The long awaited, quarterback heavy, 2018 NFL Draft has arrived. The Kansas City Chiefs traded away their first round pick a year ago for their own quarterback of the future in the name of Patrick Mahomes II. They also traded away Alex Smith to the Washington Redskins so that their first round choice QB of one year ago could go from apprentice to King of the Kingdom, and while for now he is unbeaten, his challenges will come soon. The only question remains, who will go to battle with him. Some of that will be decided this weekend at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. It all begins this evening at 7:00 PM, Central Standard time.
Although the spotlight will shine brightly on the QB position tonight, the Chiefs will be focused on the other side of the ball all weekend long. Or, at least they should. The Kansas City offense will implement more spread and run-pass-options (RPO) this year but their defensive needs are widespread because they couldn’t stop the run or the pass… and they traded away one of the best pass defenders in the league. Go figure! The Chiefs defense is in such great need of help that they’d be safe picking a player at any defensive position with their first (#54), second (#78), and third picks (#86) and that still wouldn’t fill all their holes..
Making A Case for A Cornerback
Sports Illustrated writer Andy Benoit has listed his take on the needs for all 32 teams. Here’s what he says about the loss of Marcus Peters slash addition of Kendall Fuller:
“Fuller was a No. 3 corner in a so-so secondary last year. He played behind the up-and-down Bashaud Breeland, who remains unsigned in free agency after failing a physical in Carolina. Yes, Fuller has upside, and he provides a solid answer in the slot, which surprisingly few NFL teams have. But he’s nowhere near the caliber of Marcus Peters, arguably the NFL’s best playmaking defensive back, who was traded to the Rams. And Kansas City’s cornerbacking depth overall remains in question.”
Kansas City fans want to believe that the addition of Kendall Fuller somehow offsets the loss of Marcus Peters but the Chiefs might have just jumped back to square one: no stable outside CB on the roster. Yes, CB is a need. Perhaps more than we know.
Making A Case For A Defensive Tackle
At this moment, the Chiefs interior defensive tackles include Xavier Williams, Jarvis Jenkins and Rakeem Nunez-Roches. Williams has 3 starts in 3 years. Jenkins has 3 starts in the past 2 years. RNR has 16 starts in a 3-year career with 11 of those coming in 2017 because the DT cupboard was already nearly bare. This is my personal choice for a pick #54 or pick #78. Since this draft is deeper in Safeties and Corners than Interior Defensive Tackles, I’m hoping this position is addressed asap. In fact, I’m hoping for two DTs. Another reason I’m all in for a DT in this draft is that Williams, Jenkins and RNR are all free agents in 2019. Better to re-stock now than wait until the DT cupboard is in fact, bare.
Making A Case For A Safety
The legend of Eric Berry will survive long after we’re all gone. This is from just yesterday:
However, a return from an Achilles injury is perhaps one of the most difficult injuries to return from in all of sports. Here’s another position where the cupboard was nearly bare last year prior to the time that Ron Parker was released. Now, Daniel Sorensen and Eric Murray tend shop until Mr. Legend is back up to par, which in my mind is a question that can’t be answered until we see him in action for a whole season. In five seasons of Eric Berry’s career, he’s started every game while in three other years, he started a combined, 8 games. I’m not questioning Berry’s ability, I am wondering about his availability. I’ve heard talk that Andy Reid and his coaching staff are placing some confidence in S Eric Murray but that might be foolhardy based on what we’ve seen so far. The Chiefs must come away from this draft with a high quality Safety and once again, hopefully in their first three picks. In case you were wondering, Eric Berry turns 30 later this year and is beginning the 9th professional season of this career.
Making A Case For An Outside Linebacker
There are clearly those who believe that OLB is the highest need on the team. Who can doubt that the Chiefs need more pressure and sacks? However, this may be a chicken or the egg debate with the CB-DT-and-OLB all involved in the conversation. Without pressure from the OLBs and DTs, the QB will have all day to complete his passes. Without coverage from the CBs, the QB will be able to hit his WRs any time he likes. Since we know that the team’s OLB-cupboard is not “perceptually” bare with Justin Houston, Dee Ford and Tanoh Kpassagnon in house, then it’s safe to assume that the OLB position will not be considered as much of a need as the other positional needs on defense. However, with Dee Ford in a contract year and maybe ready to move on next spring… and Justin Houston sitting there with a huge contract and maybe ready to be shuttled off to another team to dump his massive contract next year… and Tanoh KPass untested and unproven… one can see why the team needs badly to address this position.
Making a Case For Offense: OG, TE, RB, WR
With the Chiefs so much in need for defensive help, picking an offensive prospect… especially in their first 3 picks… would appear to be unfortunate, inopportune, and unhelpful. With Brett Veach showing he’s capable of vaulting around the draft board to place himself in the position to get the best value, he should also be able to do some triple-jumping to make sure those first 3 selections are defenders. I’m not in favor of taking a TE later in this draft because I don’t see depth in that position. There are Offensive Guards who could be had and it will be interesting to see if the Chiefs can cover this weakness because without Zach Fulton, the team needs an Interior Offensive Lineman at the very least. RB would be a luxury pick to me but since there are a number of quality running backs in this draft, it could happen. The same goes for WR.
In case you’ve forgotten, here are the Chiefs picks this year:
- R2 – #54
- R3 – #78
- R3 – #86
- R4 – #122
- R4 – #124
- R6 – #196
- R7 – #233
- R7 – #243
Now that the draft is here, do you know what it really means? NO MORE MOCKS! Something we can all be thankful for.
Go Chiefs! Go Chiefs! Go Chiefs! [Must imagine the Tomahawk chant while you read this line]
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