Let's talk Defensive Line

[Couch-Potato]

Went through a bunch of threads to identify all of our interests across the defensive line, is this all of them? Who else should be added to the list? Removed from the list? Should anyone be moved up or down on the draft target list?

FA Targets
-DE Yannick Ngakoue, IND
-DT Da’ron Payne, WAS
-DT Poona Ford, SEA
-DE Jadaveon Clowney, CLV
-DT Kalen Saunders, KC
-DT Greg Gains, LAR
-DT Armon Watts, CHI
-DE Ardon Key, JAX
-DE Clean Ferril, LVR
-DE Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, HOU
-DT Chris Wormley, PIT
-DT Maurice Hurst, SF
-DT Andrew Billings, CIN

Vet Trade Targets
-DE Brian Burns, CAR
-DE Chase Young, WAS
-DE Carl Granderson, New Orleans
-DE Za'Darius Smith, Minnesota
-DE D.J. Wonnum, Minnesota

1st Rd Targets
-DT Byran Breese,
-DE Lukas Van Ness, Iowa
-DE BJ Ojulari, LSU
-DE Keion White, Georgia Tech
-DE Derick Hall, Auburn
-DE Isahiah Foskey, ND
-DE Nolan Smith, Georgia
-DL Tuli Tuipulotu, USC
-DE Andre Carter, Army

2nd Rd Targets
-DT Siaki Ika, BU
-DE Will McDonald IV, Iowa St.
-DL Calijah Kancey, Pitt
-DE Zach Harrison, Ohio State
-DE Anudike-Uzomah, Kansas State
-DT Mazi Smith, Michigan

3rd Rd Targets
-DT Gervon Dexter, Florida
-NT Keanu Benton, Wisconsin
-DE Adetomiwa Adebawore, Northwestern
-DL Byron Young, Tennessee
-DT Zack Pickens, South Carolina
-DL Mike Morris, Michigan
-DE Dylan Horton, TCU

4th Rd Targets
-DT Byron Young, Alabama
-DE Viliami Fehoko, San Jose St
-DE Thomas Incoom, Central Michigan
-DL Yaya Diabi, Louisville
-DE Habakkuk Baldonado, Pitt

5th-7th Rd Targets
-DE Isaiah McGuire, Missouri
-DE Caleb Murphy, Ferris St
-DE Derek Parish, Houston
-DT Dante Stills, West Virginia
-NT Elijah Simmons, Tennessee

[kcbubb]

Originally Posted by Chris Meck

I'm just really feeling like trading UP in the first is not going to be great value, but trading UP in the second might be the key to a home run draft.

And if you used your third to move up in the second, maybe you can use your two fourths to move up back into the third.

Agreed. I don’t see why more people don’t want to trade down from our first. There are so many great prospects that are somewhat even. I’d trade down with our first and use that capital to trade up from 63. The talent difference bn 63 and late 40s seems much bigger than 31 to late 30s.

[kccrow]

I feel like Siaki Ika continues to be the "forgotten man" when it comes to NT prospects. No, he'll never be a pass rusher and he also won't be a 3-down player but man if he doesn't reset the LOS on 1st and 2nd down for you. If you can get his weight down, maybe he can transform into a 3-down player but I won't hold my breath there.

He's alot of a young Danny Shelton but I think he's quicker. What do you pay for that? Would you pay for that? He still carries a late 2nd to early 3rd round grade from most pundits.

One thing for sure, especially in a one-gap scheme, is he's going to force the guard and center to account for him because he's going to be a handful for any guard to take on one-on-one. I think he's the type of player that has enough juice to make you pay because he's going to free a guy up or he's going to have his guy in your QBs lap. He'll definitely be a LB's best friend.

I don't like him as much as I like Benton and Smith, obviously, and I like him for different reasons than a guy like Zacch Pickens. I'd take him before I took Gervon Dexter. I think there's a lot to be said about a DTs snap quickness and he has it. His arm length hurts but he's a hard-charging bull with brute strength and that's that's difficult to stop on it's own.

He's a low-key target I think you have to consider at 63 depending on how the board falls.

[kccrow]

My other forgotten man is Kobie Turner from Wake. He's so very well-rounded as a player. I don't think he gets as much attention as he should. A career at Richmond with a transfer year to Wake Forest tends to do that I suppose. Wake Forest never gets much love (see also AT Perry). He's not a huge pass rush type but he can make some noise there at times. I think he's going in round 3.

[JPH83]

Originally Posted by kccrow

My other forgotten man is Kobie Turner from Wake. He's so very well-rounded as a player. I don't think he gets as much attention as he should. A career at Richmond with a transfer year to Wake Forest tends to do that I suppose. Wake Forest never gets much love (see also AT Perry). He's not a huge pass rush type but he can make some noise there at times. I think he's going in round 3.

Totally agree. He's my 4th round-ish pick but agree he possibly goes before. Get THAT guy in ahead of a pure NT and then look for the run stuffer later. I'm not sure I see him as totally rounded but I think he does plenty enough on passing downs to be a big upgrade to what we have, and much more so than some of the earlier round DTs that are being suggested like Roy.

[MahomesMagic]

Originally Posted by kccrow

I feel like Siaki Ika continues to be the "forgotten man" when it comes to NT prospects. No, he'll never be a pass rusher and he also won't be a 3-down player but man if he doesn't reset the LOS on 1st and 2nd down for you. If you can get his weight down, maybe he can transform into a 3-down player but I won't hold my breath there.

He's alot of a young Danny Shelton but I think he's quicker. What do you pay for that? Would you pay for that? He still carries a late 2nd to early 3rd round grade from most pundits.

One thing for sure, especially in a one-gap scheme, is he's going to force the guard and center to account for him because he's going to be a handful for any guard to take on one-on-one. I think he's the type of player that has enough juice to make you pay because he's going to free a guy up or he's going to have his guy in your QBs lap. He'll definitely be a LB's best friend.

I don't like him as much as I like Benton and Smith, obviously, and I like him for different reasons than a guy like Zacch Pickens. I'd take him before I took Gervon Dexter. I think there's a lot to be said about a DTs snap quickness and he has it. His arm length hurts but he's a hard-charging bull with brute strength and that's that's difficult to stop on it's own.

He's a low-key target I think you have to consider at 63 depending on how the board falls.

How would you view him vs Alim McNeil from 2021 draft? I normally don't get excited by NT, run-stuffer types high but McNeil was just fun to watch as a prospect.

[kccrow]

Originally Posted by MahomesMagic

How would you view him vs Alim McNeil from 2021 draft? I normally don't get excited by NT, run-stuffer types high but McNeil was just fun to watch as a prospect.

Benton is a more along the lines of McNeill than Ika is to me because of the athleticism. I do think Benton is a bit more dynamic. I think Ika if he trimmed down a bit would be in that same ballpark. He does crush the LOS.

[O.city]

If NFL coaches are comping Iowa State EDGE Will McDonald IV to elite All-Pro/Pro Bowl level players like Haason Reddick and Brian Burns then it’s highly doubtful he makes it out of first round.

Adjust your final mocks accordingly. pic.twitter.com/Cbhmegei90

— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) April 25, 2023

[MahomesMagic]

Originally Posted by O.city

If NFL coaches are comping Iowa State EDGE Will McDonald IV to elite All-Pro/Pro Bowl level players like Haason Reddick and Brian Burns then it’s highly doubtful he makes it out of first round.

Adjust your final mocks accordingly. pic.twitter.com/Cbhmegei90

— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) April 25, 2023

Yuck. I was right. McDonald going earlier than mocks are saying.

[Tribal Warfare]

Originally Posted by O.city

If NFL coaches are comping Iowa State EDGE Will McDonald IV to elite All-Pro/Pro Bowl level players like Haason Reddick and Brian Burns then it’s highly doubtful he makes it out of first round.

Adjust your final mocks accordingly. pic.twitter.com/Cbhmegei90

— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) April 25, 2023

Keon White and McDonald have the same problem being older prospects.

[Mecca]

Originally Posted by Tribal Warfare

Keon White and McDonald have the same problem being older prospects.

McDonald at least has bend. White doesn't he avoided agility testing on purpose...

[Couch-Potato]

Should we add a FA to DE?

If we signed Ngakoue he would be the most experienced and successful end rusher on our team. Omenihu's best season was 4 sacks and Felix is a rookie. Makes sense to me!

ESPN predicts the next 10 offseason moves:

"Chiefs signing a pass-rusher

After winning the Super Bowl, Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach has made the offensive line the focus of offseason spending. The Chiefs let starting tackles Orlando Brown Jr. and Andrew Wylie hit the free agent market, then quickly moved to sign Jaguars tackle Jawaan Taylor to a significant deal. It looked as if Taylor would be moving to protect Patrick Mahomes' blindside, but when former Bucs left tackle Donovan Smith's market didn't develop, Veach signed him to play on the left side, leaving Taylor at right tackle for now.

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The defensive line could still use a bit of work. The Chiefs moved on from Frank Clark and Carlos Dunlap after the Super Bowl. Both are still on the free agent market, but the Chiefs have gone in other directions. Veach signed Charles Omenihu away from the 49ers and used the team's first-round pick on Kansas State edge defender Felix Anudike-Uzomah. George Karlaftis gives the Chiefs another first-round pick (2022) in their edge rotation, but against an AFC full of devastating quarterbacks, I still think the Chiefs could stand to add another pass-rusher.

That could be Clark, although it would require him to take a significant pay cut from the $21 million he had previously been owed for 2023. Leonard Floyd, Justin Houston, Jadeveon Clowney and Yannick Ngakoue are all free agents, although they all have their issues. Floyd has only been a productive player next to Aaron Donald. Houston, a former Chiefs star, was cut by the team for cap reasons in 2019 and might not want to return. Clowney has one season with more than three sacks over the past four years and left the Browns in acrimonious fashion.

Ngakoue is the most appealing option of the bunch, but he would also be the most expensive. He has been remarkably consistent in terms of pass-rush production, posting 8-12.5 sacks in each of his seven pro seasons. On the other hand, teams have seemingly fallen out of love with Ngakoue quickly; he has now played for five teams over the past four seasons. If the Chiefs are looking to do only a one-year deal, though, no long-term love affair would be necessary."

[JPH83]

If the money's there for Wormley he'd be my choice. Coming back from injury so the price could hopefully work. Consistently good against the run he'd free up Jones, reduce any reliance on Nnadi (who may be shot) and allow Coburn a reasonable introduction without flogging him, important as he seemed to have some stamina issues in college. If we got Wormley we'd be very stout against the run.

Other than that Dunlap. If there's a concern with our DEs for me it's no longer the pass-rush it's how they play the run. Dunlap looked surprisingly solid in that regard and seemed better at diagnosing and being in the right place than Karlaftis - undertstandable given the difference in experience. Omenihu absolutely has the capacity to set the edge in terms of power, weight, athleticism but he's not put it all together there yet, as far as I can tell. FAU will need time and bulk. I don't think we need Ngakoue, as much as I'd love a speed rusher I think FAU and BJ Thompson fill that role.

[Couch-Potato]

Kansas City Chiefs
Roster hole per ESPN: Defensive tackle

Here's the thing about being a championship team: You tend to have very good depth. If you're a veteran who no longer is going to start in the NFL, why wouldn't you want to go sign to at least share a locker room with Patrick Mahomes and get a shot at a ring? So the Chiefs have strong depth pretty much across the board. Their biggest question might be at defensive tackle.


No, not Chris Jones, but rather next to Jones. Derrick Nnadi struggled in 17 starts last season, and behind him is Tershawn Wharton (missed most of last season with a torn ACL) and Byron Cowart (former Patriots starter who played 20% of defensive snaps for the Colts a year ago and had no hurries or sacks). Veteran run-stuffer Danny Shelton is also around but spent all of last year on the practice squad. Sixth-round rookie Keondre Coburn is also an early-down nose tackle.

[Dunerdr]

Originally Posted by Couch-Potato

Kansas City Chiefs
Roster hole per ESPN: Defensive tackle

Here's the thing about being a championship team: You tend to have very good depth. If you're a veteran who no longer is going to start in the NFL, why wouldn't you want to go sign to at least share a locker room with Patrick Mahomes and get a shot at a ring? So the Chiefs have strong depth pretty much across the board. Their biggest question might be at defensive tackle.


No, not Chris Jones, but rather next to Jones. Derrick Nnadi struggled in 17 starts last season, and behind him is Tershawn Wharton (missed most of last season with a torn ACL) and Byron Cowart (former Patriots starter who played 20% of defensive snaps for the Colts a year ago and had no hurries or sacks). Veteran run-stuffer Danny Shelton is also around but spent all of last year on the practice squad. Sixth-round rookie Keondre Coburn is also an early-down nose tackle.

I'd still like to see one more guy. I feel like Cowarts not even JAG level. I'd like to find a JAG.

[Direckshun]

Cowart was cut, I believe.

Edit: He was, on May 10th.