2023 Discount KC Crow Mock: WR in Round 1
 

Running this exercise with the Chiefs taking a WR in Round 1. Whole model is based on... what things would look like if Jalin Hyatt is available to the Chiefs at 31, and KC takes him.

So, here goes!

31: Jalin Hyatt, WR, Tennessee. Hyatt isn't a perfect prospect. There are questions about his route tree and ability to be diverse. And I'm glad there are. It's the only reason he's here for KC. With his speed and quickness, Hyatt adds some major juice to the offense.

48 (Trade up with Seattle, sending 62, 2023 4th, and a 2024 2nd for 2023 48 and a 2024 3rd). Jaelyn Duncan, OT, Maryland. My ideal draft in this case is offense-heavy early, nabbing a WR and a RT. Depending on what Wright's stock does, taking him here would make sense if available (he was in this mock, but I didn't believe he would be come draft day, so I didn't take Wright).

Duncan has all the athletic tools and needs to be coached up. Good prospect for KC. And what a name!

82 (Trade up with Tampa, sending #95 and a 6th for #82). Mazi Smith, DT, Michigan. Smith's stock is hard to place right now. But KC has found success with Michigan DL products with a character flag and gets a cheap one here.

122 Brendon Cox, Jr. DE, FLorida. Cox is a twitchy, sturdy DE who has some versatility to his game as well as good quickness and speed off the edge.

And I'll stop tracking there, because we're still early in mock draft season and the lists get silly as you get into 3rd day picks.

This draft lets me take an economical approach at WR and OT in free agency, allowing prioritization on re-signing Orlando Brown and extending Sneed and Jones.

WR: Valdes-Scantling, Moore, Toney, Hyatt is your top 4 in this spot. Maybe you take a low-cost shot at D.J. Chark, but definitely bring back Justin Watson.

This officially lets you move on from Mecole Hardman, though.

OT: Brown, Jr-Thuney-Humphrey-Smith-Duncan is the goal. Need some depth at T (I still like Andre Dillard as an option there).

So. Thoughts?

I like Duncan in round 2. I would really like Dillard as a buy low RT option as well.

Sold.

Love the first 3 rounds here! I've been tinkering with a Jalin Hyatt in the first round mock myself, he just feels like a chief! Mazi also really feels like a chief to me somehow.

Not a fan of Duncan. Weighing in at only 298 at the senior bowl. And only 33” arms. He gets pushed back way too easy.

I’m not locked in on him. I think there are several tackles who could fall in that range. He’s just the one I took this time.


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Hahahaha. If you're discounting me it's kind of like playing the penny slot machine.

As for your mock, I love the approach but not so sure about the entirety of the players.

Lord knows that Jalin Hyatt is my favorite WR in this draft for the Chiefs. I just don't think he's as low of a pick as many of the mock machines and draft analysts have him. He's going to absolutely run in the low 4.3's and then the world will explode and he'll suddenly be a top-15 prospect. I'd just about take that to the bank, if I had anything in it. He is basically the same guy as Jameson Williams. Actually, I think he catches the ball better than Williams. Anyhow, semantics...

So yes, if Hyatt is there at pick 31 there are only two players in this draft I'd run to the podium over him and those two are probably going in the top 5.

As for Duncan... You know I like Duncan, whether it's the one from Maryland or the one from Idaho. That being said, the one from Maryland is a guy I saw play RT and it was a bonafide disaster. If I'm drafting Duncan it's with every intent for him to be the LT.

There are a bunch of other prospects at RT to look for in the 2nd and 3rd and Duncan's just not that guy for me. I've openly lauded Darnell Wright early after much more study. The next guy on my list at this point? Wanya Morris from Oklahoma. I really love this kid. He was a late declaration but he's hella good. He put on a clinic at the Senior Bowl. He's been touted as a late 3rd or early 4th but I have him as a mid-to-late 2nd.

As for Mazi Smith, man if I don't see the second coming of Brandon Williams with this kid. I'm talking about the dominant NT in his prime Williams. I'm worried about the felony concealed charge and 12 months of probation. I'll spoiler my in-depth here in case someone wants to skip the next paragraph of my book.



Onto Brenton Cox... I'm not on board. Cox got kicked off of TWO SEC teams for multiple disciplinary issues. You have to really **** up to get kicked off of any SEC team, much less do it twice. **** Cox, he's a moron, talent be damned. I'm fairly confident the NFL will follow suit. If he's drafted I think it's going to be late and I would not be at all surprised if he ends up a UDFA. You just can't explain away that level of stupid in interviews, sorry not sorry.

Yeah, the dream draft as it stands would be to nab both Tennessee products, but I’m not sold on the feasibility of Wright lasting until pick 50.

Probably not smart to take TWO character risks in the same draft. Good call on Cox.

Umm, those first 3 picks, yes please?

Duncan may not be stereotypical but he looked fantastic at the Senior Bowl practices. Seems like a perfect fit.

Hyatt makes sense for the Chiefs, but I'd love to know what the board looked like in your hypothetical universe, because I can't envision a board where he's the top talent on deck at #31.

I will also mention!

I personally think it's highly unlikely this team makes all 11-12 picks, so multiple trade ups make all kind of sense for this team.

He was not the top player on the board on the draft tool I used (PFN), but I don't trust their board.

Notable names available were:

Jahmyr Gibbs
Josh Downs
Anton Harrison
Rashee Rice
Anudike-Uzomah
Siaki Ika
Darnell Washinton
JL Skinner
Zay Flowers
Tuli Tuipulotu
Nolan Smith
Darnell Wright
Lukas Van Ness (like I said, I think the PFN board is WAY off)

Other than Harrison and Wright, nobody that I would really consider over Hyatt.

Nice! Thanks!

So of that, there's a two players we can cross off altogether as not fitting our scheme at all: Nolan Smith is a 3-4 OLB, and Tuli Tuipulotu is probably a 3-4 DE. We also have no 1st-round-caliber need for a RB, for a TE. (Some would say safety, but not me.) So cross off Jaymyr Gibbs, Darnell Washington.

I also am going to take an executive decision to remove players who don't belong in the 1st round (or 2nd round) conversation here thanks only to my personal views on the player. So Josh Downs, JL Skinner, and in my minority opinion, Lukas Van Ness.

That leaves us with:

WR Rashee Rice
WR Jalin Hyatt
WR Zay Flowers
OT Anton Harrison
OT Darnell Wright
DT Siaki Ika
DE Felix Anudike-Uzomah

This is a complicated board.

The top tier talents here are Flowers, Rice, and Harrison. Flowers is probably the best talent here, but is somewhat repetitive with Toney and Moore on the roster. Rice and Harrison (at LT) are perfect fits, as is Wright and Hyatt, but they're not on the same talent level. Ika and Anudike-Uzomah are both 2nd tier talents of these candidates, and neither fits superbly well with what we want to do. Harrison is not a great fit at RT if we keep Brown at LT.

I'm going to assume that we keep Brown for another full contract, so Harrison doesn't work for me. If I want a RT, I'll draft Wright. If I want a WR: Hyatt is a really good X WR, Rice is a great Y WR, and Flowers is a great Z WR.

My choice, personally, is between Rice and Flowers. I'd probably opt for Rice, but I mean it's pretty close to 50/50 for me.

Could be wrong but I don’t think Duncan is gonna be a 2nd rd pick. Everything I saw about him at the Senior Bowl was people raving about his traits and athleticism.

Those guys seem to get drafted really early

Outside of QB, the league is probably most desperate for tackles.

If you've got traits, you've got the ability to be overdrafted, no question.

That would be a fantasy draft

The speedy X type seems like the biggest need to me. I'm not sure I'd roll with Rice or Flowers at 31. Probably would lean towards addressing T in that situation instead. Or DE.

Hear me out: we should see how MVS progresses next season. I bet more time in Andy's offense and more synchronization with Mahomes makes him look pretty good. Not saying that we don't develop an heir apparent, but maybe hold off high value draft resources for a year and work to address other areas.

All that said, in Veach we trust. If he is convinced that a WR represents the best use of that pick, who am I to argue?

Would you guys trade up to grab a Hyatt or Addison?

Addison 100%- Hyatt no.

Maybe a few spots. It would be hilarous to jump in front of Buffalo again.

I actually prefer Hyatt to Addison. Addison has been really productive in college, but I'm not sure there's a standout skill there you can really hang a hat upon.

I didn't think about that yeah jumping in front of Buffalo again would be hilarious

Think I'm lower on Hyatt than most here. But some of the limited route tree stuff was also my knock on Christian Watson last year (amongst other things) and looks like I got that dead wrong. Sometimes you've got to focus on what guys can do not speculate on what they can't I guess.

I'm also lower on Duncan. Just don't like his play strength.

Mazi Smith at 82 would be phenomenal. Might take him a year or so to click but the potential is massive.

Think about the reactions!

Hyatt, yes. Addison, sure.

Hyatt for sure. He has one elite skill

I think addison will be a good NFL WR, but there's some worry that he tops out as a high end #2 type guy.

KC has invested less at WR than nearly anyone. Even if MVS takes another step forward the depth chart as it currently stands is complete shit. Even with MVS we couldn’t move the ball consistently in the 2nd half against Cincinnati. KC needs better WRs.

Of course they couldn’t move the ball well the 2nd half. Juju, Toney, Watson and Hardman all out. Mahomes not very mobile at all.

Uh yeah. Of course it was hard for us.

:facepalm:

Umm 3 of our 5 WRs were out in the 2nd half on top of an injured Mahomes you dumb ****.

And how will that change in 2023? As of now Juju and Hardman are gone, and Toney is still made of glass. So kind of looks like the 2023 depth chart for now is pretty damn similar to what we saw in that game.

as I just explained, prior to the offseason that’s the same group we have going into 2023. Maybe they sign Juju and/or Hardman, but the idea that they just kick the can at WR yet again doesn’t really make sense. We already know a rookie will take time to acclimate under Reid. Let’s say KC pushes WR to 2024, you’re likely waiting until 2025 at the earliest to hope you might possibly have a playmaker at receiver.

Well, that's the idea behind spending an early pick on a WR.

If I was pairing a full offseason review with this mock draft, I'd have included an offseason move or 2 there.

Hyatt would presumably slot into the Hardman role in Year 1, where he has a package that schemes getting him the ball. That's an easier path to Year 1 success (and something we saw with both Hill and Hardman - when Hill missed time during his rookie year).

You're probably backing that up with a FA strike for another veteran WR to start and run a large portion of snaps. I'd assume they use Skyy Moore as the successor to Smith-Schuster.

Which, if that's the case, I probably try to make that FA target someone who is comfortable and good at finding soft spots in zone and sitting down, like Smith-Schuster is (and Moore is not, yet).

And regarding the AFC title game second half, the reserves you bring up in-game are always going to look rougher in that game than they would with a full week of starters reps...

Next season I see Toney being the replacement for Juju, I think Toney's strength is being able to win short + intermediate routes as his lateral movement is second to none when healthy. Toney just hasn't shown an ability to stay on the field though, so I think it's high risk.

I think Hardman leaves in free agency as well, I don't think he's developed into the player the Chiefs were hoping him to be. I do think the Chiefs will take a WR either in round 1 or 2 to add some skill into the WR room, it will be interesting to see what type of receiver (speed guy, more traditional outside receiver etc.) they end up drafting if they go that way. Watson has been a nice fit and I think the Chiefs will bring him back. Recs going into 2023:

-MVS
-Toney
-Skyy
-Watson
-John and Justyn Ross

Skyy would need to take a pretty big step forward, but I do think in free agency Veach would find a WR or two similar to the Juju and MVS signings that wouldn't break the bank. It is important that we find a dependable playmaker in the draft though that is cost/team controlled for a few years.

I understand that, was responding to the idea that we should wait and see what we have in MVS before investing further at WR. It’s not like WR has to be a 1st round pick, but it’s important enough of a position that you should be taking one nearly every year. I would say it would be enough taking them in the 2nd/3rd like the Steelers do every year, but the difference is the Steelers actually make decent picks there more often than not.

You’re right on the take about reserves not showing their full potential when coming in mid-game, probably not a fair assessment. Of course, of the reserves we had available Skyy Moore is the only one who MIGHT eventually amount to something. Maybe Justyn Ross has something to offer next year.

Nah, I disagree.

I absolutely trust THIS staff and THIS lockerroom to get any troubled kids on track. I mean, it's really the ideal place to land.

And picking where we pick, any top flight talents that are in reach are going to have some red flags...or they wouldn't be in reach.

I don't mind it.

Yea, I'm sure they will ignore the position in free agency...

Exactly how many time does Veach have to drag his nuts all over your face before he gets the benefit of the doubt?

Wha?

Toney is under contract, although an injury issue guy. Get Julie on the case!
Watson would be cheap to re-sign and I'd be shocked if we didn't.
MVS is under contract.
Hardman-after missing half of the year and the SB, I would just about bet the house he comes back on a one year cheap deal to try and raise his value for '24.

I agree that Moore can take a lot of the Juju snaps, although he'd do it in a different way.

I'm all for taking a WR somewhere in the first two days of the draft, and probably doing it every year, but we were down to MVS and Moore in the AFCCG. The cupboard isn't nearly that empty next year.

Hyatt if it only required a handful of spots. Addison no.

I'm not real big on moving the Earth and the Sun to get a WR. I do think Hyatt could have a profound impact for a team like KC but there are some other receivers I'm high on too that won't require a big move in the 1st.

Man, I'd really like to bring Hardman back I think. He's just 25. If you could get him on a 3 year deal...I think it works well for him and the Chiefs.

If not, I'd sign Slayton to a MVS type contract and draft a guy.

There are a hell of a lot more than "some" red flags with Cox though. Arrests is one thing but he can't function within a system. He was kicked off the team in Georgia and Florida for being combative with coaches. Even the best locker rooms can't make that fixable.

Sure, they'll possibly find a bargain bin depth piece in FA, but there's nobody in FA that's a true difference maker and if there was we wouldn't be able to afford them. KC is going to have to somehow, some way, manage to eventually find a difference maker at WR in the draft. I know everyone looks at 2022 and sees the patchwork WR group as a huge success that can be replicated every year, but that was predicated on Kelce continuing to be all world. When Kelce stopped finding the endzone the last part of the season it was McKinnon who picked up the slack, not the WRs. I sure as hell may be wrong, but I don't think that's sustainable year after year. Drafting slot/#3 WRs in the 2nd round every year isn't going to cut it.

I guess I quite enjoy Veach's nuts on my face...

When one guy drops off another guy picks it up. That's the only way success in the NFL is sustainable. Even a "difference maker" at WR can't be the only guy scoring or he won't be a difference maker for long.

I don't see why either party would do a 3 year deal. Hardman's value is clearly down after missing the past 2-3 months. I don't see why he would agree to a 3 year deal, because at this point I don't think a team should offer him any more than $5 million a year. If he was to take a 3 year/$15 million deal I think KC would be smart to take that, but IMO he should rehab his value on a 1-year deal and enter FA again in 2024.

Also, I don't really see anything Hardman does that Toney can't do IF he's healthy. Hardman has value, but he's still basically the same player he always was. He's valuable as a gadget player, but he's not a starting outside WR. Toney can operate in that same gadget role, if healthy, although Toney might actually be able to develop into more than Hardman ever could, if healthy.

I'm not giving him 3 years I think 1 year deals while he can still provide depth is fine especially with Toney has yet to demonstrate he can stay healthy

Agreed.

And I do think the "If Toney is healthy" thing is something we as Chiefs' fans probably need to get used to regurgitating. He was a great pickup for a comp 3rd and 6th, and I was fully in support of it, but him being healthy all the time is something I wouldn't expect or count on. He's missed games forever with soft tissue injuries and I highly doubt that's going to change anytime soon. Hopefully, you get more games than you don't, especially the big games.

I have no hopes that he ever establishes himself as our #1 receiver or even a reliable #2. He's a chess piece you take advantage of as much as you can while he's on his rookie deal. Nothing more, nothing less.

We have a spare 4, right?

That's about as much as I'd give and it won't get me far. We'd probably have to give up a 3rd to get up ahead of Buffalo via a trade w/ Dallas.

But yeah, that would be a hoot. It's almost worth giving up the 3rd just to piss them off again and listen to their fans bleed all over the place.

I enjoy seeing Buffalo and their fans suffer more than the Raiders or Broncos at this point. God I hate those ****ing guys.

I think that's all Hardman's going to want anyway.

I'd absolutely take him back on a 'make good' deal. Though if you're Hardman you have to be at least a little concerned that Toney's gonna eat into your chances to prove yourself.

But I think a healthy Hardman would've gone over 1,000 yards this season. He just looked like a different player in the brief moments he was even a little healthy. Even when he was gimpy (heel, right?) he was dangerous.

And I'd STILL draft Hyatt.

Toney
Hardman
MVS
Hyatt
Moore
Watson

That's just an incredible amount of burst.

LMAO probably why I would never be a successful GM because I would gladly give that up just to move ahead of them. Eh draft is a crapshoot anyway send it!

"You see those FIVE 7th round picks I'm holding and what I did with only 3 of those ****ers last year? Go ahead and take two inches off this hog and I'm still packing 14 inches...

SEND IT!!"

So I'm assuming you'd take Hyatt over Addison as well DJ?

Kind of shocked how many on here feel that way.

Yeah.

I know how ungodly lazy this sort of comparison is, but it's right in front of us. In terms of the type of skill set, I see Addison as being a better version of Moore while Hyatt is a better version of Hardman.

And I'd prefer the latter over the former. I just think Hyatt's best skill (that deep speed) is true top 10% of the league stuff and when you can get someone with a 'best of the best' sort of skill at that point in the draft, I think you do it.

Because it's just not often you have that opportunity unless it something secondary like "this guy may be the best run blocker/stopper" in the draft. But when it comes to "This guy can possibly take the top off a defense better than anybody else available this year..." and you can get him at the back of the 1st? Yeah - you do that.

Interesting. I'm going to have to watch more of these guys. I literally just started that process after the AFCCG, so mostly going by what I saw when evaluating the top guys in this year's class back in May-July and some Hyatt highlights.

In other words, I haven't done enough homework on this year's WR class to say who I'd take out of those 2, hence why I was a bit surprised.

So far, I've only watched the edge rushers in our range. Guess I'll have to watch the WRs next.

I'm not going to argue loudly with anyone who disagrees with me.

I don't think either are bad prospects. Hyatt just has that elite deep speed that intrigues the shit out of me.

At the very least, I've seen enough already to know that I can't disagree about the difference in speed and skill sets, and since we have Moore to be more of the possession guy that we're losing with JuJu, I can see the argument to go with the speed of Hyatt to replace Hardman.

It's amazing the difference a year makes. Last year the clamour was for DL now we're talking about loading up at WR. I mean I'm here for it but I was just getting convinced by everyone to go for DL and the offense will be fine!

I know it's a cliche but I think Hyatt and Addison/Flowers is a floors and ceilings thing. What Hyatt COULD be is lethal, but I could also see him doing far less. I don't really see Flowers or Addison being anything below very good slots/WR2s.

I actually don't remember if I've replied to this thread. But what I will say is that I'm glad I'm not the only one struggling with where to put Mazi.

Addison is real smooth though. I think I'd prefer to not trade up and have him fall to us but if I were forced, I'd rather trade up for Hyatt.

Last year we did the heavy lifting to get a viable long-term SDE, IMO.

Now we can get a complementary DE opposite of him in the 2nd round.

I think OBJ is coming back and Clark likely is as well on a reduced deal. So if you can get a potentially dynamic WR in the first, a twitchy rusher, even as a rotational DE w/ Clark for a season in the 2nd round, and then a rangier safety in the 3rd or solid DT prospect in the 3rd, I think you're sitting awfully pretty.

I thi the clamor for DL is still there. DE is still the most common pick I see in mocks. Also, pretty much everyone except for C Jones at DT is a FA and Jones needs his own contract extension, so the DL doesn’t have much long term stability as it currently stands.

Listen, I want the shiny sexy option in the first rd too. A WR would be awesome.

I just look at the history of the league and us specifically and cannot get around a tackle being the obvious choice. In the Super Bowl you’re almost assuredly gonna face elite pass rushing units. We did all 3 times and it’s basically the standard.

I think drafting a RT early, spending on team friendly receivers like we just did with Juju, MVS and Watson and then using the 3rd-4th rd on athletic types (trade for Toney) is the smart money.

Would really like to get more speed guys too. Calvin Austin, Danny Gray, Devin Duvernay, etc. They’re there. And they could at worst be a gadget type player.

I think that’s what they’re doing tbh. Getting guys like Corey Coleman and Josh Gordon as well as John Ross this year as a futures signing is just the beginning to try to get those guys any way we can.

I just can’t get on board with staying with guys like Wylie and Remmers at RT anymore

Is Rd1 the best place to get a right tackle though? If that player can maybe eventually transition to LT, sure, but it doesn’t seem like the most efficient use of draft resources.

Probably right.

Thing is, they didn't really "choose" to have Wylie as the RT. Niang was a pretty highly thought of prospect who they drafted in the 3rd round.

I think you just have to continue swinging at it.

Andy loves the prototypical OT's specifically he won't draft a tackle if the guy doesn't have at least a 33.5 reach.

He might not draft one but he sure did sign some schmuck named Jason Peters away from Buffalo while he was in Philly. ;)

That' said, there is an advantage to reach and it gets more difficult as you dip below that 33" mark.

Remmers had a great season at RT. Played well enough over there to get us to a SB before one more injury than our OL could handle finally killed us against TB. Wylie just played a world class game to win us a championship after he played essentially every snap at the position for the top scoring and EASILY most efficient offense in this league.

Reid can scheme around any single lineman. Can he scheme around 3 of them? Well no, at that point we were sunk. But with an elite IOL and a strong LT, RT is exactly where we can cut some corners and allow Andy to work to keep that up to snuff.

I mean if a potential LT slides to the back of the 1st - sure, why not? It's a BPA scenario.

But I don't see it working out that the best player on the board is an OT and I see no reason to reach for one.

This is why I don't get the people who exclusively don't want a WR in the 1st because "Mahomes can make do with medicore WRs" - sure, but he and Reid can apparently make do with mediocre RTs as well. I think it's BPA from DE, WR and OT, and my guess is that ends up being DE given the depth there.

Is it too early for me to hype up Justyn Ross?

Next Rice or Moss? Who do you guys think? Lol

I think if the Chiefs are slightly inactive at WR, that's a sign they like what Ross can bring. Especially if they don't resign Smith-Schuster or Hardman.

If Ross ends up being a viable starter that will be hilarious. I know there's mixed opinions here on his ability even without the injuries, but if he gets fit and is not completely compromised, getting him as a UDFA will give people fits.

People really question the ability of a guy that started over Tee Higgins until his neck deformity stopped him? I'd call those people stupid. He went for 1k as a Freshman in the ACC for ****s sake. He came back an had a bad foot injury but still led Clemson in yards.

Anyhow, if Ross is healthy he's like a 1st round pick for free. That's his talent level. There should be zero questions about his actual talent. The real question is that foot and the long term with his neck.