam dunk, but he is a good bet to help you get there. A powerful tree trunk of a man with pretty good athleticism, he should test better at the Combine than he actually is, DT Khalen Saunders style.

Saunders, honestly, may be a fair comparison. Smith lacks Saunders on-field speed, but he is far more of a bully in the trenches. He is not moved easily, shows good ability to be a block of granite in short yardage situations, and can still ride a lineman out on stretch runs. He is not your typical phone booth tackle. But he's going to be a bit more limited in that regard in the NFL, because despite his great size, it's written that he doesn't have longer arms -- we'll see what the Combine says. He should still be tough to move, but he may not be able to ride lineman out wide as much as he used to, and he may not command a lot of double teams as a result. Playing style, he reminds me a lot of DT Shaun Smith when we had him for a year. He's thick, plays looser than a guy his size should, and is just completely worthless against the pass.

Comparisons to Saunders and Smith make a good deal of sense, but I do want to be clear: neither one of these guys controlled the line of scrimmage on run downs like this guy does. But that's what you're bringing him in for, and I'll be interested to see reporting on how severe his red flags are after teams continue to interview him on his past. For now, I think he's a 3rd rounder in talent, at a position the Chiefs need. But he could fall out of the draft altogether if teams are spooked by his past.

RB Bijan Robinson, Texas

At some point, GM Brett Veach will have to make a determination with TE Travis Kelce. This guy is insanely durable, but how long can he be the focal point of the offense he's been his entire career? Surely he could do it if we needed him to in 2023, and we all know he'd sign up for that. But you want Kelce as long as you can have him. He's a Hall of Fame talent, and the healthier this team can have him for January/February for the next 5-6 years, the better. So it's time to start Kelce-proofing the roster. If you don't have Kelce as your right hand, who can become it? The Chiefs know this as well as anyone, when they reportedly tried (and failed) to go get WR Jameson Williams in the draft last year.

But let me cut to a point I've been making for a couple years now: the Kansas City Chiefs are a fantastic team, but they are nigh unbeatable if they can run the ball effectively. And nobody runs the ball more effectively than the human locomotive that is Bijan Robinson. It is highly unlikely he makes it to 31, but he makes it in about a quarter of the mocks I simulate, so let's play with the idea. He doesn't seem to have 4.3 speed, but 4.4 is not out of the question with his amazing 220 lbs frame. He's a smart, patient runner in the mold of RB LeVeon Bell, and he is twice the receiver Bell ever was. This is a guy who can take the RB Jerick McKinnon role and completely changes the offense with Robinson and RB Isiah Pacheco chewing up defensive lines. Teams will have no choice but to go heavy to stop it, and then QB Patrick Mahomes does the rest. They will go entire games without punting.

The point of football is to win the games. We know the Chiefs are almost impossible to beat with Mahomes under center and an effective run game. So what are we doing? We have the offensive line already constructed, and they made a (talented) 7th round pick look very good. If you line up an elite talent behind that line, you're leading the AFC in rushing yards so long as HC Andy Reid calls them. Mahomes doesn't have to be Superman except when he needs to be, and you've got Kelce as long as you need him. The team cannot avoid considering him if he falls to 31.

DT Keeanu Benton, Wisconsin

In the NBA, there was an era with Shaq, with Dwight Howard, and even Tim Duncan, where teams just felt at the mercy of big centers chopping them down in the paint. So teams would go out and try to find big dudes to clog the lane, and sometimes over-invest, just anything to force these teams with powerful centers to beat them any other way. I wonder sometimes if the NFL may end up with the same reckoning as defenses become more athletic to try to take away more active passing games, and offenses inevitably counter with power. How much is taking the run game away worth it?

Your answer to that question is the answer to how valuable you think Benton is. Benton is the answer to "how do I clog up the line of scrimmage." You can run wide to get away from him. You can run sweeps to avoid him. You can pass over him. But you cannot run through him. Long arms, brute force, and absolute technically sound menace over the center, demanding double teams every time an offense thinks they have what it takes to enforce their will and run between the tackles. That's what Benton does, that's what he's good at, and he'll never make a single Pro Bowl ever. But you won't be able to run on him.

The value in that is unmistakable, and as a result, I think he's going to be more attractive to 3-4 teams than he will be to the Chiefs. But I think he has more value than some may give him credit for: the Chiefs have very good linebackers to cover off tackle runs. They have a growing, young secondary that will only get better. By far the weakest spot on the defense by the end of the year was up the gut, to the point where they had to bring in DT Brandon Williams to shore it up. If you can have that brick wall in the middle of your line all year on first- and second-downs, what would you spend to build it? I'd spend a second and sleep easy.

OG Cody Mauch, North Dakota State

The Chiefs enter the offseason along with the rest of the NFL, trying to figure out how to body out its offensive line. The Chiefs are more fortunate than most, with four starters in place, a hole only at right tackle, with a decent swing tackle in OT Lucas Niang. But with OT/G Andrew Wylie and OG/C Nick Allegretti likely moving on (in my humble estimation), the team needs interior depth. And as always, it's not clear what kind of depth on OL the team needs, as the line is full of power lineman, but HC Andy Reid loves athletic guards that can pull and get in space. What does Reid want?

Drafting Cody Mauch will help answer that question, as Mauch is a former tight end with dozens of games playing as a very nimble left tackle, who made is very difficult to ever challenge that outside shoulder and played with a strength and intelligence that, while doesn't seem to me like it will challenge for a Pro Bowl any time soon, he should be ready to play NFL ball sooner than later. It's widely reported that he will transition to the interior, but I want to see how he tests at the Combine first. Along the interior, some technique work and strength conditioning could mold him into a OG Joe Thuney type at guard.

The interior is completely bare if Allegretti walks (unless you have confidence in OT/G Darian Kinnard that I don't currently share). While I don't think Mauch will survive to the 3rd day of the draft, he would be a smart get in round 4, to continue keeping that OL fortified and keeping QB Patrick Mahomes clean. He also gives you a starting option down the line if OG Trey Smith submits contract demands in the coming year that the team simply can't meet.

TE Tucker Kraft, South Dakota State

Who's ready to have their time wasted? Because every single word you read in this post, you are reading about a player the Chiefs are not going to be able to take. (The case could be made that every one of my posts is a waste of your time, but this holds especially true here.) I say this in part because Kraft is a talented prospect with a ton of upside that teams will believe they can mold into a smart, dynamic tight end. But I mostly say it because he's from South Dakota State, TE Dallas Goedert's school, and looks and plays exactly like Goedert did as a prospect. And the league just saw Goedert pull jackrabbits out of his hat throughout the Super Bowl. (I hope you got that reference.)

As a result, Kraft is going to show up to the Combine and blow it up, and there are going to be teams as early as the 20s take a good hard look at him. Sure, TE Luke Musgrave and TE Dalton Kincaid are attractive as pure receiving slot TEs. But Kraft can excel in the slot. He will be able to block well with coaching. He can split out, he can find soft zones. He can take manufactured touches, and with coaching he should be able to run clean routes. It's just not often that a 6'6" TE with good size and athleticism comes along who can do everything who looks just like the guy who almost won the Super Bowl for the Philadelphia Eagles. And while he can't do it all now, he definitely looks like he'll be able to.

It probably goes without saying that Kraft is tailor made for the Kansas City Chiefs. They already have a Hall of Fame tight end who is basically a glorified #1 WR, but they could use a more dynamic option at TE outside of TE Noah Gray and TE Jody Fortson who can also get his hands in the dirt and push defensive ends wide of the pocket. Kraft would also be walking into a great situation here, and he'd likely get to be the 3rd (or 4th!) tight end for about half the season and get his legs under him. By Year 2, he'd be eating into TE Travis Kelce's snaps. Does that mean he's a 2nd round pick for us? He probably is for literally every other team in the league.

I like him more than most but a more favorable draft value might just be Kenny McIntosh from Georgia. They are very similar and I bet McIntosh is a 3rd while Gibbs is probably a very high 2nd. I'd 100% support KC moving up in 4 for McIntosh if he slips. He's a McKinnon replacement for sure and could be electric in this offense.

I really like Benton. He was a fantastic wrestler as well. I think in 50 matches he lost two. That gives him some real advantages with leverage, hand usage and stamina, just like Creed.

I don't know if I could choose between him and Mazi Smith. There's a lot of mock drafts I've done where I've ended up snagging Benton if he's available in 2/3 rounds. I would not hate it at all if we grab either of them. I think Mazi Smith is stronger, more of a freak athlete, but I think Benton's wrestling background gives him an edge to his game.

Id go with Smith, I think he has the higher ceiling and is the most likely to be an all round DT. But he probably goes between our 1st and 2nd picks

LB Henry To'o To'o, Alabama

Despite my recent anxieties over the state of the Chiefs salary cap in the wake of their Super Bowl win, there's probably no GM you can trust more in the NFL to work the cap better than GM Brett Veach. He has tough cap decisions to make this year, and my guess is after he extends LT Orlando Brown, Jr.., and DT Chris Jones (and S L'Jarius Sneed!?), he may have tough cap decisions to make next year. One of those will be a choice over retaining the physically gifted LB Willie Gay, Jr. There is a non-zero chance the Chiefs cannot retain him, and surely Veach knows that sooner than later.

There's no obvious replacement for Gay's skillset on this team right now -- nobody has his size/speed combination. But Henry To'o To'o (confusingly pronounced TOE-oh TOE-oh -- it's rural juror all over again) may fill the role and then some. He does lack Gay's size, but I think he gets great depth on his drops and can play the run better than any LB that is currently on our roster. Like LB Nick Bolton, he is always around the ball and racks up tackles as a result. Those stat sheets this season have been beautiful with the #1 and #2 tacklers most games being Bolton/Gay. Drafting To'o To'o keeps that going, and more consistently.

The thing you lose the most with a Gay-to-To'o To'o transition is the violence Gay plays with at the line of scrimmage. To'o To'o is a bobber and weaver, and that's a big area over his rookie season -- effectively a red shirt season -- where he can up his technique. Under Spags, the Chiefs have prioritized talent at the LB position, however, and if you're looking for the smoothest possible transition at the WLB position, To'o To'o makes more than enough sense if he's there in the 3rd round.

WR Cedric Tillman, Tennessee

The bottom of the WR depth chart has rarely looked better than it does in Kansas City right now, with maybe the best 4th/5th WR they've ever had in WR Justin Watson looking primed as a lay-up re-sign, with the promise of WR Justyn Ross and another GM Brett Veach reclamation project in WR John Ross. Who knows who can stick, but we know the Chiefs are drafting receiver, so we might as well expand our horizons at the position while we're examining prospects. One that may fly under the radar, since he flew under America's radar this past year, would be Cedric Tillman.

You've seen Tillman if you catch highlights of Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker, as Tillman is a favorite target. He also plays a style of offense that translates to solid success in the NFL. Here's the elevator pitch: Tillman is a big, fairly physical receiver who has fantastic deep speed but isn't particularly quick. He is going to a year or two of redshirting under Reid, since the Volunteers don't run a particularly complicated offense, but he is a reliable X receiver that, like WR Marques Valdez-Scantlin, teams will have to account for if they don't have their ducks in a row on the back line of the defense.

He's just not particularly dynamic, although I'll be fascinated by what his Combine says. He's a faster-then-quick guy who is fairly one-dimensional stylistically. But the things he can do, he looks really solid at them. If he can prove he has a bigger route tree ahead of him than what he's shown, I think he makes sense at the beginning of Day 3. For now, I might now ring that bell until the 6th comes along and you're just looking for contributors with upside.

WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Ohio State

Easily one of the most polarizing players in this entire draft class, the team that selects Jaxon Smith Njigba early in the draft is the team that is betting entirely on its draft room prognostication. Because while Smith-Njigba has a lot of things going for him, he is a very difficult player to project. On top of how well he's going to perform in the NFL, the Chiefs will also have to ask themselves to what degree will he fit in their scheme. And all of this is going to raise a lot of question marks that, put simply, Smith-Njigba is going to have to answer at the Combine, at his Pro Day, in interview rooms, and at any Top 30 visits. Because he is as pure a question mark as you can get.

On the one hand, you want to project him as the next WR Keenan Allen. He's not particularly big, he's not particularly fast. But he's an acute route-runner and possesses excellent instincts against zones. He has a fantastic catch radius for a six-foot-zero WR, and by all accounts he possesses high football IQ. But he's a one-year wonder; he missed virtually all of 2022 with a hamstring injury. He was only productive in 2021, when he was flanked by two of the best WRs in the nation at the time, who both went on to set the NFL on fire their rookie seasons this past year. He played almost entirely out of the slot with clean releases, and it's just not clear what kind of player you're going to get if he becomes the focal point of the defense.

I see him and I think a role player. He's really good in the slot, where he can create short-area separation and pile up receptions, a poor man's Keenan Allen. But the Chiefs already have that guy twice over, with the same limitations in size and long speed, in WR Skyy Moore and WR Kadarious Toney. And Toney even shares Smith-Njigba's hamstring issues. This is a team that needs a true Z to blast open defenses with elite speed, or a true X to challenge over the middle if they don't bring back WR Juju Smith-Schuster. Smith-Njigba doesn't offer either of those skillsets, so he's simply not as valuable to the Chiefs as he will be elsewhere. I don't even know if he makes sense for this team in the first two rounds.

DE Zach Harrison, Ohio State

Knowing what you know now, with the full power of hindsight behind you: where would you have taken DE Tanoh Kpassagnon if you had to do it all over again? Again, you have to draft him -- so what round would you have taken him. And my guess is almost none of us would have spent a 2nd rounder on him. We did win a Super Bowl with him, but he's just kind of a body that played the position not-horrifically, and that's someone you'd rather drop a midrounder on than a premier pick.

Enter: Zach Harrison. He is absurdly long and large for a pretty athletic passrusher, but he's close to being the exact same prospect. He was underproductive in college, however, when he's already faster and more powerful than most of his opponents. I don't know how that's going to translate when that advantage is largely reduced against NFL tackles. Kpassagnon was a virtual Greek god at the Combine, too, an absolute athletic freak. Harrison is freaky as well, but he's not on K-pass's level. He's long and strong, and is going to be able to get some push, and maybe refine some technique to leverage his way to the QB a few times a year. But the Chiefs already have a nicer version of that in DE George Karlaftis, and it's just not obvious to me that you want two of those guys starting as bookends.

He does play the run with nasty aggression, so his Venn diagram is a lot closer to being a circle with Karlaftis than it is with Kpassagnon. And with both DE Frank Clark and DE Joshua Kaindoh on the verge of being cut, the Chiefs may have to return to the passrusher well a few times, including in the middle rounds, where I think Harrison makes the most sense. I just don't think he offers the upside you like, but maybe in the midrounds they're just looking for a reliable body who can hold the fort down when called upon.

WR Xavier Hutchinson, Iowa State

Maaaaaaan, I feel like I like Xavier Hutchinson more than I should, but let me make my case. First, it seems increasingly clear to me that the cap is going to crunch the team a bit more this offseason than most, and I don't think they can go back to the well of simply restructuring QB Patrick Mahomes. They don't want a year where they're forced into paying Mahomes $70m against the cap because they kept restructuring, because he is only going to get better and they really don't want a year in there where they can't surround him with talent. So tough decisions are on the horizon, and I'm increasingly convinced that WR Juju Smith-Schuster is a really good player who the Chiefs won't retain.

That's a problem, too, because he was a target in the 4th quarter of the Super Bowl that this team needed more than anything. So you need yourself someone with the upside to replicate that, which is what Hutchinson can deliver. He is one of the most statistically accomplished, consistent, game-tape-proven receivers in America. For a team that will ask receivers to do everything under the sun, Hutchinson has three years of game tape proving he can excel. He can create separation, he can block, he can win jump balls, he can play the boundary. I'm not a Bengals fan, but with them getting ready to let WR Tee Higgins go, Hutchinson feels to me like a guy with his exact skillset. He screams "Bengals receiver": He's big, he's got great hands, and he can win the YOLO balls.

As a bigger X-receiver, he lacks a lot of the dynamism that HC Andy Reid craves, and therefore may not make as much sense for the Chiefs tendencies as, say, WR Zay Flowers or WR Tyler Scott. But man, what if there's a run on receivers in the 1st and 2nd? You're sitting there in the 2nd round, maybe you spent a 1st on passrusher, and you're needing a weapon who is reliable enough to get the tough yards and earned catches in the 4th quarter of a future Super Bowl? Xavier Hutchinson makes sense to me. I don't see anybody listing this guy as a 2nd round prospect, so I know I'm an outlier here, but I really like this guy.

OG/C Jarrett Patterson, Notre Dame

For the record, C Austin Reiter has a futures contract signed with the Chiefs as of this week, and should he remain on the roster, he will be entering his eighth year in the NFL. So let us not underrate the value of offensive lineman who do their jobs, provide their teams the depth they so badly need, and somehow remain in the league past any reasonability in a vacuum. And that's likely the career Jarrett Patterson has ahead of him.

He has starter upside, as a smart lineman who has center experience calling out blocking assignments. A true "team protector," he has the profile of a guy who is going to have problems in one-on-one drills but when utilizing the chemistry of his teammates will be able to do his job competently. He's essentially NFL ready right now, and other than some strength & conditioning, I think he'd be the Chiefs' top interior lineman if they let OG/C Nick Allegretti and OT/G Andrew Wylie go.

And honestly, Allegretti is not a terrible comparison for him. He lacks a lot of Allegretti's nasty in the run game, but he is no finesse player himself. You can ask him to pull, you can ask him to combo block downhill, just don't ask him to do either for 17-games and expect a Pro Bowl performance. Backup lineman make their dime in this league by plugging the holes in the veritable dam without becoming a blatant liability. The Chiefs are set along their interior for at least the next two years, and have no need for starters. But there's always room for a Patterson in this league, and if he's still on the board, make him a pick in the 6th.

DE Isaiah McGuire, Missouri

At the end of the day, the Chiefs need to simply make the smartest draft picks for the best possible values. I personally believe the biggest need the Chiefs have at this time is at edge rusher, but if the best value with their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round picks are at some combination of WR, OT, and S, I can't complain. And if that's the case, hell even if they pick a DE early, it's not often you see a DE with third-day credentials who, I think boasts the upside of a starter in the NFL. But I think Isaiah McGuire fits that mold.

He's not a first- or second-day pick, probably, because he seems to lack the athletic profile and some of the technique that those earlier picks demand, so the Combine will be critical for him if he wants to sneak into the second day. But he's no slouch: he is 6'4", 270, and plays as ferociously as you like from an edgerusher who may be backing up DE George Karlaftis. Like Karlaftis, McGuire's effort on every single play is off the charts, and his good size makes him a particularly difficult end to move in the run game.

His play has ascended every year he's been at Mizzou, suggesting he's superbly coachable. Combining this guy with DL coach Joe Cullen and maybe under DE Frank Clark's tutelage suggests he has as much of a chance to reach his upside in KC as anywhere else. He is only going to get stronger, which he needs to do, and he's only going to further clean up his technique. This is another guy who could be primed for a late-rookie-season production explosion, and I think he has a fair chance to become a starter down the line. That is fantastic value in the 4th.

He's very rigid, I think 4-5th round is right, though I expect he goes a little earlier. If we got a guy with a bit more bend earlier on I wouldn't mind double-dipping for Harrison later on. But that's probably the only scenario I can get behind it, and even then there's probably other positions I'd want to round out first

Just making some observations.

Cedric Tillman is widely regarded as a 2nd or 3rd round prospect by almost everyone. Day 3 seems like a bit of wanting him to fall. I like him a lot more than you do and have him firmly in round 2. I see him in every way you don't and don't see him in any way you do. He doesn't have great downfield speed but he's a fantastic route runner that's quick off the snap and gets in and out of breaks with quickness to create his separation. He is fearless in traffic and makes some really tough catches. He's agile enough to make YAC. I watched Florida and Alabama games from 2021 and came away impressed with him even if he didn't have the best games (I think he had a couple of catches against Florida and a couple of bad false start penalties against Alabama). A lot of issues were some not-so-great QB play by Hooker last year and a scripted offense. He's a 50/50 blocker for me. Sometimes he's great other times he's not so great. He also needs to work 100% of the time when he knows the ball isn't coming his way, which he doesn't do all the time. He's a guy that I could definitely see in a JuJu role though and he's better than stats might suggest.

I really do like Xavier Hutchinson a bunch. I had him in mocks last year before he decided to stay another year. He's solidly a 3rd round player for me.

Like you, I'm not high on Harrison. I'm much higher on McGuire, who you mention. There's a lot to be said about measurements versus football players. McGuire is a a ****ing good football player. Harrison is measurements that never amounted to a good football player. I'd take McGuire on day 2 and not even blink. If he's there in the 4th I'd be all ****ing over it. I think of McGuire like Bolton. Sometimes a guy is just ****ing good at his job.

Jarrett Patterson is widely thought of as a 3rd round pick. I see no conceivable way he's even remotely near the 6th round unless there is some medical I don't know about. He's far too good to fall that far. He might go 2nd round. He might go 4th round. But he sure as shit aint going in the 6th.

Smith-Njigba, for as good as much talent as was at Ohio State, was the best WR on the field in 2021. Maybe I'm just a homer, but he's insane. That said, his hamstring issue is a MAJOR concern, not his ability on the field. Sure, he lined up off the line primarily but he has lined up everywhere. The guy is a near-impossible cover. He's a more refined Kadarius Toney coming out. It's not his ability that is a concern because his ability is a top-20 draft pick. No doubts from me.

Based off your description, I will absolutely give Tillman another look.

We are completely on the same page with Harrison & McGuire. I think McGuire has Tamba Hali upside — there’s got to be a better comparison. Hali was not gifted but he was ferocious and won with technique. McGuire is already ferocious, and I think he’s insanely coachable.

Glad someone else is high on Hutchinson — I am higher than everyone, so feel free to regard me as an outlier.

Patterson is probably worth more to others than us because we have an entire interior line established for the next 2-6 years. Keep in mind, this entire thread is through my eyes as a Chiefs fan, and I don’t like the Chiefs taking interior line until the third day.

Let me ask you this about Smith-Njigba: even if he’s as good as you say, do you not have hesitations regarding the fact that he’s a version of Toney/Moore, which we already have? The Chiefs need an X (assuming we don’t bring back Juju) and a Z (assuming we don’t bring back Hardman).

Re: Patterson. I don't think you can come out and say you'd spend a 6th on him when a 6th is completely unreasonable. If you don't want to spend a day 2 pick on him, say that but don't give the impression that's where you're grading him. We all know he won't be there in the 6th or anywhere near it. Maybe scout a different player like Spencer Anderson who might be there in the 6th and offer him up as a suggestion.

As for Smith-Njigba... I really don't think Reid cares about what we see as a "traditional" X, Z, slot, etc. He and Veach have repeatedly said that they look for speed, but most importantly guys that can play multiple spots. Does Smith-Njigba check those boxes? Oh, yeah, I think so. He isn't slow. He's not a 4.3 guy but he might be 4.40. He can line up anywhere and win matchups. This is where I think this focus that a number of fans have on a big-bodied WR that can win as a pure X are getting Reid entirely wrong. He's rarely had those guys. 6'0" 190 is probably an ideal Reid body type but most importantly the ability to line up at all 3 spots and play with speed and quickness.

I have to go on about Smith-Njigba man... I mean... there is not a better route runner or a better set of hands in this class. It's not close. Even Flowers isn't close. He varies his release speed to set up defenders then snaps routes crisply and leaves guys just hanging. He finds holes in zones better than anyone. He can absolutely put clown shoes on guys with his agility in the same way Toney does in space. This guy is so insanely good his own teammates that both went in the 1st round last year said he was better than them. And they're right. If you want to see the absolute best of JSN, go watch his record-setting game against Utah in the Rose Bowl. You won't even need to watch another game. He's quick. His routes are perfect. His hands are insane. There is NOT a better fit for Andy Reid in this draft than JSN. His issue is the hamstring. If not for that, he's the best WR in this draft and it's not especially close. If this team feels remotely good about that hamstring, I have no doubt they are going to try to get him. If he falls to 31, I expect they'd sprint to the podium and take the chance either way. I'm not just saying he's good, I'm saying it's not close. Call me a homer either way but he's special.

Hammy is the issue as you say, but could play in to our hands if it drops him, though not sure enough. My only real issue with JSN is he's played over 80% from the slot, and he's going to stay there most likely. A super reliable slot, imo, is worth a late 1st, except I wonder what it means for Moore. Not sure I'd let that stop me but still.

This team has an embarrassment of riches in the slot. Skyy and Toney are already enough for literally every other team in the NFL, and it should be enough for us.

More than enough, really, given that we also have a GOAT tight end that plays out of the slot.

What the team needs are dynamic speedsters or Juju-style possession receivers.

I completely understand what kccrow is saying: just give Andy Reid the talent, and he'll make it work. Which, he will.

But we know Reid has types, and wants types. He passed on DK Metcalf so we could draft Mecole Hardman as a potential Z, given the legal soup that Tyreek was sinking into at the time.

Reid wants guys that play the roles he has for the offense. If you can't make that happen for him, he will make do and you always have Mahomes. But I don't think JSN is the dude the team needs him to be.

No one has brought up Puka Nacua as a late round sleeper in a Saccopoo forum? Shame.

Dude...this shit bugs the **** out of me.

Direckshun might not hit on his picks but the dude puts in work EVERY ****ING OFFSEASON. And then you've got guys who come in and talk shit when they don't post dick about the draft or any of the prospects.

Either state your own opinions...or shut the **** up.

Sam La Poeta from Iowa is an interesting option. He looks like a solid TE prospect

Yeah I'm with you. To be fair to kccrow he's big on Scott and Hyatt as well I think and they DO seem like far more likely role players. If JJSS leaves and JSN comes in i'd argue he's basically a much better version (not a perfect comp I know and maybe I'm wrong) i.e. a zone killer in the short-intermediate. So potentially, like JJSS, he takes some of the load off of Kelce. Which is the other way to argue it I suppose - maybe he helps prolong Kelce rather than detract from him? But in this scenatio it's not good news for Moore, imo, and I say that as someone who thought Skyy had a chance to be more than a pure slot guy.

Scott and Hyatt are guys that make MVS expendable next off-season and can mix in at any spot really. I'd expect Moore to take over JuJu's role in this case as those guys learn and get filtered in.

JSN would immediately replace JuJu. You can still filter Moore around and probably look more at him as the Hardman snaps instead.

Look, I like Toney. I don't trust Toney to ever stay healthy. He's a nice anywhere piece you move around but I can't fathom he's going to just take over a spot and be relied on.

JSN never had an issue in 2021 so maybe the hammy for him is a one-time thing. Toney is an all-the-time thing.

Yeah, I'd add that CP fans who want Toney to be our #1 are asking a bit too much of him. He's our x-factor, gadget guy, and I think he's best as our #3 WR.

DE/LB Isaiah Land, Florida A&M

I still don't think the NFL even knows what to do with the players that come out every year who show serious passrushing juice as full time DEs but they come in at 220 lbs. DE Nick Herbig is so talented, however, that I'll be fascinated with how the NFL tries to square that circle. Isaiah Land presents the same issues, only from a smaller school.

And of course, if I told you there was a talented DE that's 220 lbs to consider, you'd ask if he had the technique, the athletic profile, and the motor to justify it. The answers across the board are yes. He was not only a sack machine for FA&M, he turns the corner as viciously has Herbig, and shows great ability to execute mature passrushing plans with counters and bull rushes and spin moves. If I was building a team for the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, he is a perfect prospect. But that's miles different from playing in the NFL, where the tackles are all going to be stronger than you, and most of them should be able to counter your initial darts to the outside shoulder.

So the questions begin to pile up: (a.) he is 6'4", how much muscle can he add? (b.) how is he dropping into coverage if we asked him to, (c.) does he have a skillset that translates to SLB, who can put his hand in the dirt on obvious passing downs? So on and so forth. I don't pretend to know what the answers to those are, and therefore I'm not even sure I'd drop a 7th on him unless I was in dire need of special teamers (which the Chiefs are). But as a UDFA, I'd be fascinated.

RB Kendre Miller, TCU

It's not exactly going out on a branch to say that the RB Isiah Pacheco experience is just getting started. This past season, he was primarily your running down back, with RB Jerick McKinnon taking the passing down reps. But as the season went on, the Chiefs started trusting Pacheco more and more in the passing game, both as a receiver and as a blocker. And with his incredible work ethic, I wouldn't bet against Pacheco taking that role, especially if McKinnon ends up moving on in free agency.

With RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire on the chopping block, that does mean the Chiefs will need to body out their RB room with running downs runners, and Miller seems to fit the mold as a late round pick. There are better options earlier in the draft, but Miller gives you a RB LeVeon Bell running style that is smart and fundamentally sound between the tackles with a little bit of off tackle juice.

He's as uncomplicated a back as there is in this draft, a power back ready to take snaps in Week One. There's been a lot of talk about the Chiefs needing to add speed in their backfield, and I'm one of them. But they also need more muscle, especially with the powerful OL that GM Brett Veach has assembled. The Chiefs have taken low-round and UDFA power backs before and gotten them to develop into more reliable passing game threats, such as RB Spencer Ware. I don't think Miller has Ware's wiggle, but maybe he could develop it. For a late round pick, I'd be willing to find out.

RB Kenny McIntosh, Georgia

The fun thing about value, over which I've argued with kccrow endlessly on this forum, is that it's not equal for players for every team. Some teams value, say, Notre Dame's OG James Patterson so much that he's a sneaky second-day pick. The Chiefs are so solid at guard that they really don't need him, but if he's sitting there in the 6th for some ungodly reason, alright. Same with TCU's OG Steve Avila, who will go on Day 2 but I wouldn't touch for the Chiefs unless he was miraculously there in round 7. Kenny McIntosh is the complete opposite of that reality.

The warning signs for a middling RB are all there: he doesn't possess top-end speed (though he is plenty fast), his running style will need some work, he has questions about workload etc etc. Sure. But he's a player, guys. He's a player. He played in a star-studded Georgia Bulldogs offense and he destroyed. Well, I don't think that's the knock you think it is, because he'd be playing in a star-studded Kansas City Chiefs offense. He's got really good size and like RB Isiah Pacheco, can punish teams if they give him a lane. He looks great in the passing game, and should have very high upside in pass protection. He's a smart runner, tough to bring down, with fantastic hands.

He's just more valuable in this offense than he's going to be for virtually all the others. Spending a 3rd on him may be too generous, but what would you spend on a guy who, by the end of his rookie season, can take all of your passing reps if need be, and can be a reliable part of a stable behind an OL who wants to plow people into the dirt. He also provides a size that the Chiefs badly need in short yardage situations. I mean, that's at least a 4th. It's possible it's worth more than that after the Combine.

WR Kayshon Boutte, LSU

Kayshon Boutte is a talented player in a vacuum, and I think most fanbases would be excited to bring him in on the second day of the draft. But Chiefs fans may roll their eyes: he is a one-dimensional vertical threat who occasionally makes highlight catches and drops routine passes. He can go off for 8 catches, 250 yards one game, and then 1 catch for 13 yards the next. He is not useful throughout the route tree, but if used properly, he will put near-constant stress on the backside of every defense.

He's... WR Marquez Valdez-Scantling. And teams need that, every receiving corps need guys like that. But Chiefs fans are simply not going to excited to rake him in. But I think he is very likely to end up a 2nd day pick if the Chiefs go at another position early in the draft and/or they end up cutting Valdez-Scantling. And this is a team that needs to get faster all over its offense, and while this guy is probably valuable to almost every team in the league, HC Andy Reid should be able to utilize him better than virtually everyone else.

The Combine will obviously be critical for him, as it is for all players. What are his exact measurables? Can he hit a 4.3 40 yard dash? How do his hands look throughout the drills, and how does his stop/start look? How diverse of a tree could this guy run? And I just think that he's going to be able to answer most of these questions exactly how you'd expect someone with his skillset would, and he's going to be a good-not-great pick for someone in the 3rd round.

I really don't want to draft a guy who drops the easy ones and makes the circus catches.

WR Nathaniel Dell, Jr., Houston

The existing WRs under contract for this team are both intermediate route geniuses in WR Kadarius Toney and WR Skyy Moore, as well as a one-dimensional deep threat in WR Marques Valdez-Scantling. I anticipate the Chiefs will bring back another player or two from their Super Bowl run, but there's no question that Toney and Moore both play a similar role in different ways. What the team needs is a true X receiver who can be a physical possession player, or a dynamic Z receiver who can allow HC Andy Reid's playcalling's freak flag fly. And I've undervalued some players in this draft, like WR Jaxon Smith=Njigba, because they don't fit cleanly into either of those needs.

Well, I'm not sure Dell does either. But I'm sure as hell interested to find out. A criminally skinny speed demon, "Tank" Dell has a sudden quickness that... I'm honestly not sure I've ever seen before. Some players have shown it: RB Barry Sanders, WR Dante Hall, WR Kadarius Toney... but this guy lives in it. He has some moves that human beings, even the elite ones he will soon be playing with, simply do not have. I'm not sure I've seen a shiftier player.

As a pure receiver, he will be a work in progress, but the reason WR Tyreek Hill went from a gadget player to a true Z dynamo was because of his (football) intelligence and unbelievable competitive spirit. Dell seems to have both of those. He will enter the Chiefs as a gadget player, and a dynamic slot guy, but he could very well develop into the longterm Z that they need.

If he doesn't, he's what Toney already is. What's that worth to you? A 2nd? Sign me up.

You haven't seen a shiftier player... well go out there and check on Demario Douglas from Liberty. About the same size as Dell, might even have 10 pounds on Dell.

I went back and watched more of Tyler Steen, OT, Alabama. I like him quite a bit, honestly. His arm length is a bit on the shorter end at 33" but he's 6'5" 325 and he's surprisingly quick and shows solid pass sets. I think his one big flaw right now is his inability to latch on and keep the defender controlled. It leads to more slip-off plays in the run game than the passing game but it's something that stood out. Overall though, he's a pretty quality player that I think carries a solid 3rd round grade with the potential to go late 2nd round. He played LT but I think he's fine at RT or OG.

I've been paying attention to some guys that are OT to OG conversions or on the cusp with Thuney's contract going up to $22 million for each of the next 3 seasons. The Chiefs can't get out of it for 2023 but they can in 2024 and it might be something that comes into play.

Update to my previous on Steen, I think his arm length locks him in as an OG conversion but he's still a player to keep an eye on IMO. Like I mentioned above, Thuney's contract could come into play soon.

Anyhow, I also wanted to put Deneric Prince, RB, Tulsa on the late-round radar. Reminds me a bit of Pacheco with his size/speed combo. I'm putting a 7th-round grade on him for now. A lot of RBs in this draft, they can't all go by the end of round 4 like several boards have them projected so some decent smaller school guys like him could even end up UDFAs.