My mock.

[Direckshun]

Got nothing to do -- tell me what you think.

This idea is starting from square one to build from the future. The first pick is at QB.

From there, I am 99% defense oriented, with only a pause in the 6th for the Rehring the road-grader.

By the way, I totally took the liberty of assuming we traded LJ and Tony G for two thirds.

1. QB Matt Stafford, Georgia -- Brodie's leash just tightened up.

2. DE Brian Orakpo, Texas -- Quick pass-rushing specialist this team is starving for.

3. OLB Anthony Heygood, Purdue -- Gotta love Purdue's athletic, fast linebackers. This guy's a natural, sky's the limit.

3. RB Jorvorskie Lane -- We're going to need a big RB.

3. WR Derrick Williams, Penn State -- Finally, a deep threat?

4. MLB Daniel Holtzclaw, Eastern Michigan -- Natural leader with great stats.

5. DT Myron Pryor, Kentucky -- Great athleticism, totally raw.

6. OG Steve Rehring, Ohio State -- Massive run-blocker for RG.

7. OLB Kevin Atkins, Boston College -- Speedy and undersized, he'd get playing time immediately.

[aturnis]

Direckshun-

Not that your mocks are bad, but you seem to be drafting by what you believe are needs correct? Focusing on Dline and all.

Do you honestly think we need all that much help?

Tyler is doing very well this season, and it is only 4 games in, Glenn is sure to be a keeper the way it looks at this point. Boone will still be around next year, I know he's older than most guys would like, but he still moves men and has many miles left on him.(Keeping him next year allows us to focus on the rest of the positions)

Tamba proved in his first 2 seasons to be a good LDE, move him back and we have McBride as good depth behind him. Great against the run so far. Just plug in a Showstopping DE on the right side and we have the developmental depth of Johston behind him.

Also, it's obvious you are high on Holtzclaw, but do you think he would be starting NFL MLB quality in his first season? Couldn't there be a better guy in the earlier rounds? Demorrio Williams seems to be plugging away on the strong side there. He always had good numbers in Atlanta too, helping to bad up his solid play. Is a OLB really necessary?

I LOVE a lot of the picks, especially not being scared to grab a rookie kicker. After the last few drafts, I am definitely not one to pick for need, but don't you think the offense could be addressed a little better in the earlier rounds?

Walterfootball has Maclin in the 2nd, I don't know if that would actually happen, but it'd be sweet if it did.

I see you've been willing to trade away TG and LJ. Assuming we would want to keep them, what do your drafts look like?

I'd think our offense could really benefit if our QB's were Croyle and Bradford/Stafford(no particular order) with our current backfield. While having the receiving threats of Bowe, Maclin(kind of a dream I think), Franklin, Gonzalez, and Cottam. Figure in the one year older, one year wiser oline with a new player or two.(preferably a C shifting Niswanger to RG, and Taylor at RT. with some more youth for depth).

I think this would solidify our offense quite a bit. While leaving room to draft some defensive talent along the way.

Also, who do you expect us, or who would you like us to pursue in free-agency. Remember, Herm and his boys like the promising backups who haven't been given a chance to make themselves a name, or guys who are coming off their first contract.

I know it's a pretty scatterbrained post, but should give you quite a bit to interpret, analyze and answer. enjoy your posts, keep up the good work.

[Direckshun]

Howdy, aturnis.

I'm partially drafting for need. Right now I don't really know where the Chiefs are going to end up (I assume in the top 5), nor do I really know how I feel about most of these players just yet. This is just guestimating, so I start off by aligning up the order of positions I'd like to pick and see if the personnel I could draft matches -- if it doesn't, I noodle with the order. Right now I'm not putting tons of thought into these, I'm just throwing ideas out there.

But to answer your question: I definitely think DL needs to be our focus in this draft. Don't be fooled by our success against the Broncos. We need to be deeper and stronger at DT. At this point, I'm confident in Dorsey but the jury is still out on Tank. Tank seems to be more of a rotational guy at this point. Boone is on the decline and Edwards is just a guy. At DT, I'd say we've got a surefire thing in Dorsey, a certain rotational guy in Tyler who could start, and Boone can still play but he's got maybe a year or two left. We should draft a DT this year.

At DE, it gets more complicated. We've only got one guy who can get to the QB, and Hali's played weak and erratically this year. Hali overexerts himself, and will probably only play well in a strong rotation. McBride seems to be a great nickel end, but his complete lack of a passrush makes him a nickel/rotational guy, maybe not even that. Johnston looks promising, but he's still a couple years away from truly showing us what he's made of. Hali and McBride both play the run pretty well, but we need a guy who's a pure pass-rusher. Maybe two. I support drafting two DEs.

I'm high on Holtzclaw for personal reasons. I write for a blog and I was barely even critical of him in one of my posts. The next day I received an email from Holtzclaw himself, who complained that I was being unfair to him without truly seeing him play. Well, I had a friend tape an E-Mich game and Holtzclaw looked fantastic. Level of competition is an issue, but he is absolutely dominant, and the Combine will reveal that he's got NFL measurables. He's also a fiery, natural born leader. So, Holtzclaw is a mid-round sleeper for me, with potential to go either way. I believe he could start for this team.

I'm with you on OLB. Williams seems to have taken off the past couple games. I'm liking the combination of Williams and DJ at OLB, but we've got absolutely nobody behind them. Plus, even though Williams is a lightning-fast player who can rush the passer, he's still got a few gaps in his game.

I'll try to make a draft here in a day or two that doesn't have any of the speculative trades that I invent. I simply do that because I can't see how the Chiefs can make a huge step in rebuilding this team this year with a regular 7 picks, unless they plan to just trade down over and over again until they compile 10.

We're going to draft a future signal-caller, I think. I think the elements are there, save a spot or two on our starting OL and another surefire WR. Stafford and Bradford would be great. Find another good WR this Draft and pick up a OG in the mid rounds or late rounds and I'm okay with our offense.

That's three picks. We should spend no more than three picks on offense this year, if we're purely talking need. The only additional pick we could make is a QB in the late rounds, to compete with Thiggy for 3rd QB.

As far as free agency, I haven't really thought about it. I'll be looking into it before long now that you've got me thinking about it, but as of now you've got the formula down. They'll probably be depth for us, they'll be young guys coming off their first contract. Who do you think we'll go after?

[Direckshun]

Here's the basic formula I believe the Chiefs should pursue with this Draft.

Through either player trades or just trading down, the Chiefs should compile at least 10 picks if they want to continue this rebuild with any timely diligence.

Of those ten picks...

2 of those high picks should be for a QB and DE.

3 of those midround picks should be for a WR, DT, and MLB.

In the late rounds, they can probably find a quality OG and/or CB.

And they must, somewhere along the lines, find a diamond in the rough or two, particularly at OLB, WR, or DL.

They probably shouldn't be in the market for a kicker unless a great deal falls in their lap. That goes with TE and OT as well.

[aturnis]

FA wide receivers who could help the Chiefs. These guys have been productive and may command pretty good money. A few are looking for a change of scenery, but I doubt too many of them will get away from their current teams.

Hank Baskett, RFA, Philadelphia Eagles
Lee Evans, UFA, Buffalo Bills
Devery Henderson, UFA, New Orleans Saints
T.J. Houshmandzadeh, UFA, Cincinnati Bengals
Brandon Jones, UFA, Tennessee Titans
Shaun McDonald, UFA, Detroit Lions
Koren Robinson, UFA, Green Bay Packers(if he can stay out of trouble, not a top option)
Roy Williams, UFA, Detriot Lions

Most of these guys have shown something. They aren't the guys who are going to be buried in the depth chart, that takes more homework than a guy like me is willing to put forth. Some of these guys are worth a look.

[Direckshun]

I'd love any of these gents across from Bowe, with Franklin and a newly minted Draftee off bench.

I just think basically all of them will ask for too much -- the Chiefs are looking for a young guy who won't command a lot of coin. Koren Robinson, Baskett, and McDonald seem to be the most obvious off that list in terms of appealing to the Chiefs.

[aturnis]

I don't think there are any offensive linemen in FA this year who could really help the Chiefs based on their criteria. Most guys are either too old, or a starter at a position we probably don't need to place emphasis on.

If there were anyone, it would be depth and probably a guy who has been cut from elsewhere.

[aturnis]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

I'd love any of these gents across from Bowe, with Franklin and a newly minted Draftee off bench.

I just think basically all of them will ask for too much -- the Chiefs are looking for a young guy who won't command a lot of coin. Koren Robinson, Baskett, and McDonald seem to be the most obvious off that list in terms of appealing to the Chiefs.

Those were my thoughts also, most likely, if we pick anyone up, it'd be someone elses castoffs.

[aturnis]

FA Defensive Lineman

Julius Peppers, UFA, Carolina Panthers
Albert Haynesworth, UFA, Tennessee Titans
Terrell Suggs, UFA, Baltimore Ravens
Jonathan Babineaux, UFA, Atlanta Falcons
Shaun Cody, UFA, Detroit Lions
Tank Johnson, UFA, Dallas Cowboys
Marcus Tubbs, UFA, Seattle Seahawks

Most will command big money, the bottom four would be the best bets. Some of them might get good money just b/c of their name. Babineaux has probably been the most productive.

Probably noone the Chiefs will go after.

[Direckshun]

Probably.

Although the Chiefs, if I remember correctly, were making some pretty aggressive moves for Babineaux last offseason.

[aturnis]

Herms boy Vilma will be a FA. He might cost, but just the fact that Herm drafted him makes me believe we may go after him.

Other than that, Karlos Dansby would be a big money guy to go after.

[Direckshun]

Vilma was a FA last year, and the Chiefs actually didn't go after him.

[aturnis]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

Vilma was a FA last year, and the Chiefs actually didn't go after him.

oh....oh yeah....my bad.

[SBK]

I thought the Saints traded a low pick or 2 and got Vilma?

[milkman]

Originally Posted by SBK

I thought the Saints traded a low pick or 2 and got Vilma?

Vilma was traded to the Saints for a conditional 4th, so yeah, you're right.

[aturnis]

Originally Posted by milkman

Vilma was traded to the Saints for a conditional 4th, so yeah, you're right.

Woo hoo! so this means I'm not an idiot! or...at least, for now there is no proof of it.

Flyin' under the radar.