Drafting a center

[O.city]

They’re not gonna keep Morse so who looks good in this draft to replace him

[Iconic]

Yes.

[kccrow]

I speculate one of Jenkins, McCoy, or McGovern will be there at the bottom of 2 so take one of those guys. If the Chiefs take a center in round 1, I'll know Veach is a ****ing idiot.

[CoMoChief]

Originally Posted by kccrow

I speculate one of Jenkins, McCoy, or McGovern will be there at the bottom of 2 so take one of those guys. If the Chiefs take a center in round 1, I'll know Veach is a ****ing idiot.

Veach and Andy both...remember Reid loves his hefties and he has final say.

[Coogs]

I'd be alright with this if Bradbury is there at 29. I know everyone is clamoring for defense, defense, defense, but we just spent an entire draft on the defense. To ignore the offense for two straight seasons would not be wise planning IMO. Just keep building this team through wise choices in the draft over the next several years. Then fill in the gaps after the draft with some one to two year contract players that will become available after the draft is over.

Plus, protecting Mahomes should be #1 priority.

[tmax63]

Where will the most of the pressure be coming in the future? In the middle ala CJ or his equivalent for the other teams per coach Reid. This guy at 29 would be a steal and Veach has set the Chiefs up so that they don't "have to" draft any position with the intent of getting an immediate impact player. He has gotten 2 workable, not flashy but workable DE's. He has added a LB, S, CB, RB and TE.
Starting at #31 in the league, I think the D is already improved 10 spots. I know the naysayers scream Ford and Houston and Berry are gone but that doesn't mean the Chiefs will line up only 8 guys on defense, it means their not spending 50 million in cap space on 3 guys who helped build the 31st ranked defense in the NFL.

[RunKC]

Connor McGovern seems to check every single box that Andy looks for in an OL. Hard to think we don’t love him.

[Chief Northman]

Those shitting on an OL pick early will be the first to cry foul if/when Mahomes gets injured due to talent neglect at the positions paid to protect our future HOF QB.

There are some good to great OL prospects to be had early in this draft:

Dillard, Ford, Bradbury, Lindstrom, Jenkins. These guys project to have long pro careers because they are dependable.

Aaron Rodgers has been all hype for several years now - why? The Packers have surrounded him with below average OL talent and the guy is always banged up.

Protect PMII

[BryanBusby]

Or because he keeps checking into deep pass plays and takes unnecessary hits.

I'd be more concerned about LG than Center.

[DJ's left nut]

"Pay Chris Jones!! Pass rush up the middle is essential in the modern NFL!!!"

"Don't invest anything worthwhile into the C position!!"

These seem....contradictory. Yet they also seem to be the prevailing positions here at CP.

If the interior pass-rush is more important than its ever been, it stands to reason that a guy that can do a ton to help diminish the threat of an interior pass rush would also be more important than ever. A guy who could neutralize Chris Jones is just as important in a single-game matchup (i.e. the post-season) as Chris Jones is.

[Buckweath]

Chiefs need to draft a C/G early. 2nd round would be perfect.

[Chris Meck]

we're going to have to do it soon; if not this season, then next.

[staylor26]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

"Pay Chris Jones!! Pass rush up the middle is essential in the modern NFL!!!"

"Don't invest anything worthwhile into the C position!!"

These seem....contradictory. Yet they also seem to be the prevailing positions here at CP.

If the interior pass-rush is more important than its ever been, it stands to reason that a guy that can do a ton to help diminish the threat of an interior pass rush would also be more important than ever. A guy who could neutralize Chris Jones is just as important in a single-game matchup (i.e. the post-season) as Chris Jones is.

I for one have said that about Jones, but I’m fully in agreement here.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by staylor26

I for one have said that about Jones, but I’m fully in agreement here.

I think ultimately if we were in a situation where we were looking to push ourselves into playoff position, the difference is clear - the interior rusher is more important because for 16 games he'd be a dangerous presence and dominant force for us. Fantastic.

Meanwhile with a C, there are gonna be games where teams simply don't have the ability to generate heat from the interior and he'd be a bit wasted.

So to get from a C+ team to a B+ team, that's a luxury item and not a great use of resources.

But man we're looking to move from a playoff caliber team to championship team and there ARE teams we could face in the post-season that have the personnel to create problems in the middle or simply very smart coaches that can find/exploit weaknesses.

So in the post-season, in a one-off matchup - win or go home shit - a dominant C can easily be just as critical as a dominant interior rusher.

It's kinda like a nails bullpen in baseball. You don't try to build one of those if you're a team that's gonna win 70 games. You try to build elsewhere in more broad strokes to help you win 85. But if you have an 88 win team on your hands, boy you'd get a hell of a lot of juice out of locking down the back end of that bullpen for the post-season.

The competition cycle can impact this decision just as much as your overall roster does.

[Couch-Potato]

I wouldn't mind, but let's make sure if we take an OC high in the draft that he's a special fit for Mahomes.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Couch-Potato

I wouldn't mind, but let's make sure if we take an OC high in the draft that he's a special fit for Mahomes.

I actually think what makes Bradbury such an intriguing option is that, like Morse, he's very good in pass pro. But what sets him apart is his ability to help in the run game. His ability to move, get to edges and all stretch/misdirection runs would be huge for our ability to run the ball from the shotgun.

I think that's what makes him a blue chipper. He's an excellent pass-blocker but that's not always all that tough to find and if you don't have it you can provide some help. But his ability to be an anchor in the run game and make a difference there will help Mahomes in that it opens up a bit of what we can do to take advantage of 7 man fronts when defenses look to load up the secondary to slow Mahomes down. If we can do more to put ourselves in favorable down/distance situations, it can keep him free to be aggressive.

We have a unique running game at times and it requires a damn athletic IOL with premier functional strength. I think Bradbury gives us that. He's not my preferred option but I can see a number of scenarios where he's simply the best option left for us.

And when his time here is done, we'll end up looking back on that pick as an unqualified success, IMO.