My Final Thoughts on the Chiefs Draft

[Direckshun]

Several thoughts:

1. As you guys know, I would have preferred Watson, but I'm not remotely going to argue this pick. Reid and Dorsey have earned so much benefit of the doubt, and they truly did trade up so that they had themselves a choice. That choice was Mahomes over Watson. We'll all look back in about five years and see who had it right, but I'll take Mahomes with the incredible coaching and personnel support he'll have here over Watson with Bill O'Brien. Mahomes really is a scary risk because of that Air Raid offense, but the more you read about him and how the Chiefs room felt, the better sense I get that this was the right move. I didn't even think the pricetag -- a 2018 1st and one of our 3rds -- was that bad. You almost have to throw the farm at a team to get the QB you want, and I feel like we traded about half a farm.

Exciting time to be a Chiefs fan.

2. I love this coaching staff. Bar none the best coaching staff we've had, with perhaps Britt Reid as the best on the staff -- which is really saying something. The selection of Kpassagnon was a complete investment in Britt Reid. Reid has turned so many low-rounders, UDFAs, and street guys into players that when we finally gave him a high-rounder last year in Chris Jones, Jones played like an All Pro. I see the same potential in Tanoh. I've talked about this guy on and off throughout the draft as looking like a ridiculous Greek god of a man. His athleticism is ridiculous -- did you guys see him working the OLB DRILLS at the Combine? He was the only guy over 255 they asked to do that shit, and he's damn near 300 lbs. People are saying this guy is a project but I don't see it -- I think he gets tons of playing time this year and is far more competitive than anybody gives him credit for.

3. I am certain the rumors the Chiefs wanted to trade up to the top of the 2nd are true, and I'm certain they were targeting Curtis Samuel. They wanted a stud RB who fits their system, and when they couldn't land Samuel, they "settled" for a really solid RB who still fits their system in Hunt. I think Hunt is a 1,200 yard rusher in our system, but I think we either need Spencer Ware to stay solid all season instead of fading late, or we'll eventually need another complementary back. Right now I project a 50/40/10 arrangement with Ware/Hunt/West. Could be fun.

4. I think with the selections of the last three players, Chesson, Eligwe, and McQuay, we can finally definitely say what Dorsey likes in the late rounds and what he doesn't like in the late rounds. What he doesn't like are subpar athletes who know their schemes and fundamentals incredibly well. What he prefers are NFL-caliber above-average athletes who Dorsey can then rely on the staff to coach them up. There are exceptions to this (Ramik Wilson, Zach Fulton), but Dorsey likes guys who explode on tape and lets the coaching staff worry about the back end. All three players have things to like, in particular I'm excited to see what Eligwe can do in the wide-open competition for ILB. McQuay will be interesting to take a look at here in a season or two, if he can make the roster.

Also, **** you guys.

[O.city]

There was talk they wanted back into the first round, I'm guessing it was for Foster?

[Direckshun]

Originally Posted by O.city

There was talk they wanted back into the first round, I'm guessing it was for Foster?

I really do think they wanted Samuel. Watching Samuel's tape, he does exactly what Dex and Hill did.

[RunKC]

McQuay is an elite caliber athlete with great measurables who was a 5 star recruit. I'm glad Dorsey is taking these kind of guys late

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

4. I think with the selections of the last three players, Chesson, Eligwe, and McQuay, we can finally definitely say what Dorsey likes in the late rounds and what he doesn't like in the late rounds. What he doesn't like are subpar athletes who know their schemes and fundamentals incredibly well. What he prefers are NFL-caliber above-average athletes who Dorsey can then rely on the staff to coach them up. There are exceptions to this (Ramik Wilson, Zach Fulton), but Dorsey likes guys who explode on tape and lets the coaching staff worry about the back end. All three players have things to like, in particular I'm excited to see what Eligwe can do in the wide-open competition for ILB. McQuay will be interesting to take a look at here in a season or two, if he can make the roster.

I think Dorsey is willing to toss a bone or two to Toub every year.

I think Chesson and McQuay are guys he drafted because Toub wanted them. I wouldn't be surprised if Toub really banged on the table for Chesson.

In the 3rd day, I think you can count on one or two of those picks every year being guys that Dorsey has every expectation to contribute immediately on special teams. Perhaps that's just a natural product of a preference for athletes, but I think the preference for athletes late could just as easily be the byproduct of Dorsey looking for STs help in those rounds as well.

[Dante84]

What I think is interesting is that we seem to treat our ST units as a pipeline for our primary units (Offense/Defense).

A lot of teams have journeymen or rooks occupying those roles, whereas each guy on our ST units has a legit consideration for blooming into a role player on those primary units. DJ and Murray come to mind immediately. Sorenson was an example of this as well.

Guys like D. Robinson already has a fire under his ass, as evidenced by our 6 UDFA WR's and Chesson being drafted. Being good on ST's is not enough - you need to be good, but have upside, potential value beyond ST's.

It creates a situation where you're either moving up, or you're moving out. No floating.

[O.city]

Yeah, I love our special teams stuff. Toub is the man

[Couch-Potato]

I'm thinking we were looking to trade up into the 1st for Foster, we prob offered to swap + our 4th but SF offered a 3rd and we no longer had one to barter with (comp picks aren't traded).

Honestly, I still can't quite get over it. Had we grabbed Mahommes + Foster I would have been elated!

[Frosty]

Originally Posted by Couch-Potato

I'm thinking we were looking to trade up into the 1st for Foster, we prob offered to swap + our 4th but SF offered a 3rd and we no longer had one to barter with (comp picks aren't traded).

Honestly, I still can't quite get over it. Had we grabbed Mahommes + Foster I would have been elated!

You can trade comp picks now.

[Direckshun]

I don't know about Foster. Were there any reports that Foster was on our radar? Reports continued that the Chiefs wanted to trade into the top of the 2nd -- after Foster was selected.

Meanwhile, multiple reports came in that the Chiefs wanted Samuel.

They reportedly tried to trade up into the 1st, and reportedly tried to keep trading at the top of the 2nd. Samuel went very early in the 2nd. Then the reports stopped.

[The Franchise]

Kansas City Chiefs: B Grade
Goals Entering the 2017 NFL Draft: The Chiefs need to find a new quarterback because Alex Smith clearly isn't the answer. He'll continue to come up short in the playoffs. A signal-caller could be obtained at the bottom of the first round. A new running back and a No. 2 receiver are needed as well. Fortunately for the Chiefs, their defense is in pretty good shape and doesn't need very much beyond a linebacker and a second cornerback.

2017 NFL Draft Accomplishments: Some former NFL players do a good job on TV, but the danger with having them as analysts is that they're too close to other players and will be biased as a result. That is why it seemed like everyone went out of their way to defend Alex Smith in the wake of the Patrick Mahomes selection. The argument is that the Chiefs are so close that they need only a couple more pieces to win the Super Bowl. That's true, but one of the needed pieces happens to be a quarterback. Smith has proven that he's incapable of winning more than one playoff game per run because of his limitations, and Andy Reid finally recognized that.

Mahomes is the complete opposite of Smith. He has a low floor because of the system he played in at Texas Tech, but he also has Brett Favre-type upside. If he takes to Reid's coaching - and I'm sure he will, given that he's hard-working and smart - he could develop into a Pro Bowl quarterback. It'll take some time, but it definitely can happen, and that's why Mahomes was the only quarterback in this entire class I would've spent a first-round pick on.

That said, the Chiefs gave up a lot to get him, so it could backfire if they sustain many injuries in 2017 and drop from a playoff contender to a bottom-10 team, much like the Bengals did last season. However, I commend Kansas City for realizing that something had to be done to move the team forward, since it was just spinning its wheels and not really going anywhere with Smith at the helm.

Moving on, Kansas City did well elsewhere. Tanoh Kpassagnon was a solid choice in the second round, and he has the athleticism and potential to be a force on the defensive line. Kareem Hunt is a perfect fit in Reid's system, and he could be the starting running back by the end of the year. Jehu Chesson was a bit of a reach, but the Chiefs moved down for him to acquire extra resources, and he could end up starting down the road anyway.

I'd say the Chiefs had a solid draft overall. I'll give it a "B," as I think the trade was risky, but it could really pay off. Aside from that, I gave the Chiefs just one grade worse than a "B" (Ukeme Eligwe - "D") so they did a quality job with the 2017 NFL Draft.
Read more at http://www.walterfootball.com/nfldra...gl1710o0dVl.99

[DJ's left nut]

They moved up for Chesson, no?

It made it a doubly bad pick.

[Frosty]

Walter likes the Chiefs' draft? The Earth may now spin off its axis.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Frosty

Walter likes the Chiefs' draft? The Earth may now spin off its axis.

The funny thing is that he was almost completely complementary of it (even to the point of being inaccurate on the Chesson thing) and still only gave it an A.

He says that the Chiefs biggest need to get over the hump is a QB. He says that the only QB he would've taken in the 1st is Mahomes. We know for a fact that he HAD to get to 10 to get Mahomes or the Saints were taking him....and yet he devalues the pick because we had to pay a fair amount to move up?

It's 17 damn spots and we needed EXACTLY 17 spots; no more, no less. It was absolutely perfect and the amount paid to move up that many spots was a little less than I had expected. How can that be anything other than a perfect pick/trade given Walter's combination of needs and evaluation of the player?

He even liked the Kpassagnon and Hunt picks and still only gave them a B. Meanwhile the Jags took a back that's going to have a 4 year career and a tackle that can't play the left side using more draft capital than the Chiefs gave up to get Mahomes (we used 27 and next year's pick in the 20s. They used a 4 and 36 this year) and that gets them a blow job? Oh **** off, Walter.

Eh...whatev.

[staylor26]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

I don't know about Foster. Were there any reports that Foster was on our radar? Reports continued that the Chiefs wanted to trade into the top of the 2nd -- after Foster was selected.

Meanwhile, multiple reports came in that the Chiefs wanted Samuel.

They reportedly tried to trade up into the 1st, and reportedly tried to keep trading at the top of the 2nd. Samuel went very early in the 2nd. Then the reports stopped.

Link to the Samuel rumors?