ChiefsPlanet - Mock draft (1/13)

Several assumptions:

1. Chiefs adopt a 1-gap 3-4.

2. Chiefs do not resign Dorsey. Bowe and Albert are retained.

3. Hillis walks, as does Quinn. Cassel and Jackson are cut.

4. Chiefs get an additional third for Brandon Carr, and an additional 7th for Barry Richardson.

My goal is to draft realistically -- a couple reaches, a couple hard-to-believe-he-fell picks, mostly BPA with a little need thrown in.

Let the games begin.

1. QB Geno Smith, West Virginia

I am not a very big fan of Geno Smith, because I think he's the kind of immediate-impact player who will look very flashy in his first season under center, but then top out at possibly-above-average and rarely do damage in the postseason. Very few QBs of his make have seen a ton of postseason success. I like a pure stand-tall-in-the-pocket passer. I am not convinced Smith is that guy. His play at WVU causes me concern, too -- is this a Russell Wilson, will-your-team-to-victory guy?

But meh. The Chiefs really have no choice. They're dumping possibly all three QBs on their roster, and for all my hesitations about Smith, he is tough, smart, and has a great freaking arm. This is what you have #1 picks for.

If it doesn't work, you plug in another 1st round pick later. Reid understands this, and he's phenomenal with QBs of this make.

2. NT John Jenkins, Georgia

Again, I'm going by my big board, not what I think best fits the needs of the Chiefs.

But I think Jenkins does. He's a huge presence in the middle that, unlike Poe, specializes in anchoring. The Packers always have had one or two of these massive loads of people. And while I know everybody's high on Jerrell Powe on this board, the new regime has no ties to him and no loyalty to him.

3. CB Desmond Trufant, Washington

The one position ***** truly left the cupboard bare was QB, but corner wasn't very far behind. We need a playmaker here who is not just selected because he has measurables. We need a playmaker here who is selected because, like Brandon Flowers, he absolutely wants to destroy his competition.

I watched three Washington games this year, and Trufant played like a mother****er possessed. Outstanding coverage, teams almost never challenge him. And he's got a tremendous competitive spirit. He's a pet fave.

3 (Carr). ILB Andrew Jackson, Western Kentucky

A slight reach here, but one that's realistic if Jackson runs a decent enough forty. Kid is one of the most destructive forces in college football, and if this team wants a two-down thumper next to DJ, this is the guy you put in.

4. S Duke Williams, Nevada

Nevada players have proven themselves NFL material year after year, primarily because Nevada's football program is essentially a bootcamp on par with Seal Team Six. I love the athletes that come out of here, and I think Duke Williams is a sleeper prospect. (We'll see how I feel later on.) I think he's going to be stronger than every safety his size, and one of the fastest.

5. QB Collin Klein, Kansas State

Like I said, the cupboard's bare.

6. LB DeVonte Holloman, South Carolina

Late round picks are for promising projects, and they don't come more promising than Holloman, a 240 lbs college safety who can provide this team the inside linebacker depth it has sorely needed.

Every time we lose DJ for a game, our linebackers get gashed. Holloman would be a step in the right direction to find a way to finally provide athletic depth that has experience in coverage.

7. DE A.J. Francis, Maryland

Now that we're switching to a 3-4, we need defensive lineman that have a nose for the ball and take aggressive moves to get to it. Francis has been one of the better ones at it this past year, excluding all the freak athletes that will be drafted in the first few rounds this year.

Francis is a good blue-collar, hardhat guy with a couple passrush moves. I like him as depth.

7 (Richardson). TE D.C. Jefferson, Rutgers

Hey, you never know. If he catches on, he could be our emergency QB, a position he played when he came to Rutgers.