NFLDC Chiefs Draft Review
 

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Kansas City Chiefs '08 Draft Review
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Scott Wright
President, NFL Draft Countdown

The pre-Draft trade of star defensive end Jared Allen signaled the beginning of a new era and the start of a major rebuilding process in Kansas City. The Chiefs wound up making six selections in the first three rounds alone and twelve over all but even that wasn't enough to plug all of their holes and it will likely take at least one more great draft before this franchise is ready to contend for a playoff spot. With that said this draft class was a huge step in the right direction and while there is still a long road ahead all journeys must begin somewhere.

Throughout most of the draft process all of the talk about the #5 pick centered on an offensive tackle, and for obvious reasons, but after picking up an extra first rounder courtesy of the Jared Allen deal the Chiefs were freed up to go in a different direction with their first choice. In the days leading up to the draft it looked like a mortal lock that L.S.U.'s Glenn Dorsey would either go #2 overall to the Rams or #3 overall to the Falcons but when he fell into Kansas City's laps on Draft Day they just couldn't resist taking the guy who 3/4 of the teams in the league had rated as the top player in the entire draft, regardless of position. Sure defensive tackle wasn't necessarily their #1 priority but they needed an elite defensive lineman and that is exactly what Dorsey has a chance to be. Not only will Dorsey be an immediate starter for the Chiefs but he should be the type of impact player that Ryan Sims was supposed to be. After taking Dorsey with their first choice there was no doubt that Kansas City had to use their next pick on an offensive lineman and when Virginia's Branden Albert inexplicably began to slip they made a deal to move up a couple of slots to land him. A college guard who most teams were looking at as a left tackle, Albert was one of the drafts hottest prospects in the weeks leading up to the big day and the Chiefs were seriously considering him at #5 overall so to land him at #15 was a coup. Albert will probably get a shot outside at tackle but even if things don't work out there he can be a Pro Bowl-caliber guard and one way or another he will be an immediate starter for the Chiefs. With their final choice of the first day Kansas City filled a gaping hole at cornerback when they selected Brandon Flowers of Virginia Tech, a player who most had going late in the first round. A physical cover guy who some scouts felt was the best corner in this draft based on game tape alone, Flowers saw his stock dip after a poor showing at the Scouting Combine but he was still considered a good value at #35 overall. With the release of Ty Law the cupboard at cornerback was bare so you might as well just pencil Flowers in as a starter right now. For those of you counting at home that is three picks and three instant starters. Talk about a phenomenal start!

Armed with three third round picks the Chiefs were in great position to really do some damage and while they did come away with some good players I have to downgrade them slightly for not addressing needs. With the first of those three picks the Chiefs went with Texas running back Jamaal Charles, who was viewed as a second round pick by many. A big play threat with elite speed, Charles is coming off of a great junior season and still has a lot of upside but with Larry Johnson signing a huge new contract less than a year ago Charles will be limited to a backup / situational role. With their next pick Kansas City opted for Tennessee tight end Brad Cottam, who battled an assortment of injuries and was not very productive in college. With that said Cottam has rare size and is a pretty good athlete and after strong showings at both the Senior Bowl and the Scouting Combine teams were willing to take a chance on his potential in the 3rd-4th round area. However, even though he may be getting a little older Tony Gonzalez is still one of the best tight end's in the league so Cottam probably won't have many opportunities to make an impact. With their third and final pick of round three the Chiefs chose North Carolina St. safety DaJuan Morgan, who some had rated as the top player available at his position. After coming out as a junior Morgan is still raw but he is just beginning to fulfill his potential and with the right development could be a steal. Didn't they already have a couple of young safeties they liked though? Look for Morgan to start out as a backup and eventually push Jarrad Page for a starting job. As I said, Charles, Cottam and Morgan are three very good players and at least a couple of them could've gone a round earlier but you can have all the talent in the world but it doesn't do you much good standing on the sidelines. The bottom line is with all of their needs the Chiefs essentially used a couple of valuable draft choices to select backups for their two best players. I just don't see how that makes sense for a team in their position.

In round four the Chiefs added a wide receiver in Missouri's William Franklin, a player the team was said to really like. Outside of Dwayne Bowe the Chiefs really didn't have another starting-caliber wideout on the roster so there will be ample opportunity for Franklin to get on the field as a rookie and at 6-0 and 214 lbs. with 4.37 speed he certainly has the physical tools to take advantage. Don't underestimate Franklin's blocking prowess either because that skill alone could go a long way towards earning him significant early playing time. In round five Kansas City added some more help at cornerback by selecting Brandon Carr of Grand Valley St. Even though he wasn't expected to go as early as he did Carr is a height/weight/speed prospect who was extremely productive at the Division II level (50 career passes defensed) and since the Chiefs are in such tough shape at corner he could compete for the nickel job right away. After selecting Branden Albert early it took the Chiefs five rounds to grab another offensive lineman, which was way too long in my opinion, but they did land a very intriguing prospect in Clemson's Barry Richardson. A mountain of a man who really looks the part, the problem with Richardson is that he does not always played up to his talent level. Still, Richardson has early round ability so in round six he was certainly worth the risk and if the light ever does come on he has the tools to be a starter. Richardson will either be a steal or a bust, nothing in between.

With their next pick the Chiefs added another wide receiver when they chose Kevin Robinson of Utah St., who probably doesn't profile as a starter in the NFL but could be a good #3 or #4 option while also providing value as a return specialist. In the weeks leading up to the draft I touted Gardner-Webb defensive end Brian Johnston as one of the most underrated players in the draft and said on many occasions that he could turn out to be the next Jared Allen. Well low and behold look who goes and picks him in the seventh round but the Kansas City Chiefs. I absolutely love the Johnston pick for Kansas City and in my mind he was a late 3rd or early 4th round value. The guy was dominant at his level, has good size, worked out well and performed well in the Hula Bowl. What more do you want??? Mark my words: Brian Johnston is going to be a steal. With their final pick of the '08 Draft the Chiefs chose yet another tight end, Central Florida's Mike Merritt. Another surprise pick, Merritt is a long-shot to make the roster and at best he will battle last year's 7th round pick Michael Allan for the third string job. On one hand it was a late seventh round pick but still...

All in all the Chiefs did a very good job, but then again with all those picks they should have come away with a lot of talent. Now I understand that they couldn't plug all of their holes with just one draft class but in my opinion they could have done a little better than they did, especially in round three. Still, you would be hard-pressed to find anyone who did a better job in the first two rounds than Kansas City and Dorsey, Albert and Flowers should all be in the starting lineup come Week One. It's going to be a while before the Chiefs are relevant again and the next couple of years will be difficult but as rebuilding plans go this was a very good start. Now they just need to do it again a year from now. And in 2010...

GRADE: A-

"Armed with three third round picks the Chiefs were in great position to really do some damage and while they did come away with some good players I have to downgrade them slightly for not addressing needs."


written like a True Fan....

Wright totally misses the fact that Cottam is replacing Jason Dunn not TG. He is also passing over the fact that in Charles and Franklin the Chiefs added two play-making speed demons to the offense. Yes they didn't draft another O-Lineman until the 6th but with all the holes they have why reach when value at another position is abundant?
IMHO, Wright has slipped some this past year.

OMG a sixth round bust. Is that an oxymoron? How can a sixth round pick possibly be a bust? A steal, yes. A failed pick, possibly. A bust? No way.

The elite NFL franchises do not spend 3rd round picks on blocking TEs. Does he have a shot at replacing Dunn next year, absolutely. Is that what he was picked for, no.

Cottam is by far our most questionable pick, imo....still not sure i get it, but they're betting on his "upside"...

as much as it burns me to say it, William Franklin could be a real surprise impact guy.

IMO, if you're going to criticize a team's picks at least man up enough to throw down who you would've taken. It's almost if he knew there wasn't any value at those picks but blasted them for not reaching anyways.

don't make him work to hard, he has deadlines, and content doesn't really matter anyway. :rolleyes:

The Chiefs aren't an "elite" franchise.

Bill Kuharich has publicly stated that Cottam was chosen because Jason Dunn is finished. He's also said he is a gifted receiver but his primary duty in 2008 will be a blocking tight end.

And if he's as talented as we're led to believe, he'll become Tony G's replacement when he retires.

People need to quit looking at him as "just" a blocking TE.

JMO.

He's giving the Chiefs a bad report for the 3rd because he thinks every player they picked should have been an immediate starter, nothing more nothing less. That's how grades are given out a week after the draft..

Basically a good team can draft for depth in their eyes a bad team can not.

Exactly. And the draft's about the future, not about where a guy lines up in 2008. Speaking theoretically, if Brandon Albert plays at right tackle or even guard this year (I don't know whether he will or not, just an example...), it doesn't mean he wasn't drafted to play left tackle, or that he won't be there in the future. Along the same line, if they envision using Cottam as a blocking tight end for the most immediate impact, it doesn't mean that's what they plan to use him for for the rest of his career. Hell, it doesn't even mean they won't have him catching passes now, as he gets more comfortable.

People are still hung up on 'need' I guess. Forget drafting the best players, we need to fill holes, damnit.

If you're smart, you draft a TE who can do both block and receive.

Amongst the four TEs we currently have, we have three TEs that can block adequately and three TEs that can receive well. That's a good problem to have.

I to am concerned with the Cottam pick. It is very hard to view him as anything else besides a blocking TE because he only caught 20 passes in his entire collegiate career. Almost every TE in the draft caught more passes than that in two seasons, let alone a career.

If it were me, I would have drafted Jeremy Zuttah. He would have automatically started at OG, and God knows we need the help at O Line more than a backup TE that's going to play in two TE sets. IMO, there wasn't another team in the NFL that was going to draft Cottam in the third round.

All and all, I wished that KC would have gotten some immediate starters in round 3. All 3 third round picks are going to start out as backups. Some may be third string?? While I still like the picks, I would have like KC to get one sure fire starter in round 3....That didn't happen.