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S Christopher Smith II, Georgia
Well as I review more and more safety prospects, it becomes increasingly clear that if the Chiefs are not fully sold on S Bryan Cook as a full time replacement for the departing S Juan Thornhill, but they don't want to drop the coin to keep Thornhill, they have a plethora of options in the 2nd round. Christopher Smith joins prospects like S Brandon Joseph, S JL Skinner, and S Jordan Battle as guys who make a ton of sense as Chiefs safeties. But that's also what happens with your defensive coordinator is a genius, anyways.
Smith himself, like a few of the players above, is another swiss army knife that can be slotted deep (his best location), play very tight coverage in the slot, or man up in the box. He will always be at a size disadvantage in the box or against most tight ends, but is excellent in coverage and can be counted on to hang with most receivers, or simply keep the coverage sturdy on the back end. He can also be counted on to be a locker room leader.
Chris Smith is slightly more diminutive S Justin Reid. So I suppose the question is: how long do you plan on keeping Justin Reid around? The Chiefs clearly love him, and the role he's played at helping to develop the five rookie DBs the Chiefs drafted cannot be overstated. For a team facing cap crunches, however, Reid is very cuttable in 2024, with a $14m cap hit and a cap savings of $10.7. Drafting Chris Smith in the 2nd round would be your answer to that question.
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