Chiefs @ 12
 

Assuming the Chiefs lose the coinflip with the Seahawks.

Here's how I imagine the first 11 picks go.

1. Indianapolis Colts: QB Andrew Luck, Stanford
2. Cleveland Browns (trade up): QB Robert Griffin, Baylor
3. Minnesota Vikings: OT Matt Kalil, USC
4. St. Louis Rams (trade down): WR Justin Blackmon, Oklahoma State
5. Tampa Bay Bucs: RB Trent Richardson, Alabama
6. Washington Redskins: CB Morris Claiborne, LSU
7. Jaguars: WR Alshon Jeffrey, South Carolina
8. Dolphins: DT Devin Still, Penn State
9. Panthers: CB Dre Kirkpatrick, Alabama
10. Bills: OT Jonathan Martin, Stanford
11. Seahawks: DE Quentin Coples, North Carolina
12. Chiefs:

At this point, my big board in terms of the most talented players is:

1. OG David DeCastro, Stanford
2. CB Janoris Jenkins, North Alabama
3. ILB Luke Kuechly, Boston College
4. OT Riley Reiff, Iowa
5. ILB Dont'a Hightower, Alabama
6. DE/OLB Nick Perry, USC
7. WR Michael Floyd, Notre Dame
8. DE/OLB Courtney Upshaw, Alabama
9. C Peter Konz, Wisconsin
10. CB Alonzo Dennard, Nebraska

As of now, which is waaaay too early in the game, here's the big board I have of the remaining talent.

I look over this list, and I gotta be honest. The only players that make sense are offensive line.

DeCastro, Reiff, and Konz.

I'm almost certain that, even if the Chiefs are able to trade down, their first rounder almost certainly will be offensive line.

Under these circumstances, I'd have to prefer the Chiefs go with the position with actual first round talent, and take a player you just know Pioli knows forwards and backwards, OT Riley Reiff for a position of clear need.

Of course, DeCastro is the best talent on the board, and aside from Jenkins and Kuechly, it's not even close. But the Chiefs are relatively set at guard with Lilja (who I believe Pioli is still fond of) and Asamoah. Plus, Pioli does value positional value, and he's not going to abandon that two years out of the past three. Normally right tackle isn't that valuable either, but Branden Albert is up for a new contract in 2013, and having an insurance policy in case Albert loses his mind and demands Willie Roaf money is critical.

I think this means the Chiefs draft Riley Reiff. The line for now looks pretty solid:

LT: Branden Albert, Riley Reiff
LG: Ryan Lilja, Darry Harris
C: Rodney Hudson, Darryl Harris
RG: Jon Asamoah, Darryl Harris
RT: Riley Reiff, Joe Maneri

If Carr walks, CB can be argued as our biggest priority, outside of the obvious.

At 31 (this season), Lilja is pretty long in the tooth by NFL standards.

Explain how the Bucs, with freaking LeGarette Blount in their backfield, are wasting a pick on a RB.

The Bucs HAVE to go CB.

seems accurate, more or less, at the moment

my fervent hope, in that scenario, is that we could trade down...i'm resigning myself to the fact that this could be the year we do go OL in the first...just please trade down and get some extra value...

it would be ridiculous, but could you imagine dropping down for hightower? a LB core with 4 first round picks...

Bucs will take Claiborne.

I would like Martin to slip to us at #12, but, if only the players on your available list were left, at this point I'd go with DeCastro, Hightower, or trade down.

Because they're going to hire Marty.

Blount and Richardson is like Byner/Mack all over again. :)

To me, it would be absolutely stupid for this scenario to play out.

Sorry! Busy day and I didn't have time to finish. If we let one our better players leave, and then turn around and use a 1st round pick to replace him... well that just seems to me if we are pissing away a 1st round pick. Nothing lost, yet nothing gained... we are still in exactly the same spot as an overall team, just without a 1st round pick to have a chance to make our team better.

Because Blount is a complete liability in pass protection. If he's in the game, teams tend to simply overload one side of the line and attack Freeman. They can even do this while running a run blitz because they can drop an extra man into the box. They know that by overloading, Freeman won't have time to set up a deep route, so they can both blitz the hell out of Freeman while also keying on Blount.

Blount's complete apathy in pass-pro has made him a liability as an every down back.

Somehow, Mike Holmgern does not strike me as the person who would trade up to get RGIII.

http://www.cleveland.com/pluto/blog/...record_in.html

Yeah, I don't see RG3 in Cleveland either.

Substitute Cleveland for Washington.

How about you substitute Kansas CIty!

So Mike Holmgren is going to grab a vet QB for Washington now?

That article says nothing about us moving up for him, just says that based on his history the draft doesn't seem like where he'll get his QB. Also fails to mention that Cleveland offered pretty much it's whole draft for Bradford though..

You are ignorant.

And you clearly have a problem with the idea of taking a QB. And probably too much caffeine, you are way too jumpy.

You seem to think we are in a position to draft a QB.

We have draft picks and there are QB's available, so yes.

K. Lets draft Foles at 11. Seems like good value.

Any QB that pans out is worth the 11th pick, and any QB that busts isn't worth the pick. If Pioli loves Foles and sees him as the future of the franchise he should take him at 11. A GM that trades down for value at QB and misses the guy he sees as franchise is an idiot.

I've said numerous places I believe we will be moving off our draft pick in April. For what are needs are now the smartest moves look today to be accomplished by moving up for a QB or down for more picks and probably a lineman or lower tier QB...

We are a long way from April though and much could change.

In that scenario, Rieff would be the best choice.

Don't know much about Reiff. Would he be a great RT?

If Hightower was there for us in the 2nd round, would you guys take him>

in a freakin heartbeat, even though it would be a bit of a luxury pick given our needs...

Yeah, absolutely. He went through some growing pains at LT. Never quite got to where a guy like Robert Gallery was in his Senior season.

But a better all-around prospect than Brian Bulaga, at least IMO.

Is Reiff someone who could come in and start day 1 at RT?

Yes I think so.

Then if he is there take him.

Reiff makes sense, but I wouldn't take Kuechly out of the equation. DJ is a stud at ILB, but Belcher and Williams are both mediocre or worse. Having an LB corps of: Hali, Kuechly, DJ, Houston- would be pretty sweet.

I know... Reiff fills a bigger need, but I'd love to see us have the best back 8 in football.

I like Kuechly but Hightower could be there in the second round. You could have your RT for years and another ILB.

DeCastro makes zero sense.

We drafted Asamoah in '10. Hudson in '11.

Both were All-American's at the guard position.

It's a little redundant to draft yet another guard, especially that high. And also considering that "they" rate Jon Martin as a top ten pick as well. One has to wonder if it's Luck that is elevating these guys to this level or does Stanford really have three guys that are top 15 pick worthy? (Reminds me of the year when all those guys on the North Carolina State defensive line got picked in the first couple of rounds because Mario Williams was there. Everybody just looked that much better because of him.)

I don't think that Rieff has any more potential at right tackle than a guy like Matt Reynolds or Bobbie Massie, so burning a first rounder on a guy that has his equal later in the draft is silly.

However, Konz is far and away the best center in this draft and one of the best center prospects of the past decade. Seeing as we have the potential for a Wiegmann retirement and two former All-Americans at the guard position on the roster, I think that Konz makes the most sense.

I'm fine with Konz.

Yer i would reluctantly take Konz there. Would rather trade up for a qb, or trade down for value but eh, probably not going to happen..

If we drafted Konz, we'd have a ****ing killer interior line. Hudson goes to LG, Konz at C, and Lilja either sits on the bench or goes home. Either way, it would mark the end of two broke dicks in the center meat of our line trying to get push against 300 lb 3-4 defensive linemen on 3rd/4th and short. If we took Rieff, that RT position is nice to shore up, but we would still have a problem in the middle. Hudson would get moved to C, but Lilja is still sitting there needing to be replaced.

LT- Albert
LG- Hudson (where he belongs)
C- Konz
RG- Asamoah
RT- Richardson/Replacement

vs

LT- Albert
LG- Lilja (ick)
C- Hudson (I'd prefer Konz over Hudson)
RG- Asamoah
RT- Rieff/other tackle

That first option looks a lot sexier to me. Option #1 is versatile, powerful, young, and would rape faces a lot harder than Option #2. Lilja's a huge weak spot, and Konz is a really special player at center, moreso than Hudson would be, I think.

I think you are being a little nice to option one by not saying much about Richardson yet calling Lilja a huge weakness. Even though its true, Richardson is easily as big if not a bigger weakness. You can get also get a replacement for Lilja in FA if you draft Rieff.

What I like about the first proposed line is the entire left side up until RT is one solid mass of skull-****ing rapery. That is one badass offensive line. Konz really is the crown jewel (along with Asamoah), but also putting Hudson at LG leaves us with upgrades at LG (Hudson over a free agent or Lilja), AND C (Konz over Hudson).

Drafting Reiff or Martin would be fantastic, sure, but my only issue with that is Konz is a kind of value that you won't find in a RT at the spot we're picking in. For instance, if Kalil, Martin AND Reiff are all gone by 11, then what? What if it's just Kalil and Martin (the most likely scenario). I think the Chiefs will be so ****ing stacked and set to go with the Hudson/Konz lineup, that it really won't matter what we have at RT. Hell, you saw how the protection on the right side improved when we put Orton in under center. Really, the only thing I'd be worried about is run-blocking to the right if we kept Hudson.

And that's where I think people are underselling Konz big time. A tackle like Reiff is pretty good for running the ball. A Center like Konz, however, is GOD MODE for running the ball, especially when you have the existing pieces already in place like the Chiefs do.

To summarize:

Assuming we don't draft a QB:

1. Konz is a really special player. Hudson is special too, but he's also a bit of an unknown. The last thing we want is for him to be a Niswanger at center (unlikely, but it's possible since he's inexperienced at the position). Konz is so special that I think the upgrade from Hudson to Konz is almost as good as an upgrade from Richardson to a Reiff or Martin (assuming one of those guys are there).

2. Where it gets interesting is asking what the Chiefs could do with a nice upgrade at RT versus nice upgrades at LG AND C. In one situation the Chiefs fill a hole. But in this situation, the Chiefs are building an offensive line of pure and utter domination. We've already got that kind of squad at linebacker and corner, and acquiring that kind of really special one-of-a-kind dominance at offensive line would be HUGE. In that case, I'll take the super-athletic 1-4 spots over the pretty good 1, 4, and 5 spots.

3. Yeah, we can get a cheap fill in at guard for Lilja if he's too much of a broke dick. But we can also get an easy upgrade from Richardson if we either follow Sac's mock and take Reynolds, or if we pursue a free agent like we would at guard. Either way, I'm totally comfortable having one mediocre to halfway decent RT if it means spending our draft pick on turning the rest of the offensive line into a slaughter house.

Well that is a better arguement than the first post, thats for sure. I can be sold on that. I would like to take a look at the FA RT's. Too bad we didn't get a look at Mims. I guess he is probably still a little ways away.

Lilja's done. Finished. He gets no push, ever, against anyone. He and Wiegmann are done.

I'd hate to be stuck drafting o'line at 11 or 12 but we may have no choice. Best case scenario would be to trade back but that may not be possible.

And that's why with the Konz pick, we're not only solving both of these huge holes on the roster, but we're turning those holes into an elite unit on this team. Hell, look at all the depth we would have at the interior! Hudson would back up center, Lilja/Harris would back up the guards, Richardson/Mims would back up the tackles, Richardson could back up at guard, Albert could back up at guard. God, we'd be set at the offensive line for at LEAST 4 or 5 seasons.

If people have a problem with taking a center that high, we'll just trade down. Either way, if we're not going to fill the biggest hole on the team (QB) then we should use a pick on a guy like Konz who will not only shore up the line but make it dominant.

We could also solve both problems by drafting someone like DeCatro or even Zeitler in round 2-3, who was another part of the massive interior line in Wisconsin.

Lets not forget that Hudson was graded as a NFL C and was drafted to be the C. So no matter which position we take, be it G or C, both positions are filled with new players.

That's also a good plan. I'm just saying that Konz would be a better pick than a RT in the first round.

If we were to trade down in the first and pick up a 3rd or something. I would be looking at something like...

1) Dontari Poe, NT
2) Chris Polk, RB - even though I'm not a fan of RB so early, it fits better to grab RB here
3A) Nate Potter, OT
3B) Kevin Zeitler, G
4) Michael Egnew, TE
5) Jerry Franklin, ILB
6) Kellen Moore, QB
7) Kelcie McCray, SS

EDIT: We could also use our 2nd on Coby Fleener and draft Robert Turbin/Vick Ballard/Tauren Poole in the 4th.

If I were Pioli and didn't offer a trade up package to grab a QB, there wouldn't be many guys at 11 or 12 that really hit my clit.

Our first priority should be attempting to acquire RGIII or Luck

After that, one of those top two tackles would be great. Right now I don't see either of them making it out of the top 10, and trading up for them would just be ****ing stupid.

After that, the best value that I can see are those two corners. Claiborne and Kirkpatrick are mother****ers. Again, however, that means we'd likely have to go up and get them, and I'm really not cool with doing that. Also, it would probably mean Pioli would let Carr go, which would piss off the lot of us considering how much money we're sitting on.

So after those three unlikely scenarios for talent that the Chiefs could use, we're stuck looking at an inside backer in Kuechly, an elite guard, and elite center, or a slight reach at RT (Reiff). We could go Kuechly, but O.city claims we can get Hightower in the second. After that we're looking at interior line, because I've already made the case why they would fit better on this team than a RT in Round 1. So Kuechly or DeCastro/Konz it looks like. And both of these options have similar possibilities in the later rounds.

So... either way we're going to have to bite the bullet and spend the first rounder in a way that doesn't exactly maximize value. At least we're having this problem at pick #12, and not pick #3.

That ain't bad at all. I haven't seen enough of Dontari Poe to really have an opinion on the guy. What do you like about him? I was violently opposed to drafting Phil Taylor last year because I didn't like him as a prospect. Is Poe similar in value?

He's the biggest NT in the draft and no light weight NT has done well in a Crennel 3-4.

All Poe did was get double teamed and he still had 8 TFLs.

As long as he can hold the point of attack pretty well. The only thing missing from this Chiefs defense (besides Berry) is a freakin nose tackle who won't get blown back 5 yards at the beginning of every snap. We never had it with Edwards, and Gregg has only been a very minimal to slight improvement in that department.

I'd be perfectly fine with Jds draft.

If we could trade back and pick up an extra second, which is stretching it but we got a 3 last year to back up in the 20's. I think going from 11 to say 21 could get us a 2.

We could then go.

1. Konz
2a. Hightower
2b. Reynolds
3. Fleener
4. Chris Polk/Vic Ballard which ever one is around.
5. Bpa
6. Bpa
7. Bpa

Even if you missed on 5 thru 7, the first four rounds are solid.

We could come out of this draft with a pro bowl C, solid RT, ILB that knows the scheme we run and is a monster in the middle, great TE, and solid RB to compliment Charles.

Upshaw. Bookended with Hali, that may be something. Then, again, the O-line needs help. Konz would be a good pick. Our first round D-line picks have been more than suspect over the years.

Meh.

Dorsey was drafted to play 4-3 DT. He got 1 year.

Jackson was a wtf pick but if he continues to improve, in hindsight, he'll end up being a decent #3 pick just because of how bad that draft was.

Did you miss the second half of the season? Houston was great.

There's no need to draft a pass rusher that early.

Riley Rieff it is. And I'd be ok with that pick if this is how it fell.

He's a solid RT prospect, and would fill a major need on our team.

Unfortunately this selection feels like a waste because all we're doing by drafting Rieff is helping keep our piece of shit QB standing on his feet. So it's not exactly a good thing when you think of it like that.

?What? Why would we do that to Houston? We have our bookend and he's damn good.

Said the New York Giants.

Exactly. Right now we essentially have 2. Another pass rusher makes more sense than a lot of what we see thrown around here..

It's not worth spending a first on though. Building depth at the OLB would be great. You do that in the 3rd-7th round.

In the first we need to attack a position that is weak and fill it with somebody who can start from day 1.

And I'm a Courtney Upshaw fan. He's a terrific talent. But it would be a waste to spend a first on him.

I actually think Courtney Upshaw has the talent to play ILB in Belcher's position. Dude is a freight train when he hits the hole.

Then you can move him outside at will.

Gives the Chiefs lots of versatility. I don't think he's a Top 15 pick as of now but I have more time to look over prospects as draft season goes on.

While I do agree you can never have enough guys to get to the QB, having a lot of DE's is more important than a lot of pass-rushing OLB's when you consider how much more often the DE's are switched in and out.

THIS is the year to trade up at all costs, cement the QB position and be done with it. Are you kidding me? An interior lineman in the first round, as opposed to trading up?

I would think either DeCastro or Rieff (under that scenario).

Can we all say it together?

How do you spell the Iowa OT who figures to be a first rounder in the 2012 NFL Draft?

R-E-I-F-F

Reiff. Rhymes with "strife."

Not Rieff. That would be pronounced "reef."

REIFF = Yes

RIEFF = You're an idiot

That is all.

So spend a top 5 pick on a RB so he can pass protect.

Brilliant.

Or trading down, but who is going to be there that someone wants to jump up? Of course, things and needs of teams will change between now and then.

ROFL

Although it completely damages my German brain, his name is indeed spelled EI and pronounced "Reef".

This thread is Reiff with criticism!

Seriously?

Now I DEFINITELY don't want him this April