Give me your true dark horse pick at 31
 

Mine is Bryan Bresee.

- a lot of upside for an end of the 1st round pick

- only 21 years old (Veach loves younger prospects)

- flexibility with Chris Jones

- injury concerns, but these are the kinds of swings you have to take if you want a blue chipper

Meh... I dunno. So tough to pick one this year. I feel like I wanna say Gibbs but I'll go a bit more outside the box.

Keeanu Benton
- perfect size for NT but could also play 3T.
- 21 years old
- tremendous upside as a 1-gap penetrator that he didn't always get to unleash at UW
- alot of power and agility
- similar sack totals to Jeffery Simmons coming out with similar quickness to close

Not sure why I can't pick a white guy, but I'm going to say DE/DL AA from NW. Can't spell his name but you know who I mean. Doesn't get any darker than him.

Veach likes to lock up a young replacement at least a year before the need is there, should a veteran leave via FA. Since it's for round 1, it would most likely be for one of the below positions.

Could be:
- WR in the mold of MVS, if he leaves for FA
- TE for Kelce to guide for a few years
- NT for Nnadi's departure
- CB for Sneed, if he leaves for FA
- T: RT for Niang, if he's a brokedick, or if the Taylor to LT experiment is "meh"
- Edge for Danna/Herring/Kaindoh departures

I've been saying all along I think the pick is DT Mazi Smith, not a lot of pundits or fans projecting him to us but it's a real possibility.

The discourse on DT is wild. We are just awful at that position outside of Jones. It should be the consensus top need. Then OT or edge depending on how you view Niang/Kinnard.

I like some of the names in here, especially Mazi. I think Bresee is gone by 31, possibly long gone. There's SO much upside with him I think someone falls in love.

Dark Horse... Dark horse... Jahmyr Gibbs. Then Michael Wilson in the second.

I think they go DT in the 2nd or third really then pepper it like they did corner last year late. They really need a Nnadi replacement and you dont have to take that guy at 1 or really even 2.

Bryan Bresee, DT Clemson
or
Felix Anudike-Uzomah, DE Kansas State

I think Jahmyr Gibbs is a solid answer, would be surprising due to the failure of CEH + the Chiefs history of being able to find production in later rounds or free agents (Hunt, Pacheco, McKinnon, D. Williams). Gibbs skillset though would undoubtedly be a perfect match for the Chiefs offense.

Gervon Dexter is a name that I would add to the mix for defensive tackles. I think he's got a high ceiling, his size and athleticism are very appealing. His production and inconsistency leaves a lot to be desired but the physical tools are there. #31 to me is way too early but I really like his potential.

Another darkhorse position I think is tight end. Musgrave could fit the bill if the Chiefs think that rather than addressing the playmaker problem by drafting a receiver, perhaps Andy Reid can tweak the offense to lean on two athletic tight ends. Drafting a tight end would also give the Chiefs insurance for Kelce so they could somewhat run their standard offense in case of injury or simply trying to decrease Kelce's workload.

The tricky part about this draft is that I think the Chiefs are a great trade down candidate in the 1st but with the draft being in KC this year, I wonder if they will try to appease the fanbase by making that selection. The great thing about the Chiefs is that although edge, tackle and receiver are areas of need, I don't know if they are glaring weaknesses and the Chiefs have the ability to address those areas by drafting complimentary positions. For example, you can draft a defensive tackle and moonlight Chris Jones at edge on critical downs. Potentially drafting a playmaking tight end as I mentioned above and tweaking the offense with more 2 tight end personnel groups. Could the Chiefs even get away with drafting a guard like O'Cyrus Torrence (not a great fit since he played RG), and moving Thuney to one of the tackle positions?

The world is Veach's oyster- just draft good players and this team is going to succeed.

Mazi smith seems like a good fit at a position of need. I am sticking with DJ Turner as my dark horse candidate though. Again, this is a guy I think spags watches the tape on and pounds the table, despite our already amazing CB room.

I like the Gibbs pick also.

Veach knows though that as long as PMII is here we just need enough defense to keep oter teams at bay so I expect the focus to continue to be defense with a few splash players on O . Gibbs would make us better.

Pacheco,Gibbs, Mckinnon would be a monster backfield

What level of dark horse would Zacch Pickens be for you guys?

And before you ask if I'm totally crazy (I might be), I want you to compare his body of work and workouts to Devonte Wyatt who went at #28 overall last year. I've been very high on Pickens throughout the offseason so I want other opinions.

Just throwing one of those hmmm moments I've had when looking at some of these prospects.

Hmm, not sure, mainly because I don't see that level of talent but also I don't see a lot of commentary out there putting him this high. I just think Mazi Smith and Benton are much more likely if we go DT at 31.

I don't know that he doesn't. He was the top-ranked DT in the country coming out of high school, right, so you kind of know his pedigree coming into college. He was very good throughout his college career and he primarily played as a 1T. From a performance standpoint, he was far better than Mazi Smith and Keeanu Benton, or almost every DT in this class for that matter. Athletically, he didn't test all that differently from a former Veach guy in Fletcher Cox which brought me to think about Wyatt last year who tested similarly. Pickens was actually a bit more productive than Wyatt.

He's a prototypical 1-gap penetrating DT which fits perfectly into Spags' scheme. I see the talent, but he could stand to be a bit more consistent. I think he's a lot higher on the Chiefs' board than he is on the pundit boards. The only question I might have is how high is he on it. If I had the money I'd bet he's our 2nd round pick if he's sitting there at 63. But is he higher than that on the board? Interesting to think about.