Babb: It's almost the middle of October. Too early to start thinking about the draft

[Tribal Warfare]

It's almost the middle of October. Too early to start thinking about the draft?

Things I believe:

- The Chiefs have made progress in their first five games, all of which have been losses (and some of them ugly).
- It will benefit the team for having played three terrific teams -- Baltimore, the Giants and Philadelphia -- early in the season, as disheartening as those losses were.
- Matt Cassel has at least some of the skills necessary to be Kansas City's quarterback of the future, at least based on one stunningly impressive drive at the end of regulation Sunday.
- The Chiefs' remaining holes will hold back any significant progress until the team and general manager Scott Pioli have time to address them.

Think about that last one. That one nullifies the first three, and it makes everyone's job at Arrowhead Stadium a lot tougher than it should be. Here's one more thing I believe:

- The Chiefs will win no more than three games in 2009. That means that, for the third consecutive year, they'll probably have a top-five pick in the NFL draft.

So with that in mind, and the growing frustration among many of you, I have found myself looking past what will continue to be a season in which progress, and not necessary victories, is the objective. I have found myself looking toward next year's draft, when the Chiefs will have many chances to upgrade some positions that badly need them.

Not that the list starts and stops here, but here are the positions that I think the Chiefs absolutely must upgrade -- and have those upgrades work out, immediately -- in the draft, if not during free agency:

1. Offensive line
2. Wide receiver
3. Safety
4. Linebacker

Yeah, that's a lot. But the Chiefs will have lots of picks, including the additional second-rounder they received in exchange for Tony Gonzalez. That might not be an especially high pick, considering Atlanta looks pretty solid, but at this point, the Chiefs will take as many chances as they can get to improve a team that possesses more questionable position groups than reliable ones.

As usual, the question becomes this: If you have to choose, do you draft for need or for talent? This could be an issue next April. Safety is a need, sure, but it's not the top need. So, Tennessee safety Eric Berry at, say, No. 3, or reach for an offensive lineman? What about grabbing a star wide receiver with that top pick?

Some of you might disagree with this, but I think the Chiefs absolutely must -- as unsexy as it might be -- address their offensive line with the first pick. This should not be a debate, now or in the draft room. The Chiefs passed this year on signing a marquee lineman, and now they're paying for it. And it's not just that the line is suspect; a porous wall of blockers renders your running backs useless and your quarterback terrified. Neither Cassel, Larry Johnson nor Jamaal Charles will ever be as good as they could have been this season because of the weak offensive line they have blocking for them. That in turn puts more pressure on the Chiefs' wide receivers and, even on down the line, makes the defense's job tougher because the offense can't move the ball and give defenders a break. That happened against Baltimore, and it might have been the reason the Chiefs couldn't get a stop when they badly needed one. Also, Pioli was an offensive lineman in college. I'd have to think it's giving him recurring stomach cramps to watch the Chiefs' blockers.

It's in such turmoil that I think the Chiefs, who curiously waited until the fifth round to address their line, should use at least two of their top four picks on offensive linemen.

With the (first?) pick in the 2010 NFL draft, the Kansas City Chiefs select ...

... Russell Okung, offensive tackle out of Oklahoma State. Look, the name might change. We'll keep Okung there for now as a placeholder. But the position should not change. And I'll admit it now: I argued against taking a tackle at No. 3 overall this year because of Branden Albert. But after watching Albert struggle at times this year, I think the Chiefs need to make tackle the priority of the offseason. Whether that means moving Albert to right tackle or keeping him at the left side, at least the Chiefs would have options. When Albert left the game Sunday against Dallas, I wondered on Twitter if Albert was the Chiefs' most valuable player. Not the team's MVP but rather valuable in the more literal sense: What the heck would the Chiefs do if he was lost for the season? There's just nobody -- and don't give me Wade Smith -- whom the Chiefs should trust at that position. This makes it a clear choice with the first pick.

I'd probably draft a wide receiver or safety with the Chiefs' second-rounder, or even consider taking the best available player. Nose tackle, linebacker, cornerback, running back -- whomever's there, sell me on him. The Chiefs have that many needs. But I have to tell you: I'm going into that pick thinking about a wideout or a safety to replace Mike Brown.

With the Gonzalez pick, which could be somewhere in the bottom third of the second round, I'm going guard. Mike Goff hasn't been the Chiefs' answer at right guard, and you can get a terrific guard in the third. Center, too. I just think that, as much a liability as the Chiefs' line has been, it requires this kind of emphasis. Now, I'd expect Pioli to address the line in free agency, too, but I'd prefer to sign receivers or linebackers* and address the offensive line in the draft. If I'm building for the future, I'm drafting my elite linemen instead of signing them.

* They'll need several of these; I'm beginning to consider Derrick Johnson's return, if he indeed becomes a free agent [the collective bargaining agreement makes this complicated, and I won't bore you with it here], is becoming an enormous long shot. Corey Mays and Demorrio Williams are decent, but they're not outstanding inside linebackers. Mike Vrabel is aging and might be slowing. But hey, the Chiefs have Tamba Hali! One out of four ain't bad.

So, if they follow my advice, as they did when trading for Matt Cassel but ignored when they passed on Aaron Curry, this is one way the Chiefs' line could look next season:

LT: Okung (or whomever is the best left tackle come draft day)
LG: Brian Waters (He's slowing down, but he's good for another season or two)
C: Rudy Niswanger
RG: Second-round pick
RT: Albert

Suddenly, that line doesn't look so bad, does it? And that automatically improves the play of the Chiefs' quarterback, running backs, receivers, defense -- everybody.

Yes, it's early. But it's not too early to consider how much better the Chiefs would have been in 2009 if they entered last offseason with an emphasis on improving the line.

They didn't, and the Chiefs are suffering. I don't believe it'll get better in Kansas City until the line undergoes a massive overhaul.

[Hoover]

Albert - Waters - 2nd Rd Pick - Ndukwe - 2nd Rd Pick

My first round pick is either a safety or LB, in the third I'd look at LB, or WR.

[Saccopoo]

Okung.

Playmaker blah, blah, blah.

If your QB is getting killed, no amount of "playmaker" on defense is going to help you. ****ing reeruned to even think that. Drafting Okung gives the Chiefs two players on the offensive line as Albert moves to LG with that pick, and as such give Cassel a decent offensive line to play behind. Well, at least better than what they have.

A safety pick is a luxury pick. It is less than the ILB position, less than a rush end, less than a RT, and substantially less than a LT.

It would be super-sweet if the Chiefs had the luxury of drafting a good safety like Mays or Berry with that first pick. However, they don't. They have to and will draft the best offensive lineman with their first round pick. Period.

Get used to it now. Embrace it. Live in the moment.

'Cause it's going to happen.

[milkman]

Originally Posted by Saccopoo

Okung.

Playmaker blah, blah, blah.

If your QB is getting killed, no amount of "playmaker" on defense is going to help you. ****ing reeruned to even think that. Drafting Okung gives the Chiefs two players on the offensive line as Albert moves to LG with that pick, and as such give Cassel a decent offensive line to play behind. Well, at least better than what they have.

A safety pick is a luxury pick. It is less than the ILB position, less than a rush end, less than a RT, and substantially less than a LT.

It would be super-sweet if the Chiefs had the luxury of drafting a good safety like Mays or Berry with that first pick. However, they don't. They have to and will draft the best offensive lineman with their first round pick. Period.

Get used to it now. Embrace it. Live in the moment.

'Cause it's going to happen.

Even if I agreed with you, that we should draft a LT in the first, which I don't, I'd fully expect you to be wrong.

Looking at the Patriots draft history, combined with what Pioli did last year with the Chiefs draft, I highly doubt thathe'll spend a pick that high on the O-Line.

[Pioli Zombie]

The Chiefs have as much talent as the 1986 Denver Broncos - Tribal Warfare.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Tribal Warfare]

Originally Posted by Pioli Zombie

The Chiefs have as much talent as the 1986 Denver Broncos - Tribal Warfare.
Posted via Mobile Device

Never said that, stop putting words in my mouth